Alexandra L. Doig (born June 8, 1973) is a Canadian actress. She played the

title role The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piëce. The title o ...

in the science fiction television series '' Andromeda'' (2000–2005). She also played the lead female role of Rowan in the science fiction-action horror film ''

Jason X ''Jason X'' is a 2001 American science fiction slasher film directed by Jim Isaac and written by Todd Farmer. It is the tenth installment in the ''Friday the 13th'' franchise. It stars Lexa Doig, Lisa Ryder, Chuck Campbell, and Kane Hodder ...

'' (2001), the tenth installment of the ''

Friday the 13th Friday the 13th is considered an unlucky day in Western superstition. It occurs when the 13th day of the month in the Gregorian calendar falls on a Friday, which happens at least once every year but can occur up to three times in the same year ...

'' film series. Since 2015, Doig has appeared in the

Aurora Teagarden Aurora Teagarden is a fictional character created by author Charlaine Harris. She is the protagonist of a series of eleven crime novels written from 1990 to 2017. Hallmark Movies & Mysteries began adapting the novels in 2014 for their original ...

mystery television film series on the

Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Hallmark Mystery (formerly known as Hallmark Movie Channel (HMC) and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries (HMM)) is an American digital cable and satellite television channel owned by Hallmark Media, a subsidiary of Hallmark Cards. The channel was spun ...

channel.

Early life

Lexa was born Alexandra Lecciones Doig and she grew up in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Ontario. Her deceased father was of Scottish descent and her mother was formerly a native of Dumaguete City, Philippines. As a child, Doig studied

rhythmic gymnastics Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport in which gymnasts perform individually or in groups on a floor with an apparatus: hoop (rhythmic gymnastics), hoop, ball (rhythmic gymnastics), ball, Clubs (rhythmic gymnastics), clubs, ribbon (rhythmic gymnastics), ...

, and as a teenager studied

American Sign Language American Sign Language (ASL) is a natural language that serves as the predominant sign language of Deaf communities in the United States and most of Anglophone Canadians, Anglophone Canada. ASL is a complete and organized visual language that i ...

. She developed a strong interest in

acting Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode. Acting involves a broad range of sk ...

and was inspired to become an actor at age nine after she watched a theatre production of ''

Porgy and Bess ''Porgy and Bess'' ( ) is an English-language opera by American composer George Gershwin, with a libretto written by author DuBose Heyward and lyricist Ira Gershwin. It was adapted from Dorothy Heyward and DuBose Heyward's play ''Porgy (play), ...

''.

Career

Early modelling

While completing compulsory

secondary education Secondary education is the education level following primary education and preceding tertiary education. Level 2 or ''lower secondary education'' (less commonly ''junior secondary education'') is considered the second and final phase of basic e ...

Don Mills Collegiate Institute Don Mills Collegiate Institute is a high school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located in the Don Mills neighbourhood, it serves an ethnically diverse student population of approximately 1000. As of 2017, 67% of students speak a first language other ...

, she enrolled in a

vocational A vocation () is an occupation to which a person is especially drawn or for which they are suited, trained or qualified. Though now often used in non-religious contexts, the meanings of the term originated in Christianity. A calling, in the reli ...

modelling program. There, at age 16, she was immediately offered representation by a

talent agent A talent agent, or booking agent, is a person who finds work for actors, authors, broadcast journalists, film directors, musicians, models, professional athletes, screenwriters, writers, dancers, and other professionals in various entertainm ...

and booked in various modelling projects. She chose to drop out from her final year in high school to pursue an acting career. The initial media exposure led to her co-hosting the Canadian game show ''

Video & Arcade Top 10 Video & Arcade Top 10 (often abbreviated as V&A Top 10 or simply V&A) was a Canadian game show broadcast on YTV from 1991 to 2006. Filmed at Pyman Studios in Mississauga, Ontario, it was a competitive game show in which contestants played again ...

''. While auditioning for television and film roles, she worked on theatre productions of ''

Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...

'' and '' Arsenic and Old Lace''.

Acting

Her first television acting role was as "Second Girl" on ''The Hidden Room'' in 1993. Her first recurring role was in the TV series ''

TekWar ''TekWar'' is a series of science fiction novels created by Canadian actor William Shatner, ghost-written by American writer Ron Goulart, and published by Putnam beginning in October 1989. The novels gave rise to a comic book series, video gam ...

'' in 1994 where she portrayed the role of Cowgirl. Her first movie role was in ''Jungleground'' (1995). Doig got her first big break with a starring role in the movie ''No Alibi'' in 2000. She also landed the title role in

Gene Roddenberry Eugene Wesley Roddenberry Sr. (August 19, 1921 – October 24, 1991) was an American television screenwriter and producer who created the science fiction series and fictional universe ''Star Trek.'' Born in El Paso, Texas, Roddenberry grew up ...

's sci-fi TV series '' Andromeda'' where, from 2000 to 2005, she portrayed the Andromeda Ascendant ship's computer in three personas — as the ship's powerful AI (

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...

) on the ship's screen, as the AI's

hologram Holography is a technique that allows a wavefront to be recorded and later reconstructed. It is best known as a method of generating three-dimensional images, and has a wide range of other uses, including data storage, microscopy, and interf ...

, and as Rommie, the android

avatar Avatar (, ; ) is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means . It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearance" is sometimes u ...

of the AI. In 2001, she played the female lead role of "Dr. Rowan LaFontaine" in the horror film ''

'', the tenth instalment of the ''

'' film series. In a recurring role as Dr. Carolyn Lam, Doig appeared in 11 episodes of the ninth and tenth seasons of ''

Stargate SG-1 ''Stargate SG-1'' (often stylized in all caps, or abbreviated ''SG-1'') is a military science fiction Adventure fiction, adventure television series within Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Stargate, ''Stargate'' franchise. The show, created by Brad Wrig ...

'' between 2005–2007. In 2010, Doig appeared in six episodes in the remake of '' V'' as the alien physician Dr. Leah Pearlman. In 2012, she began playing the role of Liber8 terrorist Sonya Valentine in the Canadian science fiction TV series '' Continuum''. In 2017, Doig began playing the recurring role of

Talia al Ghul Talia al Ghul (; , ) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with Batman. The character was created by writer Dennis O'Neil and artist Bob Brown (comics), Bob Brown, and first app ...

in the fifth season of ''

Arrow An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers c ...

''. The same year she began portraying DeAnn Anderson, one of the main roles in the E! television series '' The Arrangement''. In 2019, Doig joined the cast of the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

television series ''

Virgin River The Virgin River is a tributary of the Colorado River in the U.S. states of Utah, Nevada, and Arizona. The river is about long.Calculated with Google Maps and Google Earth It was designated Utah's first wild and scenic river in 2009, during the ...

'', based on the ''Virgin River'' series of novels by Robyn Carr, playing Paige Lassiter.

Personal life

Doig dated actor

Michael Shanks Michael Garrett Shanks (born December 15, 1970) is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his role as Daniel Jackson in the long-running military science fiction television series ''Stargate SG-1'' and as Dr Charles Harris in the Canadian medi ...

after they met on the set of '' Andromeda'', where the former starred and the latter guest-starred in the 2001 episode "Star Crossed". They married on August 2, 2003, and they worked together again in the 2003 episode "Day of Judgment, Day of Wrath" of the same TV series. The couple were castmates in the final two seasons of ''

''. They worked together in the action thriller '' Tactical Force'' (2011), in which Doig portrayed an

LAPD The City of Los Angeles Police Department, commonly referred to as Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), is the primary law enforcement agency of Los Angeles, California, United States. With 8,832 officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the th ...

SWAT A SWAT (''Special Weapons and Tactics'') team is a generic term for a police tactical unit within the United States, though the term has also been used by other nations. SWAT units are generally trained, equipped, and deployed to res ...

officer and Shanks played the role of a

Russian mob The Russian mafia ( or ), also known as Bratva ( ; ) less as Obshchak (Общак) or Brigades (Бригады) , is a collective of various organized crime related elements originating or/and operating in Russia. In December 2009, Timur ...

leader. They worked together on the Netflix Original series ''

'' (2019). They have two children, a son and a daughter, in addition to Shanks' child from a previous relationship. Doig and Shanks are actively involved as charity fundraising partners for the

Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada Founded in 1948, the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada promotes multiple sclerosis (MS) research and provides education and services to people with MS and their families and caregivers. The society's mission is to seek a cure for MS and to ena ...

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Doig, Lexa Actresses from Toronto Canadian actresses of Filipino descent Canadian film actresses Canadian people of Irish descent Canadian people of Scottish descent Canadian television actresses Living people 20th-century Canadian actresses 21st-century Canadian actresses Canadian voice actresses Year of birth missing (living people)