Sarah Ellen Polley (born January 8, 1979) is a Canadian filmmaker, writer, political activist and actress.Howell, Peter (September 24, 199
"Nobody's Starlet: Toronto's Sarah Polley is Only 20 but already a veteran actor so secure in her craft she can thumb her nose at Hollywood"
''Toronto Star''. September 4, 1999. Retrieved January 21, 2021. She first garnered attention as a child actress for her role as Ramona Quimby in the television series '' Ramona'', based on

Beverly Cleary Beverly or Beverley may refer to: Places Australia * Beverley, South Australia, a suburb of Adelaide * Beverley, Western Australia, a town * Shire of Beverley, Western Australia Canada * Beverly, Alberta, a town that amalgamated with the City ...

's books. This subsequently led to her role as Sara Stanley in the Canadian television series '' Road to Avonlea'' (1990–1996). She has starred in many feature films, including '' The Adventures of Baron Munchausen'' (1988), ''

Exotica Exotica is a musical genre that was popular during the 1950s to mid-1960s with Americans who came of age during World War II. The term was coined by Simon "Si" Waronker, Liberty Records co-founder and board chairman, named after the 1957 Mart ...

'' (1994), '' The Sweet Hereafter'' (1997), ''

Guinevere Guinevere ( ; ; , ), also often written in Modern English as Guenevere or Guenever, was, according to Arthurian legend, an early-medieval queen of Great Britain and the wife of King Arthur. First mentioned in literature in the early 12th cen ...

'' (1999), '' Go'' (1999), '' The Weight of Water'' (2000), '' No Such Thing'' (2001), ''

My Life Without Me ''My Life Without Me'' is a 2003 Canadian drama film directed by Isabel Coixet and starring Sarah Polley, Mark Ruffalo, Scott Speedman, and Leonor Watling. Based on the 1997 short story collection ''Pretending the Bed Is a Raft'' by Nanci Kincai ...

'' (2003), '' Dawn of the Dead'' (2004), '' Splice'' (2009), and '' Mr. Nobody'' (2009). Polley made her feature film directorial debut with '' Away from Her'' (2006), for which she won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Director and was nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best screenplay adapted from previously established material. The most frequently adapted media are novels, but other adapted narrative formats include stage plays, mus ...

. Her second film, '' Take This Waltz'' (2011), premiered at the

2011 Toronto International Film Festival The 36th annual Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) was held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, between September 8 and September 18, 2011. Buenos Aires, Argentina was selected to be showcased for the 2011 City to City programme. The opening fil ...

, followed by her first documentary film, '' Stories We Tell'' (2012). She also wrote the miniseries ''Alias Grace'', based on the 1996 novel of the same name by

Margaret Atwood Margaret Eleanor Atwood (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian novelist, poet, literary critic, and an inventor. Since 1961, she has published 18 books of poetry, 18 novels, 11 books of nonfiction, nine collections of short fiction, eight chi ...

. In 2022, she wrote and directed the film '' Women Talking'', based on the 2018 novel of the same name by Miriam Toews, for which she won the

Early life and education

Sarah Ellen Polley was born on January 8, 1979 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 Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada, the youngest of five children born to Diane Elizabeth Polley ( MacMillan of Clan MacMillan). Her siblings are Susy and John Buchan from Diane's first marriage to George Deans-Buchan, and Mark and Joanna Polley from her second marriage to Michael Polley (1933–2018), a British-born actor who became an insurance agent after starting a family with Diane. Her mother was an actress (best known for playing Gloria Beechham in 44 episodes of the Canadian TV series '' Street Legal'') and a casting director. She died of cancer the week of Polley's 11th birthday in 1990. Polley suffered from severe

scoliosis Scoliosis (: scolioses) is a condition in which a person's Vertebral column, spine has an irregular curve in the coronal plane. The curve is usually S- or C-shaped over three dimensions. In some, the degree of curve is stable, while in others ...

as a child and underwent a spinal operation at 15 that required her to spend the next year in bed recovering. Polley was raised by Diane and Michael. During her childhood, Polley's siblings teased her because she bore no physical resemblance to Michael. Polley discovered as an adult that her biological father was actually Harry Gulkin, with whom her mother had an affair (as chronicled in Polley's film '' Stories We Tell''). Gulkin, the son of Russian Jewish immigrants, was a

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

-born film producer who produced the 1975 Canadian film '' Lies My Father Told Me'', and had met Diane after attending a play in which she acted in Montreal in 1978. When Polley turned 18, she decided to follow up on suggestions from her mother's friends that her biological father might be Geoff Bowes—one of three castmates from her mother's play in Montreal. Meeting with Gulkin as just someone who could provide information about Diane in Montreal, he informed Polley of his affair with Diane. Gulkin's paternity was later confirmed by a DNA test. Polley attended Subway Academy II, then Earl Haig Secondary School, but dropped out at age 15. By the age of 15 she was living on her own and credits the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty for housing her and developing her work with activism. In November 2024, Polley received a honorary Doctors of Letters degree from the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

Vancouver campus.

Career

Child acting

Her first appearance on screen was at the age of four, as Molly in the film ''

One Magic Christmas ''One Magic Christmas'' is a 1985 List of Christmas films, Christmas fantasy film directed by Phillip Borsos. It was released by Walt Disney Pictures and stars Mary Steenburgen and Harry Dean Stanton. It was shot in Meaford, Ontario with some scen ...

''. She was in the pilot episode for '' Friday the 13th – The Series'' and appeared in a small role in William Fruet's sci-fi horror film ''Blue Monkey'', both in 1987. At age of eight, she was cast as Ramona Quimby in the television series '' Ramona'', based on

's books. That same year, she played one of the lead characters in

Terry Gilliam Terrence Vance Gilliam ( ; born 22 November 1940) is an American-British filmmaker, comedian, collage film, collage animator, and actor. He gained stardom as a member of the Monty Python comedy troupe alongside John Cleese, Eric Idle, Michael Pa ...

's '' The Adventures of Baron Munchausen''. Polley burst into the public eye in 1990 as Sara Stanley on the popular CBC television series '' Road to Avonlea''. The series made her famous and financially independent, and she was hailed as "Canada's Sweetheart" by the popular press. The show was picked up by the Disney Channel for distribution in the United States. At the age of 12 (around 1991), Polley attended an awards ceremony while wearing a peace sign to protest the first Gulf War. Disney executives asked her to remove it, and she refused. This soured her relationship with Disney, but she continued on ''Road to Avonlea'' until 1994. The show ran until 1996; Polley did return as Sara Stanley for an episode in 1995 and for the series finale. In 1994 Polley made her theatre debut at the

Stratford Festival The Stratford Festival is a repertory theatre organization that operates from April to October in the city of Stratford, Ontario, Canada. Founded by local journalist Tom Patterson in 1952, the festival was formerly known as the Stratford Shak ...

playing Alice in ''Alice Through the Looking Glass'', an adaptation of

Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet, mathematician, photographer and reluctant Anglicanism, Anglican deacon. His most notable works are ''Alice ...

's book of the same name. Polley ended her run early, claiming complications from scoliosis. In 2022 she revealed she had in fact been suffering from intense stage fright, something that continued to plague her into adulthood.

Adult acting

Polley appeared as Lily on the CBC television series '' Straight Up'', which ran from 1996 to 1998, winning the

Gemini Award The Gemini Awards were awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television between 1986–2011 to recognize the achievements of Canada's English-language television industry. The Gemini Awards are analogous to the Emmy Awards given in t ...

for Best Performance in a Children's or Youth Program or Series for her role. By age thirteen, however, Polley was dissatisfied with her juvenile acting career. Her experience with director Atom Egoyan in a small but critical role in his sophisticated adult drama ''Exotica'' turned things around, as she revealed in a 2022 conversation with the director, filmed for Criterion's ''Exotica'' BluRay. Polley's subsequent role as Nicole Burnell in Egoyan's 1997 film '' The Sweet Hereafter'' brought her considerable attention in the United States; she was a favourite at the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

. Her character in the film was an aspiring singer, and on the film's soundtrack, she performed covers of

The Tragically Hip The Tragically Hip, often referred to simply as the Hip, was a Canadian rock band formed in Kingston, Ontario in 1984, consisting of vocalist Gord Downie, guitarist Paul Langlois, guitarist Rob Baker (known as Bobby Baker until 1994), bassis ...

's "

Courage Courage (also called bravery, valour ( British and Commonwealth English), or valor (American English)) is the choice and willingness to confront agony, pain, danger, uncertainty, or intimidation. Valor is courage or bravery, especially in ...

" and

Jane Siberry Jane Siberry ( ; ; born 12 October 1955) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, known for such hits as "Mimi on the Beach", "I Muse Aloud", "One More Colour" and "Calling All Angels (Jane Siberry song), Calling All Angels". She performed the theme so ...

's " One More Colour" and sang the film's title track, which she co-wrote with Mychael Danna. In 1998, Polley appeared in the critically acclaimed film '' Last Night''. The following year, she starred as part of the ensemble cast in the film '' Go''. She was cast in the role of Penny Lane in the big-budget 2000 film '' Almost Famous'', but dropped out of the project to return to Canada for the low-budget '' The Law of Enclosures''. Her role in the 2003 film ''

'' garnered the Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in 2004. In the same year, she starred in a lead role in the remake of ''Dawn of the Dead'', which was a departure from her other indie roles. In 2005, she starred in '' The Secret Life of Words'', opposite

Tim Robbins Timothy Francis Robbins (born October 16, 1958) is an American actor. He is best known for portraying Andy Dufresne in the film '' The Shawshank Redemption ''(1994), and Jacob Singer in '' Jacob's Ladder'' (1990), as well as winning an Academy ...

and

Julie Christie Julie Frances Christie (born 14 April 1940) is a British actress. Christie's accolades include an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. She has appeared in six films ranked in the British Film Institu ...

. She was nominated for the European Film Award for Best Actress by the

European Film Academy The European Film Academy is a group of European film director, filmmakers who come together in Berlin on the occasion of the first presentation of the European Film Awards in November 1988. Every year, the European Film Academy honors films an ...

for her role as Hanna. In 2006, Polley took a role on the acclaimed series '' Slings and Arrows'' during its third and final season. Polley's father, Michael Polley, was a regular on the show during its entire three-season run. She served as a member of the 2007

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

jury. In 2008, Polley appeared as Nabby Adams in the HBO miniseries based on the life of

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before Presidency of John Adams, his presidency, he was a leader of ...

. Polley played Elise in

Jaco Van Dormael Jaco Van Dormael (born 9 February 1957) is a Belgium, Belgian film director, screenwriter and playwright. His films especially focus on a respectful and sympathetic portrayal of people with mental and physical disability, disabilities. Van Dorm ...

's '' Mr. Nobody'', which was released in 2010. Critical response has praised the film's artistry and Polley's acting. Later that year, she also appeared in a cameo role in Bruce MacDonald's film '' Trigger''. While Polley did not officially retire from acting, after 2010 it would be fifteen years before she appeared onscreen again, with her focus transitioning into a writing and directing career. In 2025 she played a guest role as herself in an episode of the television series '' The Studio'', having been recruited by series creator

Seth Rogen Seth Aaron Rogen (; born April 15, 1982) is a Canadian actor, comedian, and filmmaker. Known primarily for his comedic Leading actor, leading man roles in films, the accolades he has received include nominations for three Golden Globe Awards, ...

, a friend and prior collaborator. Polley described the role as an "opportunity to let out a lot of the frustrations I’ve ever had as a director—to finally let them out onscreen," adding that she appreciated the chance to act in a comedy.

Directing

In 1999, Polley made her first short film, ''The Best Day of My Life'', for the On the Fly 4 Film Festival. She also made a second short film that year, ''Don't Think Twice''. Polley attended the

Canadian Film Centre The Canadian Film Centre (CFC) is a charitable organization founded in 1988 by filmmaker Norman Jewison in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Originally launched as a film school, today it provides training, development and advancement opportunities for ...

's directing program in 2001, and won the

Genie Award The Genie Awards were given out annually by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to recognize the best of Canadian cinema from 1980–2012. They succeeded the Canadian Film Awards (1949–1978), known as the "Etrog Awards" for sculptor ...

for Best Live Action Short Drama in 2003 for her short film '' I Shout Love''. She made her feature-length film directing debut with '' Away from Her'', which Polley adapted from the

Alice Munro Alice Ann Munro ( ; ; 10 July 1931 – 13 May 2024) was a Canadian short story writer who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013. Her work tends to move forward and backward in time, with integrated short story cycles. Munro's ...

short story '' The Bear Came Over the Mountain''. The movie, starring Julie Christie (with whom she had played in '' No Such Thing'', 2001, and '' The Secret Life of Words'', 2005), debuted at the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world. Founded in 1976, the festival takes place every year in early September. The organi ...

on September 11, 2006, as part of the TIFF's Gala showcase. ''Away from Her'' was acquired by

Lionsgate Lions Gate, Lion Gate or similar terms may refer to: Gates *Lion Gate at Mycenae in Greece *Lion Gate, one of the entrances to the ancient Hittite city of Hattusa, now in Turkey *Lion Gate, one of the entrances to the gardens of Hampton Court Pala ...

for release in the US for the sum of $750,000. It drew rave reviews from '' Variety'', ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'', and the three Toronto dailies, both for the performances of Christie and her co-star, Canadian actor

Gordon Pinsent Gordon Edward Pinsent (July 12, 1930 – February 25, 2023) was a Canadian actor, writer, director, and singer. He was known for his roles in numerous productions, including ''Away from Her'', ''The Rowdyman'', ''John and the Missus'', ''A Gift ...

, and for Polley's direction. It also earned Polley a 2007

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay, and won the

Genie Award for Best Achievement in Direction The Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television presents an annual award for Best Achievement in Direction to the best work by a film director, director of a Canada, Canadian film.Maria Topalovich, ''And the Genie Goes To...: Celebrating 50 Years of ...

. At the 2008 Genies, she was also awarded the Claude Jutra Award, which recognizes outstanding achievement by a first-time feature film director. Polley wrote and directed her second feature, '' Take This Waltz'' starring

Michelle Williams Michelle Williams or Michele Williams may refer to: * Michelle Ann Williams (born circa 1965), American public health scholar * Michelle Williams (singer) (born 1979), American singer, previously a member of Destiny's Child * Michelle Williams (actr ...

, Luke Kirby,

, and Sarah Silverman, which premiered at the

in 2011. Her documentary film ''Stories We Tell'' premiered at the 69th Venice International Film Festival in competition in the Venice Days category, and its North American premiere followed at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival. The critically acclaimed documentary examined family secrets in Polley's own childhood. She was awarded the

CAN$ The Canadian dollar (currency symbol, symbol: $; ISO 4217, code: CAD; ) is the currency of Canada. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $. There is no standard disambiguating form, but the abbreviations Can$, CA$ and C$ are frequently used f ...

100,000 prize for best Canadian film of the year by the

Toronto Film Critics Association The Toronto Film Critics Association (TFCA) is an organization of film critics from Toronto-based publications. As of 1999, the TFCA is a member of the FIPRESCI. History The Toronto Film Critics Association is the official organization of Toro ...

. In 2017, Polley executive produced the film '' A Better Man'' (2017), In late 2012, Polley announced that she would be adapting

's novel '' Alias Grace''. Polley first wrote to Atwood asking to adapt the novel when she was 17. They held off for 20 years until she was ready to make the show. In August 2014, during a profile of her work as a director, Polley announced that ''Alias Grace'' was being adapted into a six-part miniseries. In June 2016, the

series Series may refer to: People with the name * Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series * George Series (1920–1995), English physicist Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Series, the ordered sets used i ...

was confirmed with Polley writing and producing. The series premiered in 2017 on

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV, or simply CBC) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language terrestrial television, broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcasting, p ...

in Canada; it streams on

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 ...

globally, outside of Canada. It received positive reviews from critics. In June 2014, it was announced that Polley would write and direct an adaptation of

John Green John Michael Green (born August 24, 1977) is an American author and YouTuber. His books have more than 50 million copies in print worldwide, including ''The Fault in Our Stars'' (2012), which is one of the List of best-selling books#Bet ...

's ''

Looking for Alaska ''Looking for Alaska'' is a 2005 Young adult literature, young adult novel by American author John Green. Based on his time at the private Indian Springs School, Green wrote the novel in order to create meaningful young adult fiction. While he d ...

''. In March 2015, she was hired to potentially write and direct a new adaptation of ''

Little Women ''Little Women'' is a coming-of-age novel written by American novelist Louisa May Alcott, originally published in two volumes, in 1868 and 1869. The story follows the lives of the four March sisters— Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy—and details th ...

''. Her involvement in the project ultimately never went beyond initial discussion. In her 2022 essay collection '' Run Towards the Danger'', Polley revealed she had been working on a second draft of the ''Little Women'' screenplay when she had a traumatic head injury resulting in

post-concussion syndrome Post-concussion syndrome (PCS), also known as persisting symptoms after concussion, is a set of symptoms that may continue for weeks, months, or years after a concussion. PCS is medically classified as a mild traumatic brain injury (TBI). About ...

that left her with symptoms for four years so she was temporarily unable to work until she found effective treatment through

University of Pittsburgh Medical Center UPMC is an American integrated delivery system, integrated global nonprofit health enterprise that has 100,000 employees, 40 hospitals with more than 8,000 licensed beds, 800 clinical locations including outpatient sites and doctors' offices, a ...

's concussion program. It was subsequently announced in June that, due to scheduling conflicts, Polley would no longer be directing ''Looking for Alaska''. In an interview, Polley stated that she takes pride in her work and enjoys both acting and directing, but is not keen on combining the two:

I like the feeling of keeping them separate. I find that really gratifying. I can't imagine combining those. For me, I love the feeling of using different parts of my brain separately.

In a 2015 retrospective of the movie ''Go'', Mike D'Angelo of ''The A.V. Club'' commented that Polley's decision to go into directing had "deprived the world of many potentially great performances", calling her a "superb actor". In December 2020, it was announced Polley would direct '' Women Talking'' based upon the novel of the same name by Miriam Toews for

Orion Pictures Orion Releasing, LLC (Trade name, doing business as Orion Pictures) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by the Amazon MGM Studios subsidiary of Amazon (company), Amazon. It was founded in 1978 as Ori ...

. It premiered at the 49th Telluride Film Festival on September 2, 2022, and went into wide release on December 23, 2022. It was released to widespread acclaim, with 90% of critics giving it a positive review on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

. Shirley Li of

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 185 ...

called it "vibrant cinema," while Anna Bogutskaya of '' Time Out'' said that it "imagines female emancipation as an honest, raging, caring experience." Polley won the

at the 95th Academy Awards, and the film was also nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Picture The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards (also known as Oscars) presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) since the awards debuted in 1929. This award goes to the producers of the film a ...

. In 2023, Polley was revealed to be in talks to direct Disney's live action adaptation of ''

Bambi ''Bambi'' is a 1942 American Animated film, animated Coming of age, coming-of-age drama film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. Loosely based on Felix Salten's 1923 novel ''Bambi, a Life in the Woods'', the ...

'', but in March 2024, it never came in fruition due to Polley reportedly no longer being attached as a director.

Writing

Polley has written numerous essays over the years about her experiences as a child star. In 2022, she released her first book of essays, the autobiographical, '' Run Towards the Danger'' which contains six essays that examine aspects of Polley's career on stage, screen, and on film, detailing her roles in a

production of '' Alice Through the Looking Glass'', as well as her breakout roles in '' The Adventures of Baron Munchausen'' and the TV series '' Road to Avonlea''. The book also alleged for the first time that Polley had been a victim of Jian Ghomeshi who she says sexually and physically assaulted her when she was 16 and he was 28.

Political and social activism

Following the row with Disney as a twelve-year-old for wearing a peace sign to protest against the Gulf War, Polley dedicated more of her efforts to politics, becoming a prominent member of the

Ontario New Democratic Party The Ontario New Democratic Party (NDP; , NPD) is a social democratic political party in Ontario, Canada. The party sits on the centre-left of the political spectrum. It is Ontario’s provincial section of the federal New Democratic Party. The ...

(ONDP), where Ontario legislator Peter Kormos was her political mentor. In 1996, she gave a nomination speech for Kormos at the ONDP leadership convention which she later referred to as the "proudest moment in er/nowiki> life". In 1995, she lost two back teeth after being struck by a

riot police Riot police are police who are organized, deployed, trained or equipped to confront crowds, protests or riots. Riot police may be regular police officers who act in the role of riot police in particular situations, or they may be separate unit ...

officer during a protest against the provincial Progressive Conservative government of

Mike Harris Michael Deane Harris (born January 23, 1945) is a retired Canadian politician who served as the 22nd premier of Ontario from 1995 to 2002 and leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (PC Party) from 1990 to 2002. Taking the PC ...

in Queen's Park. She was subsequently involved with the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty. She subsequently scaled back her political activism. She was part of a group in 2001 which opposed the proposed

Free Trade Area of the Americas The Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA, , ALCA, Portuguese: ''Área de Livre Comércio das Américas'', ALCA, French: Zone de libre-échange des Amériques, ZLEA) was a proposed agreement to eliminate or reduce the trade barriers among all ...

. The

3rd Summit of the Americas The 3rd Summit of the Americas was a summit held in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, on April 20–22, 2001. This international meeting was a round of negotiations regarding a proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas. The talks are perhaps bette ...

was held in

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

in April 2001. In 2003, she was part of former Toronto mayor David Miller's transition advisory team. In 2009, Polley directed a two-minute short film in support of the

Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada is a Canadian charity dedicated to advocacy, education, and the funding of research surrounding heart disease and stroke. Nomenclature In November 2016, the organization re-branded as Heart & Stroke a ...

. In advance of the film's airing in Canada during the

82nd Academy Awards The 82nd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2009 and took place on March 7, 2010, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, beginning at 5:30 p.m. ...

, and following news reports that characterized the film as a marketing exercise for the margarine company Becel, Polley withdrew her association with the film. "In December 2009, I made a film to be aired during the Academy Awards that I believed was to promote the Heart and Stroke Foundation. When I agreed to make this film The Heart" I was thrilled, as I was proud to be associated with the work of this incredible organization. However, I have since learned that my film is also being used to promote a product. Regretfully, I am forced to remove my name from the film and disassociate myself from it. I have never actively promoted any corporate brand, and cannot do so now." In response, Becel said it was a "founding sponsor" of the Heart Truth campaign and had commissioned the film "to put heart health on the radar of Canadian women". In January 2012, Polley endorsed Toronto MP Peggy Nash in the 2012 New Democratic Party leadership race to succeed

Jack Layton John Gilbert Layton (July 18, 1950 – August 22, 2011) was a Canadian politician and academic who served as the leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) from 2003 to 2011 and leader of the Official Opposition in 2011. He previously sat on T ...

. On October 15, 2017, Polley wrote an op-ed piece in ''The New York Times'' detailing her experience with

Harvey Weinstein Harvey Weinstein (, ; born March 19, 1952) is an American film producer and convicted sex offender. In 1979, Weinstein and his brother, Bob Weinstein, co-founded the entertainment company Miramax, which produced several successful independent ...

and with Hollywood's treatment of women generally, and making a connection between Hollywood's gendered power relations and Polley's not having acted in years.

Personal life

In 2007, Polley discovered the man who raised her, Michael Polley, was not her biological father. The story of her mother's affair with her biological father, producer Harry Gulkin, was chronicled in her 2012 film, '' Stories We Tell''. On September 10, 2003, Polley married Canadian film editor David Wharnsby, her boyfriend of seven years. They divorced in 2008. On August 23, 2011, she married David Sandomierski. They have three children. In her 2022 autobiographical essay collection, '' Run Towards the Danger'', Polley said she was sexually assaulted by Moxy Früvous singer Jian Ghomeshi on a 1995 date, while she was 16 and he was 28. Family and friends dissuaded her from coming forward. Polley is an

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

Filmography

Film production

Short Feature

Film acting

Television production

Executive producer

* '' Secret Path'' (2016) (TV movie) * ' (2017) (Documentary)

Television acting

Awards and nominations

On October 16, 2010, it was announced that Polley would receive a star on

Canada's Walk of Fame Canada's Walk of Fame () in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is a walk of fame that acknowledges the achievements and accomplishments of Canadians who have excelled in their respective fields. It is a series of maple leaf-like stars embedded in 13 de ...

. In June 2013, she received the National Arts Centre Award recognizing achievement over the past performance year at the Governor General's Performing Arts Awards, where she was the subject of a short vignette by Ann Marie Fleming entitled ''Stories Sarah Tells''. She was appointed an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

on December 30, 2013.

References

External links