Faith Susan Alberta Watson (March 6, 1955 – March 21, 2015), better known as Alberta Watson, was a Canadian film and television actress.

Early life

Watson was born in

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, in 1955.Rita Zekas
"Alberta's Feeling At Home On Deranged"
, Toronto Star, August 5, 1994. She grew up in Toronto with her mother Grace, a factory worker, and her brother. She began performing with a local Toronto theatre group, T.H.O.G. (Theatre House of God),Neil Morton

, Elm Street Magazine; accessed March 23, 2015. of the Bathurst Street United Church, at age 15. Watson took a workshop for the ''Hair'' musical.Bruce Blackadar
"Young Actress Is Behind Bars -- For A Movie"
, Toronto Star, August 7, 1980. While at the workshop she acted in ''Hamlet'', which was directed by

René Bonnière René Gabriel Bonnière (born 10 March 1928) is a Canadian film director and editor, originally from France. He has had a prolific career, working in television and film in both French and English productions. Biography Bonnière was born in Lyo ...

, who later directed her in '' La Femme Nikita''.Jim Bawden
Toronto Star, ''Nikita's Iciest Femme Fatale''
, albertawatson.net, July 18, 1999.

Acting career

Watson got her first role at age 19 in a CBC movie called ''Honor Thy Father''.Liz Braun

, albertawatson.net, December 29, 1995. Early in her career she portrayed the role of Mitzi in

George Kaczender George Kaczender (19 April 1933 – 24 August 2016) was a Hungarian-born Canadian film director. He directed 26 films between 1963 and 2001. Biography Kaczender left Hungary in 1956 as a political refugee after studying film and working as ...

's '' In Praise of Older Women'' (1978), for which she received a Genie nomination. A year later she received the Best Actress award at the

Yorkton Film Festival Yorkton Film Festival (YFF) is an annual film festival held in late May in Yorkton, Saskatchewan, Canada. In 1947, the Yorkton Film Council (YFC) was founded and in 1950 the first international documentary film festival officially opened in we ...

for "Exposure". She moved to

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, and later to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

."Three Hours On A Plane Is All She Can Stand: Great Escapes - Alberta Watson"
, Interview with Fulton King, February 19, 2000. Watson lived in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

for eight years"She Wasn't Afraid of 'Spanking'"
, ''San Francisco Examiner'', August 23, 1994. with her husband until they divorced. She then returned to Toronto and focused on finding roles in independent films. She worked with director Colleen Murphy on the film ''

Shoemaker Shoemaking is the process of making footwear. Originally, shoes were made one at a time by hand, often by groups of shoemakers, or cobblers (also known as '' cordwainers''). In the 18th century, dozens or even hundreds of masters, journeymen ...

'' (1996), for which she received a second Genie nomination for

Best Actress Best Actress is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organisations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actresses in a film, television series, television film or play. The first Best Actress aw ...

. Among her well-known film roles are the bed-ridden mother Susan Aibelli in the 1994 American independent film ''

Spanking the Monkey ''Spanking the Monkey'' is a 1994 American sick comedy film written and directed by David O. Russell. It was filmed in Pawling, New York. Plot Ray Aibelli has finished his first year of college at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and h ...

'', Lauren Murphy (the mother of

Jonny Lee Miller Jonathan Lee Miller (born 15 November 1972) is a British film, television and theatre actor. He achieved early success for his portrayal of Simon "Sick Boy" Williamson in the dark comedy-drama film '' Trainspotting'' (1996) and as Dade Murphy i ...

's character Dade, also called "Crash Override"/"Zero Cool") in the 1995 cult film ''

Hackers A hacker is a person skilled in information technology who uses their technical knowledge to achieve a goal or overcome an obstacle, within a computerized system by non-standard means. Though the term ''hacker'' has become associated in popu ...

'', and Risa in the 1997

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

-nominated Canadian film '' The Sweet Hereafter'', directed by Atom Egoyan. In ''Spanking the Monkey'', Watson plays her favourite character,Profile
TVGuide/Yahoo Chat, January 7, 1999. a mother who has an incestuous relationship with her son. The role was turned down by several actresses such as

Susan Sarandon Susan Abigail Sarandon (; née Tomalin; born October 4, 1946) is an American actorMcCabe, Bruce"Susan Sarandon, the 'actor'" ''Boston Globe''. April 17, 1981. Retrieved January 21, 2021. and activist. She is the recipient of various accolades, ...

Jessica Lange Jessica Phyllis Lange (; born April 20, 1949) is an American actress. She is the 13th actress to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting, having won two Academy Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Tony Award, along with a Screen Actors ...

and others. Watson said: She played the role of

Madeline ''Madeline'' is a media franchise that originated as a series of children's books written and illustrated by Ludwig Bemelmans, an Austrian-American author. The books have been adapted into numerous formats, spawning telefilms, television series ...

in '' La Femme Nikita'' for four seasons from 1997 to 2001 (with guest appearances in the short fifth season). During the show's second season (in 1998), Watson was diagnosed with

lymphoma Lymphoma is a group of blood and lymph tumors that develop from lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). In current usage the name usually refers to just the cancerous versions rather than all such tumours. Signs and symptoms may include enla ...

, for which she had to undergo

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs ( chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemothe ...

treatment which caused her to lose her hair.Michelle Erica Green
"Alberta Watson: The Toughest Woman on Television"
TheLittleReview.com; accessed March 23, 2015. Producers at ''La Femme Nikita'' worked around her treatment and limited her appearances. Watson wore wigs in the show when she lost her hair. When her hair started to regrow, she sported the short haircut in her role as Madeline in the show's third season. Watson's first name inspired the character Alberta Green in the first season of '' 24''. In 2005, Watson joined the cast of ''24'', playing CTU Director

Erin Driscoll The following is a list of characters in the American serial drama television series ''24 (TV series), 24'', ''24: Live Another Day'', and ''24: Legacy'' by season and event. The list first names the actor, followed by the character. Some characte ...

for 12 episodes of the show's fourth season. During 2007 and 2008, Watson played a supporting role in the Canadian television series '' The Border'' as the Minister of Public Safety. In 2010, Watson guest-starred in '' Heartland'', a series on CBC Television, and she won a 2011 Gemini Award for her portrayal of Sarah Craven. In a nod to her '' La Femme Nikita'' role, Alberta played recurring character Madeline Pierce in ''Nikita'', the CW's 2010–2013 reboot of the film and TV series.

Death

Watson died on March 21, 2015, due to complications from cancer at Kensington Hospice in Toronto fifteen days after her 60th birthday.

Filmography

Film

Television

Bibliography

* Heyn, Christopher. "A Conversation with Alberta Watson". ''Inside Section One: Creating and Producing TV's La Femme Nikita''. Introduction by Peta Wilson. Los Angeles
Persistence of Vision Press
2006. pp. 88–93. . In-depth conversation with Alberta Watson about her role as Madeline on '' La Femme Nikita'', as well as her more recent acting experiences.

References

External links

*
An Alberta Watson interviewAlberta's fan site
Wayback version) *
Alberta Watson; Aveleyman
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Alberta 1955 births 2015 deaths 20th-century Canadian actresses 21st-century Canadian actresses Actresses from Toronto Canadian film actresses Canadian television actresses Deaths from cancer in Ontario Canadian Screen Award winners