Alberta Watson

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, in 1955.Rita Zekas. , 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. , Toronto Star, August 7, 1980. While at the workshop she acted in ''Hamlet'', which was directed by René Bonnière, who later directed her in '' La Femme Nikita''.Jim Bawden. , 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'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 for "Exposure". She moved to Los Angeles, California, and later to New York City."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 for eight years, ''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'' (1996), for which she received a second Genie nomination for Best Actress.

Among her well-known film roles are the bed-ridden mother Susan Aibelli in the 1994 American independent film '' Spanking the Monkey'', Lauren Murphy (the mother of Jonny Lee Miller's character Dade, also called "Crash Override"/"Zero Cool") in the 1995 cult film ''Hackers'', and Risa in the 1997 Academy Award-nominated Canadian film '' The Sweet Hereafter'', directed by Atom Egoyan.

In ''Spanking the Monkey'', Watson plays her favourite character, 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, Jessica Lange and others. Watson said:

She played the role of Madeline 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, for which she had to undergo chemotherapy 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 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 a 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 interview
*(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 winning actors