Janet Wright (March 8, 1945 – November 14, 2016) was an English-born

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

actress and

theatre director A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...

. She was best known for her role as Emma Leroy on the Canadian sitcom, ''

Corner Gas ''Corner Gas'' is a Canadian television sitcom created by Brent Butt. The series ran for six seasons from 2004 to 2009. Reruns still air on CTV, CTV2, CTV Comedy Channel, Much, E! and are streaming on Crave and Amazon Prime. The series ...

''. She performed in many film and television shows, and she also acted in, and directed, dozens of theatre productions in

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, and 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 ...

Early life and education

Wright was born in

Farnborough, Hampshire Farnborough is a town located in the Rushmoor district of Hampshire, England. It has a population of around 57,486 as of the 2011 census and is an important centre of aviation, engineering and technology. The town is probably best known for it ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

.J. Kelly Nestruck
"Janet Wright played wise-cracking matriarch on Corner Gas"
''The Globe and Mail''. November 14, 2016. Wright grew up as the eldest of four siblings (the others being

Susan Susan is a feminine given name, the usual English version of Susanna or Susannah. All are versions of the Hebrew name Shoshana, which is derived from the Hebrew ''shoshan'', meaning ''lotus flower'' in Egyptian, original derivation, and severa ...

, John, and Anne) who have all participated in Canadian theatre.

Career

Wright, along with her sister Susan, co-founded the Persephone Theatre company in Saskatoon in 1974. Wright's first husband, Brian Richmond, became the theatre's director. Wright later worked at the Vancouver Arts Club Theatre where she appeared in and directed more than 40 productions. She also appeared in several other productions in live theatre across Canada, and at the

in Ontario. Her theatre work eventually led to television and film roles in Canada and the United States. In 1991, she performed at the Stratford Festival with her sisters Anne and Susan in '' Les Belles-soeurs'', to positive reviews. In 1995, she was the first woman to play the title role in ''

King Lear ''The Tragedy of King Lear'', often shortened to ''King Lear'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is loosely based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his ...

'', for Canadian Stage in Toronto. Wright acted in the film '' Bordertown Café'', for which she received a best actress

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 ...

in 1992. In 2003 she was named best supporting actress in a dramatic program or miniseries at the

Gemini Awards 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 th ...

for her role in ''Betrayed''. From 2004 to 2009, she played Emma Leroy in the television series ''

''. In this role she won a 2006 Canadian Comedy Award for Pretty Funny TV Female. The show also won a Gemini Award in 2007."Saskatoon arts icon, award-winning 'Corner Gas' star Janet Wright dead at 71"
''Saskatoon Star-Phoenix'', November 14, 2016. She reprised her role in 2014 for '' Corner Gas: The Movie''. Wright continued her involvement with the Vancouver Arts Club Theatre, directing several contemporary American plays, including Katori Hall's ''The Mountaintop'' and Ayad Akhtar's ''Disgraced'' in 2015. She continued acting from time to time at the Stratford Festival, lastly in 2011, when she played Ma Joad in ''The Grapes of Wrath''.

Family

Wright's sister Susan was killed in a fire in 1991 in Stratford, Ontario, along with their parents, Jack and Ruth (née Preston) Wright. In January 2004, Wright's daughter Rachel Davis (aged 23) was fatally shot while intervening for a stranger who was being beaten in front of the Purple Onion bar in Vancouver, B.C. In July 2006, the shooter was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder, five counts of attempted murder and five counts of aggravated assault. His first degree murder conviction triggered an automatic sentence of life imprisonment with no chance of parole until 2029. Wright and her second husband, Bruce Davis, along with the rest of their family, started the Rachel Davis Foundation. The foundation presents an award to a young person (aged 17–23) who has demonstrated an outstanding act of kindness or compassion.

Death

Wright died on the morning of November 14, 2016, in Vancouver, aged 71, from undisclosed causes.Lauren La Rose
"Actor Janet Wright, Emma from Corner Gas is dead at 71"
thestar.com, November 14, 2016.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
Corner Gas official website - Janet Wright bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Janet 1945 births 2016 deaths Canadian film actresses Canadian Shakespearean actresses Canadian stage actresses Canadian television actresses Canadian theatre directors Canadian women theatre directors Canadian voice actresses Canadian expatriates in England Best Actress Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners Actresses from Hampshire Actresses from Saskatoon English Shakespearean actresses English television actresses English theatre directors British women theatre directors English voice actresses English film actresses English emigrants to Canada People from Farnborough, Hampshire Canadian Comedy Award winners Best Supporting Actress in a Television Film or Miniseries Canadian Screen Award winners Actors from Rushmoor