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Mia Kirshner (born January 25, 1975) is a Canadian actress, writer, and social activist. She is known for television roles as Mandy in '' 24'' (2001–2005), as Jenny Schecter in ''
The L Word ''The L Word'' is a television drama series that aired on Showtime in the United States from 2004 to 2009. The series follows the lives of a group of lesbian and bisexual women who live in West Hollywood, California. The premise originated wit ...
'' (2004–2009), as Amanda Grayson in '' Star Trek: Discovery'' (2017–2019) and '' Star Trek: Strange New Worlds'' (2023), and as Isobel Flemming in ''
The Vampire Diaries ''The Vampire Diaries'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural teen drama television series developed by Kevin Williamson (screenwriter), Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec, based on the The Vampire Diaries (novel series), book series ...
'' (2010–2011). Her film credits include '' Love and Human Remains'' (1993), ''
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 Crow: City of Angels'' (1996), '' Mad City'' (1997), '' Not Another Teen Movie'' (2001), and '' The Black Dahlia'' (2006).


Early life

Kirshner was born 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 daughter of Etti (Henrietta), a teacher, and Sheldon Kirshner, a journalist who wrote for ''The
Canadian Jewish News The Canadian Jewish News is a non-profit, national, English-language digital-first media organization that serves Canada's Jewish community. A national edition of the newspaper was published for 60 years in Toronto. A weekly Montreal edition in En ...
''. Kirshner is a granddaughter of
Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...
survivors; her father was born in the
displaced persons camp A refugee camp is a temporary settlement built to receive refugees and people in refugee-like situations. Refugee camps usually accommodate displaced people who have fled their home country, but camps are also made for internally displace ...
at
Bad Reichenhall Bad Reichenhall (; Central Bavarian: ''Reichahoi'') is a spa town, and administrative center of the Berchtesgadener Land district in Upper Bavaria, Germany. It is located near Salzburg in a basin encircled by the Chiemgau Alps (including Mount Stau ...
in Germany in 1946; and met Kirshner's mother, a Bulgarian Jewish refugee (of Sephardi Jewish descent), after they immigrated to
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
. Kirshner's paternal grandparents were
Polish Jews The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Jews, Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the long pe ...
(of
Ashkenazi Jewish Ashkenazi Jews ( ; also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim) form a distinct subgroup of the Jewish diaspora, that Ethnogenesis, emerged in the Holy Roman Empire around the end of the first millennium Common era, CE. They traditionally spe ...
descent). Kirshner had a middle class upbringing, and attended Forest Hill Collegiate Institute but later graduated from Jarvis Collegiate Institute. Kirshner studied
Russian literature Russian literature refers to the literature of Russia, its Russian diaspora, émigrés, and to Russian language, Russian-language literature. Major contributors to Russian literature, as well as English for instance, are authors of different e ...
and the 20th-century movie industry at
McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...
in Montreal. Her younger sister, Lauren Kirshner, a writer, was involved in the I Live Here project.


Career

Kirshner started her career in 1989 in "Loving the Alien", a second-season episode of '' War of the Worlds'', as both Jo, a young resistance fighter who is captured and duplicated by the enemy aliens, and her
doppelgänger A doppelgänger ( ), sometimes spelled doppelgaenger or doppelganger, is a ghostly double of a living person, especially one that haunts its own fleshly counterpart. In fiction and mythology, a doppelgänger is often portrayed as a ghostly or p ...
. Kirshner made her film debut in 1993 at the age of 18 in
Denys Arcand Georges-Henri Denys Arcand (; born June 25, 1941) is a Canadian filmmaker. During his four decades career, he became one of the most internationally-recognized director from Quebec, earning widespread acclaim and numerous accolades for his "inten ...
's '' Love and Human Remains''. She convinced her father to sign a "nudity waiver" to play a
dominatrix A dominatrix ( ; or dominatrices ), or domme, is a woman who takes the dominant role in BDSM activities. The BDSM practice is called female dominance, or femdom. A dominatrix can be of any sexual orientation, but this does not necessarily l ...
. The following year, she starred as a conflicted
exotic dancer A stripper or exotic dancer is a person whose occupation involves performing striptease in a public adult entertainment venue such as a strip club. At times, a stripper may be hired to perform at private events. Modern forms of stripping m ...
in
Atom Egoyan Atom Egoyan (; ; born July 19, 1960) is an Armenian Canadians, Armenian-Canadian filmmaker. One of the most preeminent directors of the Toronto New Wave, he emerged during the 1980s and made his career breakthrough with ''Exotica (film), Exotica ...
's ''
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 ...
''. In 1996, she appeared in '' The Crow: City of Angels''. She also played Kitty Scherbatsky in the 1997 version of ''Anna Karenina''. Kirshner also appeared in the first three episodes of '' 24'' as the
assassin Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...
Mandy in 2001. She would later reprise the role for the second season's finale and in the latter half of the show's fourth season. Also in 2001, Kirshner played Catherine Wyler, "The Cruelest Girl in School", in '' Not Another Teen Movie''. The character is primarily a spoof of Kathryn Merteuil (played by Sarah Michelle Gellar) in '' Cruel Intentions'', and was partially based on Mackenzie Siler (played by Anna Paquin) from '' She's All That''. In Marilyn Manson's music video for " Tainted Love", which was featured on the movie's soundtrack, she made a
cameo appearance A cameo appearance, also called a cameo role and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief guest appearance of a well-known person or character in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking on ...
as her character Catherine Wyler. In 2004, Kirshner was cast as writer Jenny Schecter, a main character in the drama series ''
The L Word ''The L Word'' is a television drama series that aired on Showtime in the United States from 2004 to 2009. The series follows the lives of a group of lesbian and bisexual women who live in West Hollywood, California. The premise originated wit ...
.'' She remained with the show through 2009, for all six seasons. In 2006, she starred in
Brian De Palma Brian Russell De Palma (; born September 11, 1940) is an Americans, American film director and screenwriter. With a career spanning over 50 years, he is best known for work in the suspense, Crime film, crime, and psychological thriller genres. ...
's '' The Black Dahlia'' in which she plays the young aspiring actress Elizabeth Short, whose mutilation and murder in 1947 remains unsolved. While the film itself was critically panned, many reviews singled out her performance for acclaim. Stephanie Zacharek of Salon.com, in a largely negative review, notes that the eponymous character was "played wonderfully by Mia Kirshner..." Mick LaSalle wrote that Kirshner "makes a real impression of the Dahlia as a sad, lonely dreamer, a pathetic figure." J. R. Jones described her performance as "haunting" and that the film's fictional screen tests "deliver the emotional darkness so lacking in the rest of the movie." In 2010, Kirshner co-starred in the film '' 30 Days of Night: Dark Days'' which began filming in the fall of 2009. In 2010, she was cast as Isobel Flemming, a guest role on ''
The Vampire Diaries ''The Vampire Diaries'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural teen drama television series developed by Kevin Williamson (screenwriter), Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec, based on the The Vampire Diaries (novel series), book series ...
''. In 2011, she voiced the title character in '' Bear 71'', a
National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; ) is a Canadian public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary films, animation, web documentaries, and altern ...
web documentary that premiered 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 ...
. On April 20, 2012, it was announced that Kirshner would join the new Syfy series '' Defiance''. On October 9, 2013, it was mentioned on the Showcase blog that Kirshner would be one of several guest stars in season four of the television series '' Lost Girl''. From 2017 to 2019, she played the recurring role of Amanda Grayson, mother of
Spock Spock is a fictional Character (arts), character in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise. He first appeared in the Star Trek: The Original Series, original ''Star Trek'' series serving aboard the starship USS Enterprise (NCC-1701), USS ''Enterpri ...
and stepmother of series protagonist Michael Burnham on '' Star Trek: Discovery'' (a role originated by Jane Wyatt on the original ''Star Trek''). She later reprised the role in an episode of '' Star Trek: Strange New Worlds''. On September 5, 2019, ''
Entertainment Tonight ''Entertainment Tonight'' (or simply ''ET'') is an American Broadcast syndication, first-run syndicated news broadcasting news magazine, newsmagazine program that is distributed by CBS Media Ventures throughout the United States and owned by Par ...
'' news outlet
ET Online ''Entertainment Tonight'' (or simply ''ET'') is an American first-run syndicated news broadcasting newsmagazine program that is distributed by CBS Media Ventures throughout the United States and owned by Paramount Streaming. Having premiered on ...
reported that Kirshner would play a character in Lifetime's film ''The College Admissions Scandal'' with co-star
Penelope Ann Miller Penelope Ann Miller (born Penelope Andrea Miller; January 13, 1964), sometimes credited as Penelope Miller, is an American actress. She began her career on Broadway in the original run of '' Biloxi Blues'' (1985–1986), later appearing in the ...
in roles inspired by real-life actresses
Lori Loughlin Lori Anne Loughlin (; born July 28, 1964) is an American actress. From 1988 to 1995, she played List of Full House and Fuller House characters#Rebecca Donaldson Katsopolis, Rebecca Donaldson Katsopolis on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC ...
's and
Felicity Huffman Felicity Kendall Huffman (born December 9, 1962) is an American actress. She is known for her role as Lynette Scavo in the ABC comedy-drama ''Desperate Housewives'' and her role as Sabrina "Bree" Osbourne, a transgender woman, in the film ''Trans ...
's involvement in a massive college admissions bribery scam. Describing her role, Kirshner was quoted saying "This story is about privilege and corruption and it's about people who don't follow the rules because they think they're above rules... My character ased on Loughlin but named "Bethany" in the filmis so corrupt, greedy, narcissistic, self-centered, and the dialogue is hilarious, so I'm glad that they're able to capture humor about this as well." In September 2020, it was announced that Kirshner would co-star with Ben Savage in a
Hallmark Channel Hallmark Channel is an American cable television network owned by Hallmark Media, a subsidiary of Hallmark Cards. The channel broadcasts family-oriented general entertainment programming, including television series and made-for-TV movies. ...
holiday film entitled ''Love, Lights, Hanukkah!'', which premiered on December 12, 2020. Kirshner plays a restaurant owner named Christina, who learns of her Jewish ancestry through a DNA test.


Philanthropy

In October 2008, after seven years in production, Kirshner published the book ''I Live Here'', which she co-produced with ex-
Adbusters The Adbusters Media Foundation is a Canadian-based not-for-profit, pro-environment organization founded in 1989 by Kalle Lasn and Bill Schmalz in Vancouver, British Columbia. Adbusters describes itself as "a global network of artists, activis ...
staffers Paul Shoebridge and Michael Simons, as well as writer James MacKinnon. In the book, four different groups of women and children refugees from places such as
Chechnya Chechnya, officially the Chechen Republic, is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia. It is situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, between the Caspian Sea and Black Sea. The republic forms a part of the North Caucasian Federa ...
, Juárez,
Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...
and
Malawi Malawi, officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast, and Mozambique to the east, south, and southwest. Malawi spans over and ...
tell their life stories. The book features original material from well-known comic and graphic artists including
Joe Sacco Joe Sacco (; born October 2, 1960) is a Maltese-American cartoonist and journalist. He is credited as the first artist to practice rigorous, investigative journalism using the comics form, also referred to as comics journalism. His groundbrea ...
and Phoebe Gloeckner. It was published in the U.S. by
Random House Random House is an imprint and publishing group of Penguin Random House. Founded in 1927 by businessmen Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer as an imprint of Modern Library, it quickly overtook Modern Library as the parent imprint. Over the foll ...
/Pantheon. It was supported logistically by
Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...
, which will receive proceeds from the book. After the release of the book, the Center for International Studies at
MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...
invited Kirshner to run a 4-week course on ''I Live Here'' in January 2009.


In popular culture

Kirshner was ranked #43 on the ''
Maxim Maxim or Maksim may refer to: Entertainment *Maxim (magazine), ''Maxim'' (magazine), an international men's magazine ** Maxim (Australia), ''Maxim'' (Australia), the Australian edition ** Maxim (India), ''Maxim'' (India), the Indian edition *Maxim ...
'' Hot 100 Women of 2002. She and Beverly Polcyn were nominated for Best Kiss at the 2002 MTV Movie Awards for ''Not Another Teen Movie''. In 2011, it was announced that Kirshner would be the face of Monica Rich Kosann's jewelry collection.


Personal life

Between 2014 and 2015, Kirshner was in a relationship with actor and playwright
Sam Shepard Samuel Shepard Rogers III (November 5, 1943 – July 27, 2017) was an American playwright, actor, director, screenwriter, and author whose career spanned half a century. He wrote 58 plays as well as several books of short stories, essays, ...
."Sam Shepard with girlfriend Mia Kirshner out and about, New York"
''rexfeatures.com'', 30 March 2015


Filmography


Film


Television


Video games

* '' 24: The Game'' (2006), as Mandy


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kirshner, Mia 1975 births 20th-century Canadian actresses 21st-century Canadian actresses 21st-century Canadian women writers Activists from Toronto Actresses from Toronto Canadian child actresses Canadian film actresses Canadian people of Bulgarian-Jewish descent Canadian people of Polish-Jewish descent Canadian people of Israeli descent Canadian Ashkenazi Jews Canadian Sephardi Jews Canadian television actresses Canadian voice actresses Jewish Canadian activists Jewish Canadian actresses Jewish Canadian writers Jewish women writers Living people McGill University alumni Writers from Toronto