Sabrina Jalees (born April 19, 1985) is a Canadian comedian, actress, and writer. She has written for various series, and starred as a main cast member alongside

Patricia Heaton Patricia Helen Heaton (born March 4, 1958) is an American actress. She began her career appearing in a recurring role in the American Broadcasting Company, ABC drama series ''Thirtysomething'' (1989–1991) and later appearing in the comedy film ...

in the 2019 TV comedy series ''

Carol's Second Act ''Carol's Second Act'' is an American medical television sitcom created by Emily Halpern and Sarah Haskins, which aired from September 26, 2019, to March 12, 2020 on CBS. It stars Patricia Heaton along with Ito Aghayere, Lucas Neff, Jean-Luc ...

.''

Early life and education

The daughter of a

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

mother and a

Pakistani Pakistanis (, ) are the citizens and nationals of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Pakistan is the fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the second-largest Muslim population as of 2023. As much as ...

father, she graduated from

Earl Haig Secondary School Earl Haig Secondary School, formerly Earl Haig Collegiate Institute, is a public high school with 2,048 students in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In addition to being a public secondary school, the school is also host to the Claude Watson Arts Progr ...

, and later from the Radio and Television Arts program at

Toronto Metropolitan University Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU, or Toronto Met), formerly Ryerson University, is a Public university, public research university located in Toronto, Canada. The university's core campus is situated within the Garden District, Toronto, Gar ...

in June 2007.

Career

Jalees wrote a weekly column in the ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...

'''s ID section. She has made many Canadian media appearances, including as a commentator on

MuchMusic Much is a Canadian English language discretionary specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. through its Bell Media subsidiary that airs programming aimed at teenagers and young adults. It is headquartered at 299 Queen Street West in what was o ...

's ''

Video on Trial ''Video on Trial'' is a Canadian comedy television program that airs on Canadian television network MuchMusic. The show consists of a panel of musicians, comedians, and entertainment columnists critiquing five different music videos in a courtroo ...

'', '' Stars On Trial'' and '' LOL!'', as well as a role in the drama series '' Flashpoint'', and

Jian Ghomeshi Jian Ghomeshi (born June 9, 1967) is a Canadian broadcaster, writer, musician, producer and former CBC personality. From 1990 to 2000, he was a vocalist and drummer in the Thornhill-based folk-pop band Moxy Früvous. In the 2000s, he became ...

's Monday correspondent on

CBC Radio One CBC Radio One is the English-language news and information radio network of the publicly owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial-free and offers local and national programming. It is available on AM and FM to 98 percent o ...

's '' Sounds Like Canada in the Summer''. She also previously filed a regular segment on '' Go''. She is a former host (until 2010) of '' Laugh Out Loud'' on

and a

reality TV Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 199 ...

show for children, '' In Real Life'', airing on YTV. She made a cameo in the video for the song ''Break This'' by Hunter Valentine. She narrates the

CBBC CBBC is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 6 to 12. Its sister c ...

series ''

Rank the Prank Rank the Prank is a hidden camera game show show began on CBBC starting on 3 September 2016. In Canada it began on BBC Kids on 30 January 2017. A first look was released on 18 July 2016. It also premiered on Nickelodeon in the United States ...

''. She was a writer for ''

Canada's Got Talent ''Canada's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated as ''CGT'') is a Canadian talent show competition, which debuted on the Citytv network on March 4, 2012. It is part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise. As with other series in the franchise, th ...

'' and '' Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock''. In 2020, she appeared in an episode of ''

Canada's Drag Race ''Canada's Drag Race'' is a Canadian reality competition television series based on the American series ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' and is the Canadian edition of the ''Drag Race'' franchise, produced by Blue Ant Studios. In a similar format to t ...

'', as co-judge of a mini-challenge in the episode "The Snow Ball". In 2021, she was announced as one of the judges in the first season of '' Roast Battle Canada''. In 2023 she debuted as host of '' Farming for Love''.

Personal life

Jalees came out as a

lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...

and was shunned by her extended Muslim family, an experience she relates in her 2013 Canadian comedy tour, "Brownlisted." Her wife, Shauna McCann, is a fashion designer. They have a son named Wolfie.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jalees, Sabrina 1985 births Living people Actresses from Toronto Canadian columnists Canadian actresses of Pakistani descent Canadian people of Swiss descent Canadian sketch comedians Canadian stand-up comedians Canadian women comedians Canadian television actresses Toronto Metropolitan University alumni CBC Radio hosts Comedians from Toronto Canadian lesbian actresses Canadian LGBTQ broadcasters Lesbian comedians Canadian women radio hosts Canadian women columnists 21st-century Canadian comedians Canadian LGBTQ comedians 21st-century Canadian LGBTQ people Canadian television hosts Earl Haig Secondary School alumni