Sheila McCarthy (born January 1, 1956) is a Canadian actress and singer. She has worked in film, television, and on stage. McCarthy is one of Canada's most honoured actors, having won two
Genie Awards
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 sculpt ...
(film), two
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 ...
(television), an
ACTRA Award
The ACTRA Awards are Canadian accolades presented since 1972 to celebrate excellence in cinema, television and radio industries.Dora Awards (theatre), along with multiple nominations.
Early life
McCarthy was born in Toronto, Ontario on January 1, 1956. She attended Thornlea Secondary School in Thornhill in her youth. Her first appearance on stage was at Toronto's Elgin Theatre in '' Peter Pan'' when she was age six. She later attended the University of Victoria and spent a year studying with Uta Hagen at her HB Studio in New York City, and also workshopped with the Second City troupe in Toronto.
Career
After several years of television work under her belt, McCarthy secured a role in the made-for-television movie ''A Nest of Singing Birds'' (1987), receiving early recognition for her talent with a Gemini Award nomination for Best Performance by a Lead Actress in a Dramatic Program. That year, she made her first notable impression on the Canadian movie scene as Polly, the quirky, "organizationally impaired girl" in Patricia Rozema's ''
I've Heard the Mermaids Singing
Ive or IVE may refer to:
Music
* Ive (group), a South Korean girl group
* I've Sound (aka "I've"), a Japanese musical group
People
* Ive (given name), a Croatian and Slovenian given name
* Bert Ive (1875–1939), British-born Australian cinemato ...
''. For this role, McCarthy won the Genie Award for Best Actress. The film became wildly popular in Canada, earning many international and domestic awards and critical acclaim.
McCarthy has since become one of Canada's more honoured actors, having won two
Genie Awards
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 sculpt ...
(film), two
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 ...
(television), and two Dora Awards (theatre) along with multiple nominations.
She played Sarah Hamoudi in the Canadian television series '' Little Mosque on the Prairie'' (2007–2012), a role for which she was nominated for a Gemini award. One of her more recognized big-screen roles is Samantha, the news reporter in the movie '' Die Hard 2'' with Bruce Willis. Her most recent roles are Connie Hendrix, mother of the clone Alison in series ''
Orphan Black
''Orphan Black'' is a Canadian science-fiction thriller television series created by screenwriter Graeme Manson and director John Fawcett and starring Tatiana Maslany. The series focuses on Sarah Manning, one of several genetically identica ...
'' and Agnes Rofa in the series ''
The Umbrella Academy
''The Umbrella Academy'' is an Absurdist fiction, absurdist Superhero fiction, superhero comic book series created by writer Gerard Way and artist Gabriel Bá. It follows a dysfunctional family of adopted superhero siblings with bizarre powers a ...
''.
She is also an accomplished voice-over actress, having performed characters voices in ''
Free Willy
''Free Willy'' is a 1993 American Adventure film, adventure Drama (film and television), drama film, directed by Simon Wincer, produced by Lauren Shuler Donner and Jennie Lew Tugend, written by Keith A. Walker and Corey Blechman from a story by ...
McCarthy was married to actor Peter Donaldson from 1986 until his death in 2011. They have two daughters: Drew and Mackenzie Donaldson, who is also in show business (producer of '' Whatever, Linda'' and ''
Orphan Black
''Orphan Black'' is a Canadian science-fiction thriller television series created by screenwriter Graeme Manson and director John Fawcett and starring Tatiana Maslany. The series focuses on Sarah Manning, one of several genetically identica ...
'').
McCarthy is a spokesperson for The Quilt Project, a support group for families affected by breast cancer, and Canadian Feed the Children.
Filmography
Television
Discography
* 2006: "All Good Now" – from the movie '' Cow Belles''
Awards and nominations
:''This section needs to be expanded to include further awards and nominations.''