Martha Burns
| Martha Burns | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1958 (age 53–54) Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1983 - Present |
| Spouse | Paul Gross (1988 - present) 2 children |
Martha Burns is an award-winning Canadian actress known for her stage work and youth outreach in Ontario and her leading role as Ellen Fanshaw in the TV dramedy series Slings and Arrows.
Burns was born 1958[1] in Winnipeg, Manitoba. She was nominated three times for a Gemini Award for her performance as Shakespearean diva Ellen Fanshaw in Slings and Arrows, and won twice: in 2006 and 2007. She has also won the Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role twice, for Long Day's Journey into Night in 1996 and for Love & Savagery in 2010.[2]
Burns is a founding member and a former associate director of Toronto's Soulpepper Theatre Company, a company that includes a number of theatre veterans from the Stratford Shakespeare Festival. She has also performed leading roles at Stratford, the Shaw Festival, the National Arts Centre and the Tarragon Theatre, to name just a few. She was nominated five times for a Dora Mavor Moore Award and won twice: in 1986 for The Miracle Worker and in 1984 for Trafford Tanzi.
As associate artistic director at Soulpepper, Burns headed up its extensive youth outreach program. Earlier in her career, she founded the Toronto Arts for Youth Association and was a co-founder of another youth theatre project in Toronto, Masterclass Theatre. She has also worked as an instructor for the theatre programs at George Brown College and Ryerson University. In 2005 she was honoured for her career in the theatre with the Barbara Hamilton Award.[3]
Burns lives in Toronto with her husband, director and actor Paul Gross, and their two children, Hannah and Jack.
Her recent show is called The Foundation which airs on Showcase in Canada. Her character is named Selena Selkirk. She will also appear in the Canadian television sitcom Michael, Tuesdays and Thursdays, scheduled to debut on CBC Television in fall 2011.[4]
[edit] Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Passage of the Heart | Kate Ward | |
| 1994 | Paint Cans | Melda | |
| 1995 | Never Talk to Strangers | Maura | |
| 1996 | Long Day's Journey into Night | Cathleen | |
| 1999 | The Life Before This | Gwen Maclean | |
| 2000 | Hindsight | Trina | Short film |
| 2004 | Siblings | Miss Bradford | |
| 2004 | The Porcelain Pussy | Short film | |
| 2006 | Screening | Helen Thompson | Short film |
| 2007 | Silk | Mme. Joncour | |
| 2008 | Rewind | Heather Beckett | Short film |
| 2008 | Blindness | Woman with Insomnia | |
| 2009 | You Might as Well Live | Dr. Elizabeth | |
| 2009 | Love & Savagery | Mother Superior | |
| 2009 | A Wake | Sabina | |
| 2010 | The Reception | Debra | Short film |
| 2011 | French Immersion | Cathy | |
| 2012 | The Samaritan | Gretchen | Post-production |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Backstretch | Kelly | TV series |
| 1987 | Street Legal | Margaret | Episode: "Take My Jokes, Please" |
| 1989 | The Private Capital | TV movie | |
| 1990 | The Last Best Year | Sally | TV movie |
| 1991 | E.N.G. | Joanna Miles | Episode: "Tyger, Tyger" |
| 1991 | The Hidden Room | Jane's Mother | Episode: "A Friend in Need" |
| 1996 | Side Effects | Andrea Burrows | Episode: "Sex, Death and Rock 'N Roll" |
| 1996 | Traders | Rita Hutchison | Episode: "Two Steps Forward" |
| 1996 | The Boys Next Door | TV movie | |
| 1996 | Great Performances | Cathleen | Episode: "Long Day's Journey Into Night" |
| 1997 | Marie Curie: More Than Meets the Eye | Lisette Boudreau | TV movie |
| 1997 | Due South | Nadia | Episode: "Spy vs. Spy" |
| 1998 | Witness to Yesterday | Amelia Earhart | Episode: "Amelia Earhart" |
| 1998 | Thanks of a Grateful Nation | Dr. Rosemary Dove | TV movie |
| 1998 | Traces of Insanity | TV movie | |
| 1999 | Justice | TV movie | |
| 1999 | Storm of the Century | Counselor | TV miniseries |
| 1999 | Due South | Caroline Fraser | Episode: "Call of the Wild: Part 2" |
| 1999 | Emily of New Moon | Eve Kinch | Episode: "Under the Wishing Moon: Part 1" Episode: "Bridge of Dreams: Part 2" |
| 1999 | Murder Most Likely | Alice Malinson | TV movie |
| 2000 | Harry's Case | TV movie | |
| 2003 | Profoundly Normal | Dr. Maswell | TV movie |
| 2003-2006 | Slings and Arrows | Ellen Fanshaw | 18 episodes |
| 2004 | The Skulls III | Swim Coach | Video |
| 2004 | What Katy Did | Aunt Izzie | TV movie |
| 2006 | I Am an Apartment Building | Mother | TV short |
| 2008 | The Trojan Horse | Mary Miller | Episode: "Part One" |
| 2009 | Murdoch Mysteries | Mrs. Burgess | Episode: "Convalescence" |
| 2009 | The Foundation | Selena Selkirk | 3 episodes |
| 2010 | Hot Water | Woman | Video short |
| 2011 | Republic of Doyle | Joyce | Episode: "Something Old, Something New" |
| 2011 | Michael: Tuesdays & Thursdays | Jasmina Hart | Episode: "Small Talk" |
[edit] References
- ^ "Martha Burns returns to her roots".Toronto Star, March 26, 2010.
- ^ "Polytechnique sweeps Genie Awards". Toronto Star, April 12, 2010.
- ^ http://tapa.ca/doras/barbara_hamilton_award
- ^ "Camelot & cover songs: Inside CBC’s new fall lineup". National Post, June 8, 2011.
[edit] External links
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