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Karine Vanasse

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Karine Vanasse
Born (1983-11-24) 24 November 1983 (age 40)
Occupations
Years active1999–present
Known for
Children1
AwardsCanadian Screen Award for Best Actress

Karine Vanasse (/kərin vənæs/, French: [kaʁin vanas]; born 24 November 1983) is a French-Canadian actress, who had roles in the films Polytechnique, Séraphin: Heart of Stone (Séraphin: un homme et son péché), Switch and Set Me Free (Emporte-moi). Internationally she is best known for her roles as Colette Valois in Pan Am, Margaux LeMarchal in Revenge and Lise Delorme in Cardinal. She became the host of the Canadian reality television series, The Traitors Canada.[1]

Life and career

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Vanasse was born in Drummondville, Quebec, the daughter of Conrad Vanasse, a council worker, and Renée (née Gamache), who was her manager at the beginning of her career. At the age of nine, Vanasse expressed her desire to sing or to act and she fulfilled that wish when she appeared in the teen show Club des 100 watts after winning a "lip sync" competition. It was then, with the help of her mother, that Vanasse began to audition for, and take part in, TV commercials and to play minor and supporting roles in various French Canadian TV movies.

In 1998, the production company now known as Motion International asked Vanasse to co-host a Québec-based children's science show, Les Débrouillards. Producer Lorraine Richard and director Léa Pool spotted her there, and offered Vanasse her first big break in the role of Hanna in Set Me Free (Emporte-moi) (1999), a story of a teenager trying to find her identity in a tormented family environment. The film was presented at forty festivals, and shown in twenty countries. Her performance was highly acclaimed both nationally and internationally and earned her the 2000 Best Actress Jutra Award. [citation needed][2]

Vanasse then played Lucie (the teenage love interest of Benoit Langlais's main character, Zac) in the controversial Québec TV series Deux frères (fr) (1999). Her character became very prominent in 2000–2001, and the debate stirred by the violent realism led her to become, together with Langlais, a spokesperson for the government-funded TV program Parler, c'est grandir, a broadcast aimed at youngsters from unstable backgrounds. In 2001, she applied for the ITHAKA program and took a six-month break in Greece to devote herself to travel and academics, after which she played Donalda in Charles Binamé's epic, Séraphin: Heart of Stone (Séraphin: un homme et son péché) (2002). She was cast as an FLQ terrorist in the 2006 miniseries October 1970 on CBC's English network. Vanasse appeared in such Canadian productions as Sans Elle, Ma fille, mon ange, and the Canadian/American/British mini-series Killer Wave.

In 2009, Vanasse was a producer and a cast member of the film Polytechnique, directed by Denis Villeneuve, which portrays the 1989 École Polytechnique massacre in Montréal.[3][4] She won the Genie Award for Best Actress for her performance.[5]

In 2011, Vanasse was cast as the French stewardess, Colette Valois, in the American-produced television series Pan Am, which was later cancelled after one season.[6]

From January to April 2013, Vanasse was cast on the Quebec television series 30 Vies.[7] In July 2013, Deadline Hollywood announced that Vanasse had joined the cast of ABC's Revenge as French businesswoman Margaux LeMarchal in the third season of the popular drama.[8] During 2012 and 2013, Vanasse filmed the movies All the Wrong Reasons, Buddha's Little Finger and En solitaire.

From 2017 to 2020, Vanasse starred in the television series Cardinal, as detective Lise Delorme. It was the first time she had played a Québécoise character on English-language TV, rather than a character from France.[9] At the 7th Canadian Screen Awards she won the award for Best Lead Actress in a Drama Program or Limited Series.[10]

In 2023, Vanasse became the television host of the Canadian reality series, The Traitors Canada. On June 6, 2023, it was announced that Bell Media has commissioned both English and French versions of the show. The French adaptation is called Les Traitres and will also be hosted by Vanasse.[11]

Personal life

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She was in a relationship with Remstar CEO Maxime Rémillard from 2006 to 2014.[12]

On 21 April 2018, Vanasse announced via Instagram that she had given birth to her first child, a boy, with her now ex-boyfriend Hugues Harvey.[13]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1999 Set Me Free (Emporte-moi) Hanna
2001 Games of the Heart Alice
2002 Séraphin: Heart of Stone (Séraphin: un homme et son péché) Donalda Laloge
2004 Head in the Clouds Lisette
2006 Without Her (Sans elle) Camille
2007 My Daughter, My Angel (Ma fille, mon ange) Nathalie Dagenais
2009 Polytechnique Valérie
2010 The Child Prodigy (L'Enfant prodige) Camillette Mathieu
2010 Rhonda's Party Amy Short film
2011 Angle mort Stephanie
2011 Midnight in Paris Belle Époque Couple
2011 Switch Sophie Malaterre
2011 I'm Yours Daphne
2011 French Immersion Julie Tremblay
2013 Scarlet Narrator Short film
2013 Turning Tide Mag Embling
2013 All the Wrong Reasons Kate Ascher
2014 X-Men: Days of Future Past French Emergency Nurse
2015 Buddha's Little Finger Anna
2015 The Forbidden Room Florence Labadie
2015 Paul à Québec Nathalie Rouleau Also producer
2017 Father and Guns 2 (De père en flic 2) Alice
2017 Worst Case, We Get Married (Et au pire, on se mariera) Isabelle Saint-Pierre
2017 Trench 11 Veronique
2021 Felix and the Treasure of Morgäa (Félix et le trésor de Morgäa) Morgäa English and French versions
2022 Family Game (Arsenault et fils) Émilie
2022 Bones of Crows Sister Ruth
2023 Ru

Television

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Year

Title Role Notes
1999 2 frères Lucie Chaput TV series
2001 Mon meilleur ennemi Franny Anderson TV series
2006 Un homme mort Kim Blanchard TV series
2006 October 1970 Christine TV miniseries
2006 Marie-Antoinette Marie Antoinette TV film
2008 Fred's Head Fabienne Lajoie (voice) French version
2011 Trauma Fannie Comtois Episode: "Plaisir et douleur"
2011 Killer Wave Sophie Marleau TV miniseries
2011–2012 Pan Am Colette Valois Main role (14 episodes)
2012 Scruples Valentine O'Neill TV film
2013–2015 Revenge Margaux LeMarchal Recurring role (season 3)
Series regular (season 4)
2016–2018 Blue Moon Justine Laurier Main role
2017–2020 Cardinal Lise Delorme Main role
2019 God Friended Me Audrey Grenelle Recurring, season 2
2023 Hidden Assets Frances Swann Main role, season 2
2023 Plan B Evelyn Landry
2023 The Traitors Canada Herself Host
2024 Les Traîtres Herself Host. It is a separate series from The Traitors Canada. The main difference between The Traitors Canada and Les Traîtres is that in Les Traîtres the contestants speak French.

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Nominated work Result
1999 1999 Toronto International Film Festival Best Canadian First Feature Film - Special Jury Congratulation Set Me Free Won
2000 2nd Jutra Awards Best Actress Won
2003 5th Jutra Awards Seraphin: Heart of Stone Won
2004 24th Genie Awards Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role Nominated
2008 10th Jutra Awards Best Actress My Daughter, My Angel Nominated
2010 30th Genie Awards Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role Polytechnique Won
2018 6th Canadian Screen Awards Best Lead Actress, Drama Program or Limited Series Cardinal Nominated
2019 7th Canadian Screen Awards Won
2020 8th Canadian Screen Awards Best Lead Actress, Drama Series Won
2021 9th Canadian Screen Awards Nominated

References

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  1. ^ "Trust No One. Suspect Everyone. Casting Revealed for New CTV Original Reality Series The Traitors Canada, Beginning Oct. 2". Bell Media (Press release). 18 September 2023. Archived from the original on 21 September 2023. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  2. ^ Gilbert, Paula Ruth; Santoro, Miléna (2006). "Transforming Visions: Pedagogical Approaches to Lea Pool's Emporte-moi (Set Me Free)". Women in French Studies. 2006 (1): 139–155. doi:10.1353/wfs.2006.0040. ISSN 2166-5486. S2CID 192963865.
  3. ^ Lupick, Travis (16 March 2009). "Polytechnique an intense journey for Karine Vanasse". The Georgia Straight. Retrieved 15 August 2009.
  4. ^ Wilner, Norman (17 March 2009). "Q&A: Karine Vanasse". NOW. Retrieved 15 August 2009.
  5. ^ Howell, Peter (12 April 2010). "Polytechnique sweeps Genie Awards". Toronto Star.
  6. ^ Harnick, Chris (20 June 2012). "'Pan Am' Canceled: ABC Series Officially Grounded". HuffPost. Retrieved 25 June 2013.
  7. ^ Dumas, Hugo (22 November 2012). "Karine Vanasse atterrit dans 30 vies". La Presse (in French). Retrieved 25 June 2013.
  8. ^ "Karine Vanasse To Guest On 'Revenge'". Deadline Hollywood. 17 July 2013. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
  9. ^ Kelly, Brendan (11 January 2017). "Karine Vanasse investigates new terrain in CTV's Cardinal". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  10. ^ "Canadian Screen Awards kick off with comedy sketch and brisk, hostless format". CityNews. 31 March 2019.
  11. ^ Pinto, Jordan (6 June 2023). "Bell Media sneaks Traitors into Canada with local versions in English, French". C21Media. Archived from the original on 7 June 2023. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  12. ^ Chevalier, Manon (17 December 2010). "Rencontre avec Karine Vanasse". Elle Quebec (in French). Retrieved 25 June 2013.
  13. ^ "Karine Vanasse a donnée naissance à son enfant". HuffPost (in French). 2 April 2018.
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