Alberta Watson

Infobox actor




name = Alberta Watson
birthdate = Birth date and age|1956|3|6|mf=y
location = Toronto, Ontario

Faith Susan Alberta Watson [http://www.albertawatson.net/press/torstar080594.html Toronto Star, "Alberta's Feeling At Home On Deranged" by Rita Zekas, August 5, 1994.] ] (born March 6, 1955 [ [http://www.filmreference.com/film/38/Alberta-Watson.html Alberta Watson Biography (1955-)] ] or 1956) [ [http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800035151/bio Yahoo! Movies, Alberta Watson] ] [http://www.albertawatson.net/press/elmstreet.html Elm Street Magazine, "In Praise of Alberta Watson" By Neil Morton, May 1998.] ] is a Canadian movie and television series actress known professionally as Alberta Watson.

Biography

Early life

Alberta Watson was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She grew up in Toronto with her mother Grace, a factory worker, and her half-brother. She never met her father, Albert, who abandoned the family when she was a baby. She also has three other half-siblings, who lived with her grandparents.

She began performing with a local Toronto theater group, FOG, of the Bathurst Street United Church at age 15.imdb name|id=0914491|name=Alberta Watson] She took a workshop for the "Hair" musical. [http://www.albertawatson.net/press/torstar080780.html Toronto Star, "Young Actress Is Behind Bars -- For A Movie" By Bruce Blackadar, August 7, 1980.] ] While doing this workshop she did Hamlet, which was directed by René Bonnière [ [http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0095080/ René Bonnière ] ] who later directed her in La Femme Nikita. [http://www.albertawatson.net/press/torstar071899.html Toronto Star, "Nikita's Iciest Femme Fatale" by Jim Bawden, July 18, 1999.] ]

Watson quit high school, East York Collegiate, when she was 15. [http://www.albertawatson.net/press/torstar021900.html Toronto Star, "Three Hours On A Plane Is All She Can Stand: Great Escapes - Alberta Watson", Interview with Fulton King, February 19, 2000.] ] She studied acting at Ryerson Polytech. [http://www.albertawatson.net/press/tvtimes012277.html Montreal TV Times, "A Topless Bass Player?" by Wessely Hicks, January 22-28, 1977.] ] When she was 16, FOG disbanded and she moved in with her 27-year old boyfriend to a farm where they lived with friends and other people from FOG. She broke up with her boyfriend and moved back to Toronto at age 17 to pursue acting. Her mother, Grace, died when she was 19 of Hodgkin's disease.

Acting career

Watson got her first role at age 19 in first role was in a CBC movie called "Honor Thy Father". [http://www.albertawatson.net/press/torsun122995.html Toronto Sun, "Happy In Her Work" By Liz Braun, December 29, 1995.] ] Early in her career she portrayed the role of Mitzi in George Kaczender's [ [http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0434211/ George Kaczender ] ] "In Praise of Older Women" (1978), for which she received a Genie nomination. A year later she received the Best Actress award at the Yorkton Film Festival for "Exposure". She then moved Los Angeles, California and later to New York.

Watson lived in New Jersey for eight years [http://www.albertawatson.net/press/sfex082394.html San Francisco Examiner, "She Wasn't Afraid of 'Spanking' " By Barbara Shulgasser, August 23, 1994.] ] with her then husband until her divorce. She then returned to Toronto and focused on finding interesting roles in independent films. She worked with director Colleen Murphy on the film "Shoemaker" (1996), for which she received a second Genie nomination for Best Actress.

Perhaps among her well-known film roles are the bed-ridden mother Susan Aibelli in the 1994 American independent film "Spanking the Monkey", Lauren Murphy (the mother of Jonny Lee Miller's character Dade, aka "Crash Override"/"Zero Cool") in the 1995 cult film "Hackers", and Risa in the 1997 Academy Award nominated Canadian film "The Sweet Hereafter", directed by Atom Egoyan.

In "Spanking the Monkey", her favorite character, [http://www.albertawatson.net/press/tvgchat010799.html TVGuide/Yahoo Chat January 7, 1999.] ] Watson plays a mother who has an incestuous relationship with her son. The role was turned down by several actresses such as Susan Sarandon, Jessica Lange and others. Watson has said that:

Watson played the major role of Madeline in the TV series "La Femme Nikita" for four seasons from 1997-2001 (with guest appearances in the short fifth season). During the show's second season (in 1998), Watson was diagnosed with lymphoma, for which she had to undergo chemotherapy treatment which caused her to lose her hair. [http://www.littlereview.com/getcritical/interviews/watson.htm TheLittleReview.com, "Alberta Watson: The Toughest Woman on Television" by Michelle Erica Green.] ] Producers at "Nikita" worked around her treatment and limited her appearances. Watson wore wigs in the show when she lost her hair. But, when her hair started to grow, she sported the short haircut in her role as Madeline in the show's third season.

Alberta Watson's first name inspired the character Alberta Green in the first season of "24". In 2005, Watson joined the cast of "24", playing CTU Director Erin Driscoll for twelve episodes of the show's fourth season. She is rumored to appear again in 2009 for the show's 7th season playing the same character.

Personal life

Alberta Watson has been married once. She lived with her husband in New Jersey for about eight years. After her divorce, she moved to Canada. She has been in a relationship with a man named Ken, 10 years her junior, since about December 1995, who she met at an agency Christmas party. [http://www.albertawatson.net/press/detour.html Detour Magazine, Elementary, Watson, May 1996.] ] She was diagnosed with cancer but is now in remission. She lives in Toronto, Canada.

Filmography

*"24" (2005) ... as Erin Driscoll
*"The Prince and Me" (2004) ... as Amy Morgan
*"Puppets Who Kill" ("Bill Sue's") (2004) ... as Judge
*"The Newsroom" (2004) ... as Susan
*"1-800-Missing" (2003) (pilot) ... Mrs. Mastriani
*"Irish Eyes" (2002) ... as Anne Phelan
*"Tart" (2001) ... as Lily Storm
*"Hedwig and the Angry Inch" (2001) ... as Hansel's Mom/Hedwig Schmitt
*"La Femme Nikita" (1997-2001) ... as Madeline
*"Deeply" (2000) ... as Fiona McKay
*"The Sweet Hereafter" (1997) ... as Risa
*"Giant Mine" (1996) ... as Peggy Witte
*"Sweet Angel Mine" (1996) ... as Megan
*"Gotti" (1996) ... as Victoria Gotti
*"Hackers" (1995) ... as Lauren Murphy
*"The Outer Limits" (1995) ... as Lynda Tillman
*"Spanking the Monkey" (1994) ... as Susan Aibelli
*"Law & Order" ("His Hour Upon the Stage") (1991) ... as Hanley, ("Skin Deep") (1992) ... as Angela Brandt
*"Street Legal" ("Tango Bellarosa") (1987) ... as Mercedes Puentes, ("Partners and Other Strangers") (1989) ... as Maria Lopez
*"Red Earth, White Earth" (1987)
*"The Equalizer" ("The Distant Fire") (1985) ... as Carla Holden
*"The Hitchhiker" ("Remembering Melody") (1984) ... as Jill Friedlander
*"Hill Street Blues" ("Fuched Again") (1984) ... as Prostitute
*"The Keep" (1983) ... as Eva Cuza
*"King of Kensington" ("War and Peace") (1980) ... as Mitzi

Bibliography

*Heyn, Christopher. "A Conversation with Alberta Watson." "Inside Section One: Creating and Producing TV's La Femme Nikita". Introduction by Peta Wilson. Los Angeles: [http://www.povpress.com Persistence of Vision Press] , 2006. 88-93. ISBN 0-9787625-0-9. In-depth conversation with Alberta Watson about her role as Madeline on "La Femme Nikita", as well as her more recent acting experiences.

References

External links

*imdb name|id=0914491|name=Alberta Watson
* [http://www.cynbythesea.com/Press/interviews/alberta.html An Alberta Watson interview]
* [http://www.albertawatson.net/ Alberta's fan site]