- Martha Burns
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Martha Burns Born 1958 (age 52–53)
Winnipeg, Manitoba, CanadaOccupation Actress Years active 1983 - Present Spouse Paul Gross (1988 - present)
2 childrenMartha 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 honored 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]
Filmography
Film Year Title Role Notes 1992 Passage of the Heart Kate Ward 1994 Paint Cans Melda 1995 Never Talk to Strangers Maura 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 Television 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" 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.
External links
Categories:- Living people
- Canadian film actors
- Canadian stage actors
- Canadian television actors
- Dora Mavor Moore Award winners
- Genie Award winners for Best Supporting Actress
- People from Winnipeg
- 1958 births
- Canadian actor stubs
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