# Sara Botsford

Sara Botsford (born August 4, 1951) is a Canadian television and film actress. She starred in the CTV drama series E.N.G. (1989–1994) for which received Canadian Screen Award for Best Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role.

## Career

She is probably best known for her role of Ann Hildebrand in the television series E.N.G. for which she won a Gemini Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role. Before this role, her most remembered role is the wickedly evil character of Lillith McKechnie, AKA Isabella, on the daytime drama As the World Turns from 1988 to 1990. In Dangerous Offender: The Marlene Moore Story (1996), she portrayed Marlene Moore's (Brooke Johnson) lawyer. In 2002, she portrayed Kathleen Sinclair in the TV movie Trudeau about the life of the late Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau. In 2003 she appeared in Burn: The Robert Wraight Story.
Her film roles have included appearances in Crossbar (1979), By Design, Murder by Phone, Deadly Eyes, the Hitchcockian thriller Still of the Night (all 1982), Legal Eagles (1986), Jumpin' Jack Flash (1986), and The Gunrunner (1989), opposite Kevin Costner. More recently she played a hotel owner in the American Old West in Tremors 4: The Legend Begins (2004), and Kathy Williams in the remake of The Fog (2005). She played Marilla Cuthbert in the 2016 Anne of Green Gables TV movie, opposite Martin Sheen, and its two sequels.

## Personal life

Botsford and Alan Scarfe had one child. Her son Jonathan is also an actor. Her only marriage was to James Hurdle with whom she had two sons, Gideon and Quinn. She currently lives with Christopher "CB" Brown, with whom she has a theatre company, 49th Parallel Theatre. Their mandate is to produce Canadian plays and adaptations for an American audience. They are based in Los Angeles. They also are the creators of the award-winning web series Those Damn Canadians, starring Christopher Shyer and Lynda Boyd.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1981 | By Design | Angie | Nominated — Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role |
| 1982 | Murder by Phone | Ridley Taylor | |
| 1982 | Deadly Eyes | Kelly Leonard | |
| 1982 | Still of the Night | Gail Phillips | |
| 1986 | Legal Eagles | Barbara | |
| 1986 | Jumpin' Jack Flash | Sarah Billings | |
| 1989 | The Gunrunner | Maude | |
| 2004 | Tremors 4: The Legend Begins | Christine Lord | Nominated — DVD Exclusive Award for Best Actress |
| 2004 | Eulogy | Mrs. Carmichael | |
| 2005 | Anne: Journey to Green Gables | Mrs. Barry / Frau Schuller (voice) | Video |
| 2005 | The Fog | Kathy Williams | |
| 2008 | Broken Windows | Mary | |
| 2011 | Matty Hanson and the Invisibility Ray | Dr. Angelina Haas | |
| 2015 | River | Dr. Stephanie Novella | |
| 2015 | He Said | Higard | Short |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1977 | The Fighting Men | Maggie | TV film |
| 1979 | The Great Detective | Sarah Norris | "Bloodhounds Can't Fly" |
| 1979 | Crossbar | Tricia | TV film |
| 1983 | ABC Afterschool Special | Mrs. Jacobs | "The Hand Me Down Kid" |
| 1984 | Guiding Light | Lucy Rogers | Guest role |
| 1985 | The Equalizer | Angelica | "The Lock Box" |
| 1987 | Street Legal | Eleanor Purvis | "A Matter of Honour" |
| 1988 | As the World Turns | Lilith McKechnie | "Before Mac & Nancy's Wedding" |
| 1989–1994 | E.N.G. | Ann Hildebrandt | Main role Canadian Screen Award for Best Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role (1993) Nominated — Canadian Screen Award for Best Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role (1994) |
| 1992 | Fatal Memories | Janice | TV film |
| 1994 | Madison | Dakota Graham | "Family Passions" |
| 1994 | My Breast | Eve | TV film |
| 1995 | Pointman | Rhonda | "My Momma's Back" |
| 1995 | The Wright Verdicts | Mercedes De Pedroso | "Pilot" |
| 1995 | Sliders | Mayor Anita Ross | "The Weaker Sex" |
| 1996 | Dangerous Offender: The Marlene Moore Story | Heather Allen | TV film |
| 1997 | The Arrow | Kate O'Hara | TV miniseries Nominated — Canadian Screen Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series |
| 1997 | Black Harbour | Lee Colwell | "A Rock and a Hard Place", "You Can't Get There from Here" |
| 1997 | Law & Order | Diane Posner | "Passion" |
| 1998 | Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction | Ann Ross | "The Lady in a Black Dress" |
| 1998 | The Fixer | Bonnie | TV film |
| 1999 | Total Recall 2070 | Maria Schviller | "Self-Inflicted" |
| 1999 | The Outer Limits | Dr. Gail Cowlings | "The Shroud" |
| 1999 | Our Guys: Outrage at Glen Ridge | Mrs. Ros Faber | TV film |
| 1999 | The Lot | Norma St. Claire | TV film |
| 1999 | Ricky Nelson: Original Teen Idol | Harriet Nelson | TV film |
| 1999 | The West Wing | Jenny McGarry | "Five Votes Down" |
| 2000 | Family Law | Judge Evelyn LaVoy | "Media Relations" |
| 2000 | Judging Amy | Laura Boulton | "The God Thing" |
| 2001 | The District | Lucia Burns | "Don't Fence Me In" |
| 2001 | Crossing Jordan | Lauren Ryder | "Believers" |
| 2002 | Trudeau | Kathleen Sinclair | TV film |
| 2002 | NYPD Blue | Helen Walsh | "Healthy McDowell Movement" |
| 2003 | Tom Stone | Elinor Galbraithe | "Live by the Sword" |
| 2003 | Burn: The Robert Wraight Story | Meredith Farley | TV film |
| 2005 | Without a Trace | Roberta Kanner | "Party Girl" |
| 2005 | The L Word | Allen Barnes | "Loyal", "Land Ahoy" |
| 2006 | Numb3rs | Susan Weinar | "The Running Man" |
| 2006 | Three Moons Over Milford | Martha Deekins | "Moon Giver" |
| 2007 | NCIS | Dr. Helen Berkley | "Brothers in Arms" |
| 2007 | ER | Mrs. Calder | "The Honeymoon Is Over" |
| 2008 | Those Damn Canadians | Ellen Baines Heart | "Pilot" |
| 2008 | Medium | Constance Madsen | "Lady Killer" |
| 2008–09 | Sophie | Estelle Burroughs | Main role |
| 2009 | Raising the Bar | Judge Olive Bussman | "Happy Ending", "Maybe, Baby" |
| 2010 | Cold Case | Joan Coulson | "Two Weddings" |
| 2011 | Body of Proof | Louisa Armstrong | "Point of Origin" |
| 2012 | The Mentalist | Judge Isley Markman | "At First Blush" |
| 2014 | Lizzie Borden Took an Ax | Abby Morse Borden | TV film |
| 2015 | Bosch | Audrey Blaylock | "High Low" |
| 2015 | The Lizzie Borden Chronicles | Abby Morse Borden | "Acts of Borden" |
| 2015 | Christmas Incorporated | Garrity Wharton | TV film |
| 2015 | The Curse of Clara: A Holiday Tale | Ballet Mistress | TV film |
| 2016 | L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables | Marilla Cuthbert | TV film Nominated — Canadian Screen Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series |
| 2016 | Ride | Lady Covington | Main role |
| 2016 | Incorporated | Red Zone Hacker | "Human Resources" |
| 2017 | L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables: The Good Stars | Marilla Cuthbert | TV film |
| 2017 | L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables: Fire & Dew | Marilla Cuthbert | TV film |
| 2017 | Claws | Mrs. Coombs | "Batshit" |
| 2018–present | Holly Hobbie | Helen Hobbie | |