# Karyn Dwyer

Karyn Elizabeth Dwyer (22 March 1975 – 25 September 2018) was a Canadian actress, whose best known role was as Maggie in the 1999 film Better Than Chocolate.

## Early life

Dwyer was the oldest of five children, three sons and two daughters, born into an Irish Catholic family in Corner Brook, Newfoundland, Canada, on 22 March 1975, Her father died at the age of 38. Her brother died at the age of 24. All her brothers were named after the Boston Bruins: Brad (Park), Barry (Beck) and Paul (Hurley).
Dwyer studied acting with the Youth Theatre. She made her stage debut at the Arts and Culture Center at the age of 10, playing the title role in Theatre Newfoundland and Labrador's production of Alice in Wonderland and went on to become an accomplished child stage actress performing in various theatres throughout Newfoundland and Labrador. She also performed in her school productions, won awards for acting, public speaking, singing and instrumental performance and wrote for the school newspaper. She moved to Toronto, Ontario, to attend the George Brown Theatre School. Dwyer attended theatre school for one year and then began studying with David Rotenberg's on-camera acting class also in Toronto and later John Riven's Meisner.

## Career

After moving to Toronto, Dwyer landed her first film role acting opposite David Cronenberg in the independent Canadian film Boozecan. She wrote and starred in her one-woman show Bad Girls at the Rivoli in Toronto. In 1994 she played Phoebe in As You Like It opposite Seana McKenna and Albert Schultz in the Du Maurier World Stage Theatre Festival.
In 1999 Dwyer starred as the 19-year-old Maggie in the lesbian-themed film Better Than Chocolate, winning the role over hundreds of others who auditioned in a cross Canada search. The film won numerous audience choice awards at film festivals all around the world, was ranked 31st on The Hollywood Reporter's Top 200 independent films list of 1999. It had one of Canada's highest international box office grosses and earned Dwyer a loyal cult following. Better Than Chocolate opened to rave reviews at both the Berlin Film Festival and the Vancouver International Film Festival. It was hailed by "Variety" as a terrifically entertaining romantic comedy. "The Hollywood Reporter" called Dwyer the film's heart and soul. Better Than Chocolate ranked 31 on "The Hollywood Reporter"'s list of best independent films. The "Chicago Tribune" review declared that the highlight of the movie is unquestionably Dwyer's performance as Maggie.
Also that year, Dwyer played Summer Falls in the bigger budget studio film Superstar, with Molly Shannon and Will Ferrell and produced by Lorne Michaels. Dwyer returned to the stage playing the title role in Native Earth's Romeo and Juliet, performance artist Sooze in Eric Bogosian's Suburbia and originated the role of Carrie, a junkie prostitute in the experimental play Exercises in Depravity, which featured R. H. Thomson.
She also starred in award-winning short films adapted from plays: Pony, adapted from White Biting Dog by playwright Judith Thompson; Dying Like Ophelia, adapted from Lion in the Streets also by playwright Judith Thompson; Polished, adapted from Polished by playwright James Harkness. In 2005, Dwyer reunited with her Better Than Chocolate director Anne Wheeler, guest starring in the awarding winning Canadian series This Is Wonderland. True to her roots, Dwyer returned to Newfoundland and Labrador, where she studied filmmaking at NIFCO, guest starred on Republic of Doyle, and shared her talent at For the Love of Learning, Inc, a not-for-profit empowerment and creativity-based learning program, teaching theatre to Newfoundland and Labrador's youth to use their creativity to overcome social and / or economic obstacles. In 2006, Dwyer was voted one of the Top Ten Hottest Actresses and profiled as The Hottest Canadian on "The Hottest Canadian". She was also named a Newfoundland Entertainment Icon by "The Newfoundland Herald".

## Death

Dwyer died on 25 September 2018 at the age of 43 from suicide.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1994 | Boozecan | Rosy | |
| 1994 | The Paperboy | Brenda | |
| 1996 | Lethal Tender | Sparky | |
| 1998 | Tian shang ren jian | Jenny | |
| 1999 | Better Than Chocolate | Maggie | |
| 1999 | Superstar | Summer Falls | |
| 2000 | The List | Kathy Miller | |
| 2001 | An Intrigue of Manners | Lady Emelia | |
| 2001 | Dead by Monday | Christine | |
| 2002 | Polished | Jo | Short |
| 2002 | Dying Like Ophelia | Joanne 'Ophelia' | Short |
| 2004 | The Right Way | Amy | |
| 2007 | Last Call Before Sunset | Morgan | Video |
| 2012 | Monster Mountain | Carrie | Video |
| 2013 | The Art of the Steal | Ginger | |
| 2014 | A Trip to the Island | Woman | |
| 2015 | Burning, Burning | The Woman | |
| 2017 | Goodbye, Hello | Woman | Short |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1993 | J.F.K.: Reckless Youth | Sadie | TV miniseries |
| 1993 | Family Pictures | Stephanie | TV film |
| 1993 | Class of '96 | Julia | "David Is Authorized", "See You in September" |
| 1993 | The Hidden Room | Rhoda | "Transfigured Night" |
| 1994 | Kung Fu: The Legend Continues | Ginger Dawson | "May I Ride with You" |
| 1995 | A Taste of Shakespeare | Ophelia / Horatio | "Hamlet" |
| 1995 | End of Summer | Jenny Malone | TV film |
| 1995 | Due South | Mary Ann | "Heaven and Earth" |
| 1996 | Due South | Tiffany | "Some Like It Red" |
| 1996 | Road to Avonlea | Laura | "Woman of Importance" |
| 1996 | Double Jeopardy | Melanie Marks | TV film |
| 1996 | A Husband, a Wife and a Lover | Samantha | TV film |
| 1998 | Psi Factor | Karen Russell | "The Labyrinth" |
| 1998 | The Fixer | Irene | TV film |
| 1998 | Thanks of a Grateful Nation | Deeni | TV miniseries |
| 2000 | Cheaters | Angela Lam | TV film |
| 2000 | The Stalking of Laurie Show | Jennifer | TV film |
| 2000 | Sailor Moon | Besubesu (voice) | 18 episodes |
| 2002 | Bliss | Mitzi | "The Footpath of Pink Roses" |
| 2005 | This Is Wonderland | Tammy | "2.7" |
| 2010 | Republic of Doyle | Brooke | "He Sleeps with the Chips" |
| 2011 | First World Problems | Karyn | TV series |
| 2011 | Rose Bud's Guide to Seduction | Rose Bud | "When to Jump a Feller's Bones", "Orgasm: Coming or Going" |
| 2013 | Shit Mainlanders Say to Newfoundlanders | Mainlander | TV series |