# Sheila McCarthy

Sheila McCarthy (born January 1, 1956) is a Canadian actress and singer. She has worked in film, television, and on stage. McCarthy is one of Canada's most honoured actors, having won two Genie Awards (film), two Gemini Awards (television), an ACTRA Award, and two Dora Awards (theatre), along with multiple nominations.

## Early life

McCarthy was born in Toronto, Ontario on January 1, 1956. She attended Thornlea Secondary School in Thornhill in her youth. Her first appearance on stage was at Toronto's Elgin Theatre in Peter Pan when she was age six. She later attended the University of Victoria and spent a year studying with Uta Hagen at her HB Studio in New York City, and also workshopped with the Second City troupe in Toronto.

## Career

After several years of television work under her belt, McCarthy secured a role in the made-for-television movie A Nest of Singing Birds (1987), receiving early recognition for her talent with a Gemini Award nomination for Best Performance by a Lead Actress in a Dramatic Program. That year, she made her first notable impression on the Canadian movie scene as Polly, the quirky, "organizationally impaired girl" in Patricia Rozema's I've Heard the Mermaids Singing. For this role, McCarthy won the Genie Award for Best Actress. The film became wildly popular in Canada, earning many international and domestic awards and critical acclaim.
McCarthy has since become one of Canada's more honoured actors, having won two Genie Awards (film), two Gemini Awards (television), and two Dora Awards (theatre) along with multiple nominations.
She played Sarah Hamoudi in the Canadian television series Little Mosque on the Prairie (2007–2012), a role for which she was nominated for a Gemini award. One of her more recognized big-screen roles is Samantha, the news reporter in the movie Die Hard 2 with Bruce Willis. Her most recent roles are Connie Hendrix, mother of the clone Alison in series Orphan Black and Agnes Rofa in the series The Umbrella Academy.
She is also an accomplished voice-over actress, having performed characters voices in Free Willy, Mythic Warriors: Guardians of the Legend, The Busy World of Richard Scarry, The Neverending Story, Bad Dog and Marvin the Tap-Dancing Horse.
On stage, McCarthy has appeared in Little Shop of Horrors, Hamlet, Cabaret, Guys and Dolls, Anything Goes, and Love Letters.

## Personal life

From 1986 until his death in 2011, McCarthy was married to actor Peter Donaldson. They have two daughters: Drew and Mackenzie Donaldson, who is also in show business (producer of Whatever, Linda and Orphan Black).
McCarthy is a spokesperson for The Quilt Project, a support group for families affected by breast cancer, and Canadian Feed the Children.

## Filmography

Film :
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1987 | A Nest of Singing Birds | Anna | |
| 1987 | I've Heard the Mermaids Singing | Polly Vandersma | won the Genie Award for Best Actress |
| 1988 | Gandahar | Council Spokeswoman (voice) | |
| 1989 | Friends, Lovers, & Lunatics | Kathy | |
| 1989 | George's Island | Miss Birdwood | |
| 1990 | Beautiful Dreamers | Molly Jessop | |
| 1990 | Die Hard 2 | Samantha 'Sam' Coleman | |
| 1990 | Pacific Heights | Liz Hamilton | |
| 1990 | Bright Angel | Nina | |
| 1991 | White Room | Zelda | |
| 1991 | Paradise | Sally Pike | |
| 1991 | Stepping Out | Andy | |
| 1991 | Montréal vu par... | Ann Stuart | segment: "Desperanto" |
| 1993 | Journey to the Planets | Oracle (voice) | short film |
| 1993 | The Lotus Eaters | Diane Kingswood | won the Genie Award for Best Actress |
| 1994 | The Biggest Little Ticket | The Troll | |
| 1996 | House Arrest | Gwenna Krupp | |
| 1997 | Shadow Zone: My Teacher Ate My Homework | Mrs. Hackett | |
| 2001 | Rare Birds | Claire | |
| 2002 | Duct Tape Forever | Easterbrook (uncredited) | |
| 2004 | Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen | Mrs. Gerard | |
| 2004 | The Day After Tomorrow | Judith | |
| 2004 | Being Julia | Grace Dexter | |
| 2004 | Geraldine's Fortune | Tina Larose | |
| 2005 | Bailey's Billion$ | Peggy Delaney | |
| 2005 | The Multiple Selves of Hannah Maynard | Hannah Maynard | short film |
| 2006 | Small Avalanches | Nancy's Mother | short film |
| 2007 | Breakfast with Scot | Miss Patterson | |
| 2007 | The Stone Angel | Doris Shipley | |
| 2009 | Year of the Carnivore | Mrs. Smalls | |
| 2012 | Antiviral | Dev Harvey | |
| 2014 | A Fighting Man | Rose | |
| 2016 | Considering Love and Other Magic | Veronica Guest | |
| 2016 | Milton's Secret | | |
| 2017 | Cardinals | Valerie Walker | |
| 2018 | Level 16 | Mrs. Denison (cameo) | |
| 2020 | Stroke of Fate | Shirley | short film |
| 2020 | Happy Place | Joyce | |
| 2020 | Anything for Jackson | Audrey | |
| 2021 | Like a House on Fire | Katherine | |
| 2021 | The Middle Man | Mrs. Stout | |
| 2022 | Christmas in Rockwell | Juniper | |
| 2022 | Women Talking | Greta Loewen | |
| 2024 | All the Lost Ones | Dawn | |
| TBA | Love is the Monster | Margaret | Filming |

## Television

Television :
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1982 | Hangin' In | | episode: "The Princess and the Pea" |
| 1983 | Today's Special | Sourpuss Sal | episode: "Smiles" |
| 1984 | The Littlest Hobo | Murielle | episode: "Three Monkeys of Bah Roghar: Part 1" episode: "Three Monkeys of Bah Roghar: Part 2" |
| 1985 | Love and Larceny | Mary Bigley | TV movie |
| 1985 | Tucker and the Horse Thief | | TV movie |
| 1986 | 9B | Heather | TV movie |
| 1986 | The Marriage Bed | Lynn Reilly | TV movie |
| 1986 | Hot Shots | Jenny | episode: "Cut Off in His Prime" |
| 1986 | The Frantics: Four on the Floor | Various Characters | 6 episodes |
| 1986 | Really Weird Tales | Ellie Hutchins | episode: "Cursed with Charisma" |
| 1986 | Check It Out! | Sonja | episode: "Dog Day After Dark" |
| 1987 | Much Ado About Nothing | Margaret | TV movie |
| 1988 | Mount Royal | Luise Blaikie | episode: "Still Life" |
| 1989 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Sarah Hollister | episode: "For Art's Sake" |
| 1989 | Trying Times | Jenny Amber | episode: "A Good Life" |
| 1990 | Labour of Love | | TV movie |
| 1990 | E.N.G. | Carol Barton | episode: "Till Death Us Do Part" |
| 1990 | Back to the Beanstalk | Garbanza | TV movie |
| 1990 | Steel Magnolias | Annelle Dupuy-Desoto | TV pilot (unsold) |
| 1990 | Street Legal | Stephanie Coleman | episode: "The Psychic" |
| 1991 | The Soulmates: The Gift of Light | (voice) | TV movie |
| 1991 | Rupert | Additional Voices | 13 episodes |
| 1991 | The Hidden Room | | episode: "Rogue in the Bathroom" |
| 1992 | Beethoven Lives Upstairs | Sophie | TV movie |
| 1992 | A Private Matter | Diane Callaghan | TV movie |
| 1992 | The Ray Bradbury Theater | Francine | episode: "The Lonely One" |
| 1994 | Free Willy | Annie | TV series |
| 1994 | Dan Redican Comedy Hour | Various | TV movie |
| 1994 | Menendez: A Killing in Beverly Hills | Jill Lansing | TV movie |
| 1995 | A Woman of Independent Means | Totsie | TV movie |
| 1995 | The Awakening | Nancy | TV movie |
| 1995–1996 | Picket Fences | Sue Walsh | 4 episodes |
| 1996 | Road to Avonlea | Betty Blaine | episode: "King of the Great White Way" |
| 1996 | The Care and Handling of Roses | Carol Doster | TV movie |
| 1998 | Bad Dog | (voice) | TV series |
| 1998 | More Tales of the City | Mildred | TV miniseries |
| 1998 | Dead Husbands | Jane Armitage | TV movie |
| 1998–2000 | Emily of New Moon | Laura Murray | 46 episodes |
| 1999 | You Know My Name | Mrs. Lynn | TV movie |
| 1999 | Too Rich: The Secret Life of Doris Duke | Tammy | TV movie |
| 1999 | Mythic Warriors | Clotho (voice) | episode: "Damon and Pythias" |
| 2000 | Virtual Mom | Holly | TV movie, also writer |
| 2000 | Super Rupert | Aunt Rhonda | TV series |
| 2000 | Marvin the Tap-Dancing Horse | Elizabeth the Emotional Pig (voice) | |
| 2001 | Haven | Eva | TV movie |
| 2001 | Anne of Green Gables: The Animated Series | Mrs. King (voice) | episode: "Oh, Brother!" |
| 2001 | Royal Canadian Air Farce | Anne Robinson/Dr. Joy Thomas | episode: "9.2" |
| 2001 | I Was a Rat | Mrs. Tapscrew | TV movie |
| 2001 | The Endless Grind | Various | TV series |
| 2002 | Lathe of Heaven | Penny | TV movie |
| 2002 | The Rats | Miss Paige | TV movie |
| 2003 | Custody of the Heart | Alice | TV movie |
| 2003 | Full-Court Miracle | Mrs. Klein | TV movie |
| 2004 | The Shields Stories | Hazel | episode: "Hazel" |
| 2005 | Puppets Who Kill | Miss Wickham | episode: "Cuddles the Artist" |
| 2005 | Missing | Dr. Eleanor Reese | episode: "Analysis" |
| 2006 | Roxana | Amy | TV movie |
| 2006 | Cow Belles | Fran Walker | TV movie |
| 2007–2012 | Little Mosque on the Prairie | Sarah Hamoudi | 80+ episodes |
| 2009 | The Ron James Show | | episode: "1.5" |
| 2010 | Love Letters | Melissa | TV movie |
| 2013 | Murdoch Mysteries | Felicity Dawes | episode: "Lovers in a Murderous Time" |
| 2014 | Saving Hope | Violet | episode: "Breathless" |
| 2014 | Dear Viola | Peggy | TV movie |
| 2015 | Orphan Black | Connie Hendrix | episode: "Community of Dreadful Fear and Hate" |
| 2016 | Ice Girls | Auntie Ginger | TV movie |
| 2016 | Brace for Impact | Faradee Gilchrist | TV movie |
| 2018 | The Detail | | |
| 2019 | Star Trek: Discovery | Amesha | episode: "New Eden" |
| 2019; 2024 | The Umbrella Academy | Agnes | Recurring role (season 1); guest role (season 4) |
| 2020 | Nurses | Phillis Bruner | episode: "Friday Night Legend" |
| 2021 | The Good Doctor | Rose Babcock | episode: "Lim" |
| 2022 | Zombies 3 | Grandma Angie/Alien Scout | TV movie |

## Discography

* 2006: "All Good Now" – from the movie Cow Belles

## Awards and nominations

    This section needs to be expanded to include further awards and nominations.
| Year | Nominated Work | Organization | Award | Result |
| 1983 | Really Rosie | Dora Mavor Moore Award | Outstanding performance in a revue or musical | Won |
| 1985 | Little Shop of Horrors | Dora Mavor Moore Award | Female performance | Won |
| 1988 | I've Heard the Mermaids Singing | 9th Genie Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role | Won |
| 1988 | A Nest of Singing Birds | 3rd Gemini Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series | Nominated |
| 1988 | Mount Royal | 3rd Gemini Awards | Best Guest Performance in a Series by an Actor or Actress | Nominated |
| 1992 | Bright Angel | Independent Spirit Awards | Best Supporting Female | Nominated |
| 1993 | The Lotus Eaters | 14th Genie Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role | Won |
| 1998 | Emily of New Moon | 13th Gemini Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role | Won |
| 1999 | Emily of New Moon | 14th Gemini Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role | Nominated |
| 2000 | Sesame Park | 15th Gemini Awards | Best Performance in a Pre-School Program or Series | Won |
| 2000 | The City | 15th Gemini Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Guest Role Dramatic Series | Nominated |
| 2018 | Cardinals | ACTRA Toronto Award | Outstanding Performance, Female | Won |
| 2023 | Women Talking | Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture | Nominated |