# Janet Wright

Janet Wright (March 8, 1945 – November 14, 2016) was an English-born Canadian actress and theatre director. She was best known for her role as Emma Leroy on the Canadian sitcom, Corner Gas. She performed in many film and television shows, and she also acted in, and directed, dozens of theatre productions in Saskatoon, Vancouver, and at the Stratford Festival.

## Early life and education

Wright was born in Farnborough, Hampshire, England. Wright grew up as the eldest of four siblings (the others being Susan, John, and Anne) who have all participated in Canadian theatre.

## Career

Wright, along with her sister Susan, co-founded the Persephone Theatre company in Saskatoon in 1974. Wright's first husband, Brian Richmond, became the theatre's director. Wright later worked at the Vancouver Arts Club Theatre where she appeared in and directed more than 40 productions. She also appeared in several other productions in live theatre across Canada, and at the Stratford Festival in Ontario. Her theatre work eventually led to television and film roles in Canada and the United States.
In 1991, she performed at the Stratford Festival with her sisters Anne and Susan in Les Belles-soeurs, to positive reviews. In 1995, she was the first woman to play the title role in King Lear, for Canadian Stage in Toronto. Wright acted in the film Bordertown Café, for which she received a best actress Genie Award in 1992. In 2003 she was named best supporting actress in a dramatic program or miniseries at the Gemini Awards for her role in Betrayed.
From 2004 to 2009, she played Emma Leroy in the television series Corner Gas. In this role she won a 2006 Canadian Comedy Award for Pretty Funny TV Female. The show also won a Gemini Award in 2007. She reprised her role in 2014 for Corner Gas: The Movie.
Wright continued her involvement with the Vancouver Arts Club Theatre, directing several contemporary American plays, including Katori Hall's The Mountaintop and Ayad Akhtar's Disgraced in 2015. She continued acting from time to time at the Stratford Festival, lastly in 2011, when she played Ma Joad in The Grapes of Wrath.

## Family

Wright's sister Susan was killed in a fire in 1991 in Stratford, Ontario, along with their parents, Jack and Ruth (née Preston) Wright.
In January 2004, Wright's daughter Rachel Davis (aged 23) was fatally shot while intervening for a stranger who was being beaten in front of the Purple Onion bar in Vancouver, B.C. In July 2006, the shooter was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder, five counts of attempted murder and five counts of aggravated assault. His first degree murder conviction triggered an automatic sentence of life imprisonment with no chance of parole until 2029.
Wright and her second husband, Bruce Davis, along with the rest of their family, started the Rachel Davis Foundation. The foundation presents an award to a young person (aged 17–23) who has demonstrated an outstanding act of kindness or compassion.

## Death

Wright died on the morning of November 14, 2016, in Vancouver, aged 71, from undisclosed causes.

## Filmography

Film :
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1969 | Obscene House | | |
| 1971 | McCabe & Mrs. Miller | Eunice | |
| 1974 | The Wolfpen Principle | Miss Mervin | |
| 1978 | The Wiz | The Wiz Singers | Voice, Uncredited |
| 1982 | Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains | Brenda | |
| 1986 | Loyalties | Audrey Sawchuk | |
| 1987 | American Gothic | Fanny | |
| 1987 | Home Is Where the Hart Is | J.P.'s Wife | |
| 1988 | Cowboys Don't Cry | Pearl | |
| 1991 | Bingo | Waitress | |
| 1992 | Bordertown Café | Maxine | |
| 1999 | The Boondock Saints | Annabelle MacManus | |
| 2000 | The Perfect Storm | Ethel Shatford | |
| 2001 | Chasing Cain | Sonia | |
| 2001 | Lola | Ma Keller | |
| 2002 | Blackwoods | Ma Franklin | |
| 2002 | Rollerball | Coach Olga | |
| 2003 | Emile | Alice | |
| 2003 | Arbor Vitae | Senior Nurse | Short film |
| 2003 | Thoughtcrimes | Zoya | TV movie |
| 2006 | Love and Other Dilemmas | Jojo Ladro | |
| 2010 | Ramona and Beezus | Grandma Kemp | |
| 2012 | The Tall Man | Trish | |
| 2014 | Corner Gas: The Movie | Emma Leroy | |
Television :
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1975 | Peep Show | Lucy | Episode: "The Victim" |
| 1978 | Who'll Save Our Children? | | Television film |
| 1979 | Huckleberry Finn and His Friends | Mrs. Judith Loftus | Episode: "The Rains Come" |
| 1979 | King of Kensington | Evelyn | Episode: "Big Brother" |
| 1983 | The Best Christmas Pageant Ever | Helen Armstrong | Television film |
| 1984 | The Three Wishes of Billy Grier | Woman in Bar | Television film |
| 1985 | Brotherly Love | Helen Neary | Television film |
| 1986 | The Girl Who Spelled Freedom | Woman Neighbor | Television film |
| 1987 | Deadly Deception | Desk clerk | Television film |
| 1987 | After the Promise | Waitress | Television film |
| 1987 | The Beachcombers | Didee | Episode: "Disposable People" |
| 1987 | Christmas Comes to Willow Creek | Martha Jane | Television film |
| 1988 | Laura Lansing Slept Here | | Television film |
| 1988-1989 | Wiseguy | Millicent/Mabel | Episodes: "Revenge of the Mud People" and "All or Nothing" |
| 1993-1994 | Street Legal | Doris Banachowska/Jessica Grant | Episodes: "The Price" Episode: "Strange Bedfellows," "The Long and Winding Road," |
| 1994 | Neon Rider | Michelle Pfeiffer | Episode: "Where the Buffalo Roam" |
| 1996 | My Mother's Ghost | | Television film |
| 1996 | Beyond the Call | Fran | Television film |
| 1996 | We the Jury | Gladys McKenzie | Television film |
| 1997 | Fast Track | Charlotte Scannel | Episode: "Triangle" |
| 1998 | Eerie, Indiana: The Other Dimension | Mrs. Floyd | Episode: "I'm Okay, You're Really Weird" |
| 1998 | Mr. Headmistress | Naomi Bascombe | Television film |
| 1998 | Due South | Sgt. Sam Thorn | Episode: "Mountie on the Bounty: Part 2" |
| 1998-1999 | Emily of New Moon | Aunt Thom | Episodes: "A Shadow in His Dream," "When the Bough Breaks," and "Bred in the Bone" |
| 1999 | More Tales of the City | Vita Keating | TV miniseries |
| 1999 | Redwall | Constance (voice) | 36 episodes |
| 1999 | Lexx | Lorca | Episode: "Love Grows" |
| 2000 | Redwall: The Movie | Constance | Television film |
| 2000 | Mattimeo: A Tale of Redwall | Constance/Ghost of Martin (voice) | TV series |
| 2001 | Hostage Rescue Team | Simone | Television film |
| 2001 | Lexx | First Lady Priest | Episode: "Texx Lexx" Episode: "Stan Down" |
| 2001 | Dark Angel | Annie | Episode: "Proof of Purchase" |
| 2002 | Framed | | Television film |
| 2002 | The Chris Isaak Show | Evie | Episode: "Farm Boys" |
| 2002 | Monk | Bonnie | 3 episodes |
| 2002 | Taken | Patty | Episode: "God's Equation" |
| 2003 | Betrayed | Dr. Fleming | Television film |
| 2003 | Jinnah: On Crime - White Knight, Black Widow | Frosty | Television film |
| 2003 | A Tale of Two Wives | Phyllis | Television film |
| 2003 | Phenomenon II | Jeri | Television film |
| 2004 | Kingdom Hospital | Liz Hinton | 10 episodes |
| 2004-2009 | Corner Gas | Emma Leroy | 107 episodes |
| 2007 | Whistler | | Episode: "The Rules of Attachment: Part II" Episode: "Last Run" |
| 2008 | Wisegal | Patty Montanari's Mother | Television film |
| 2009 | Memory Lanes | Sarah Duggen | Television film |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Nominated work | Event | Award | Result |
| 1992 | Bordertown Café | Genie Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role | Won |
| 2001 | Chasing Cain | Gemini Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Supporting Role in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series | Nominated |
| 2003 | Betrayed | Gemini Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Supporting Role in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series | Won |
| 2004 | Corner Gas | Gemini Awards | Best Ensemble Performance in a Comedy Program or Series | Nominated |
| 2004 | Corner Gas | Canadian Comedy Awards | Best Female TV Performance | Nominated |
| 2006 | Corner Gas | Canadian Comedy Awards | Best Female TV Performance | Won |
| 2006 | Corner Gas | Gemini Awards | Best Ensemble Performance in a Comedy Program or Series | Nominated |
| 2007 | Corner Gas | Gemini Awards | Best Ensemble Performance in a Comedy Program or Series | Won |
| 2008 | Corner Gas | Canadian Comedy Awards | Best Female TV Performance | Nominated |