HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Anne Frances Murphy (born December 19, 1986) is a Canadian actress. She is best known for her starring role as
Alexis Rose Alexis Claire Rose is a fictional character in the Canadian sitcom ''Schitt's Creek,'' which aired on CBC and Pop TV from 2015 to 2020. Alexis, a member of the central Rose family, is introduced as the spoiled socialite daughter of Johnny and M ...
in the CBC sitcom ''
Schitt's Creek ''Schitt's Creek'' (stylized as ''Schitt$ Creek'') is a Canadian television sitcom created by Dan Levy and his father, Eugene Levy, that aired on CBC Television from 2015 to 2020. It consists of 80 episodes spread over six seasons. Produced ...
'' (2015–2020). For her performance in the series, she garnered critical acclaim and won a Primetime Emmy Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, while also receiving nominations for four
Canadian Screen Awards The Canadian Screen Awards (french: link=no, Les prix Écrans canadiens) are awards given for artistic and technical merit in the film industry recognizing excellence in Canadian film, English-language television, and digital media (web series) p ...
, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, two
Critics' Choice Television Awards The Critics' Choice Television Awards are accolades that are presented annually by the Critics Choice Association (CCA). They were established in 2011, and the first ceremony was held on June 20, 2011, and streamed live on VH1.com. The fourt ...
, and one Golden Globe Award.


Early life

Murphy was born in Ottawa,
Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
, on December 19, 1986. Both her parents were teachers. She attended high school at Elmwood School in Ottawa, where she performed in stage productions. Murphy enrolled at Queen's University for one year before transferring and receiving a degree in theatre performance at Concordia University. She then trained at the Canadian Film Centre Actors' Conservatory. She moved to
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
at age 22 to pursue an acting career.


Career

Murphy made her acting debut in the crime-thriller television film ''Lethal Obsession'' (2007). She continued to perform small and
extra Extra or Xtra may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film * ''The Extra'' (1962 film), a Mexican film * ''The Extra'' (2005 film), an Australian film Literature * ''Extra'' (newspaper), a Brazilian newspaper * ''Extra!'', an American me ...
roles in various other Canadian films, such as '' Story of Jen'' (2008), ''Lick'' (2010), and ''A Windigo Tale'' (2010). She also appeared in several Canadian television series, including '' Good God'' (2012) and ''
Rookie Blue ''Rookie Blue'' is a Canadian police drama television series starring Missy Peregrym and Gregory Smith. It was created by Morwyn Brebner, Tassie Cameron, and Ellen Vanstone. The series premiered on June 24, 2010, at 9:00 p.m. Eastern/8 ...
'' (2012). She has said that, during this time, she was a "struggling actress" who "was begging to go in for comedies" but her resume had only drama. She also appeared in numerous American television series, including '' The Beautiful Life: TBL'' (2009), '' Blue Mountain State'' (2010), '' Against the Wall'' (2011), and '' Beauty & the Beast'' (2012). Murphy was considering quitting acting as a career path when, in 2013, she auditioned for and got the role of
Alexis Rose Alexis Claire Rose is a fictional character in the Canadian sitcom ''Schitt's Creek,'' which aired on CBC and Pop TV from 2015 to 2020. Alexis, a member of the central Rose family, is introduced as the spoiled socialite daughter of Johnny and M ...
on the CBC sitcom ''
Schitt's Creek ''Schitt's Creek'' (stylized as ''Schitt$ Creek'') is a Canadian television sitcom created by Dan Levy and his father, Eugene Levy, that aired on CBC Television from 2015 to 2020. It consists of 80 episodes spread over six seasons. Produced ...
''. She recalled in 2020, "My house had just burnt down, I had like, $3 in my bank account, I hadn't worked in close to two years. And I had just blown my very first screen test—like blown it, blown it, blown it… I found myself crying in the Pacific Ocean, a very snotty cry, and the universe was like, 'Don't do this anymore. This is not for you!' But then, two days later, I got the audition for ''Schitt's Creek''." She played the character for the series' entire run of six seasons, from January 2015 until April 2020. After six years in Montreal, Murphy moved to Toronto, where she co-created and starred in ''
The Plateaus ''The Plateaus'' is a Canadian comedy web series, which was aired by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in 2015. The series centres on the Plateaus, an indie rock band struggling to continue after their lead singer is killed in a freak accident ...
'', a 2015 web series about four insufferable musicians. Her performance in the show earned her a nomination at the 2016 Canadian Screen Awards for Best Performance in a Program or Series Produced for Digital Media. At the same ceremony, Murphy was nominated for Best Actress in a Comedy Series for her performance in ''Schitt's Creek''. She earned the same nomination for this performance in
2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...
,
2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
, and
2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...
. It also brought her nominations for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series at the 2019 Critics' Choice Television Awards, Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series at the 2019 Screen Actors Guild Awards, and Best Actress in a Breakthrough Role at the 2019
Gracie Awards The Gracie Awards are awards presented by the Alliance for Women in Media Foundation (AWM) in the United States, to celebrate and honor programming created for women, by women, and about women, as well as individuals who have made exemplary contr ...
, the latter of which she won. In September 2020, she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her performance in the final season of ''Schitt's Creek''. In February 2020, she was cast as the lead in
AMC AMC may refer to: Film and television * AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain * AMC Networks, an American entertainment company ** AMC (TV channel) ** AMC+, streaming service ** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company *** ...
's television
dark comedy Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discus ...
series ''
Kevin Can F**k Himself ''Kevin Can F**k Himself'' is an American dark comedy television series created by Valerie Armstrong, who also serves as an executive producer. The first two episodes were made available on AMC+ on June 13, 2021, and the series premiered on AMC ...
''. Due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
, production of the show was delayed by several months, but resumed in September 2020. In 2020, Murphy appeared in a holiday advertising campaign for Hudson's Bay department stores opposite her ''Schitt's Creek'' co-star Catherine O'Hara. She also appeared in a series of ads for meal-kit company
HelloFresh HelloFresh SE is a publicly traded meal kit company based in Berlin, Germany. It is the largest meal-kit provider in the United States, and also has operations in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Europe ( GB, D-A-CH, Benelux, France, Italy and ...
, including in a soap-opera style web series titled ''Hungry Hearts''. In January 2021, she appeared in a commercial for Nintendo Switch, appearing in one scene opposite her real-life mother. In September 2021, she appeared in an advertising campaign for the
FDA The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food ...
-approved hormone-free contraceptive Phexxi. In 2022, she portrayed young Ruth in the Netflix series ''
Russian Doll Matryoshka dolls ( ; rus, матрёшка, p=mɐˈtrʲɵʂkə, a=Ru-матрёшка.ogg), also known as stacking dolls, nesting dolls, Russian tea dolls, or Russian dolls, are a set of wooden dolls of decreasing size placed one inside ano ...
''.


Activism and advocacy

Murphy is an ambassador for the global relief agency
Care Canada CARE (Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere, formerly Cooperative for American Remittances to Europe) is a major international humanitarian agency delivering emergency relief and long-term international development projects. Founded ...
. In 2019, she visited
Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
to learn about Care's efforts to empower women and girls in the region. In January 2021, she donated proceeds from the auction of her first red carpet dress to Encampment Support Network, a not-for-profit that helps Toronto's unhoused persons.


Personal life

Murphy married singer and musician
Menno Versteeg Menno Versteeg is a Canadian musician, best known as the frontman for indie rock group Hollerado. Versteeg received a nomination for Recording Package of the Year at the 2014 Juno Awards for his work on Hollerado's ''White Paint''. In 2018 Ver ...
, lead singer of the bands
Hollerado Hollerado was a Canadian indie rock band from Ottawa, Ontario. Formed in 2007, the band consisted of Menno Versteeg (lead vocals, guitar), Nixon Boyd (lead guitar, backing vocals), Dean Baxter (bass, backing vocals) and Jake Boyd (drums, backing v ...
and
Anyway Gang Anyway Gang is a Canadian supergroup, consisting of Sam Roberts, Chris Murphy (from Sloan), Menno Versteeg (from Hollerado), and Dave Monks (from Tokyo Police Club). The group formed in the summer of 2018 and released their debut single, "Big ...
, in August 2011. In 2013, a fire occurred at their home; the two were uninjured but lost most of their belongings. Murphy has a tattoo of James Stewart's silhouette on her wrist, citing his "heartbreaking, sweet, and funny" performance in ''
Harvey Harvey, Harveys or Harvey's may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Harvey'' (play), a 1944 play by Mary Chase about a man befriended by an invisible anthropomorphic rabbit * Harvey Awards ("Harveys"), one of the most important awards ...
'' as one of her influences.


Filmography


Film


Television


Music videos


Discography


Singles


Awards and nominations


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Murphy, Annie 1986 births Living people 21st-century Canadian actresses Actresses from Ottawa Canadian film actresses Canadian television actresses Canadian Film Centre alumni Concordia University alumni Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Primetime Emmy Award winners