Fiona Reid, CM (born 24 July 1951) is an English-born Canadian television, film, and stage actress. She is best known for her roles as Cathy on the TV series ''

King of Kensington ''King of Kensington'' is a Canadian television sitcom which aired on CBC Television from 1975 to 1980.Mary Jane Miller, ''Turn Up the Contrast: CBC Television Drama since 1952''. UBC Press, 2011. . pp. 134-144. Synopsis Al Waxman starred as Lar ...

'' and Harriet Miller in the film ''

My Big Fat Greek Wedding ''My Big Fat Greek Wedding'' is a 2002 romantic comedy film directed by Joel Zwick and written by Nia Vardalos, who also stars in the film as Fotoula "Toula" Portokalos, a middle class Greek American woman who falls in love with White Anglo-Saxo ...

''.

Early life and education

Reid was born in

Whitstable Whitstable () is a town on the north coast of Kent adjoining the convergence of the Swale Estuary and the Greater Thames Estuary in southeastern England, north of Canterbury and west of Herne Bay. The 2011 Census reported a population of 32 ...

, Kent, England. Her father was a doctor in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

. As a teenager, she lived in Germany, Africa, and the U.S. before settling in Canada with her family in 1964. She studied acting at

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

in Montreal, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1972, and at the

Banff Centre for the Arts Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, formerly known as The Banff Centre (and previously The Banff Centre for Continuing Education), located in Banff, Alberta, was established in 1933 as the Banff School of Drama. It was granted full autonomy as ...

Career

Fiona Reid is one of best-known Canadian stage actors, having performed in theatres across the country, including five seasons with the

Stratford Festival The Stratford Festival is a theatre festival which runs from April to October in the city of Stratford, Ontario, Canada. Founded by local journalist Tom Patterson in 1952, the festival was formerly known as the Stratford Shakespearean Festival ...

and twelve seasons at the

Shaw Festival The Shaw Festival is a not-for-profit theatre festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada. It is the second largest repertory theatre company in North America. The Shaw Festival was founded in 1962. Originally, it only featured production ...

, as well as theatres in Great Britain and the U.S. Over her career her performances have garnered her two Dora Mavor Moore awards, a Jessie Award (Vancouver) and a Sterling Award (Edmonton). In 2015, Fiona received the Toronto Critics’ Award for her performance of Sonia in Vanya, Sonia, Masha and Spike (

Mirvish Productions Mirvish Productions is a Canadian based theatrical production company and promoter. The company was founded in 1987 by David Mirvish, son of Toronto retailing icon and owner of the Royal Alexandra Theatre, Ed Mirvish. The first assets acquired ...

). Her career has been marked by diverse signature roles that include Rose in The Children, Amanda (The Glass Menagerie), Julie (London Road), Blanche Dubois (A Streetcar Named Desire), Lady Bracknell (The Importance of Being Earnest), Martha (Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf), Mrs Lovett (Sweeney Todd), Hedda Gabler and Clare (A Delicate Balance), amongst many others. Her film credits include ''

'', ''

One Week One Week may refer to: * One Week (1920 film), ''One Week'' (1920 film), a short film starring and co-directed by Buster Keaton * One Week (2008 film), ''One Week'' (2008 film), a Canadian feature film directed by Michael McGowan * One Week (song), ...

'' and ''

The Time Traveler's Wife ''The Time Traveler's Wife'' is the debut novel by American author Audrey Niffenegger, published in 2003. It is a love story about Henry, a man with a genetic disorder that causes him to time travel unpredictably, and about Clare, his wife, an ...

''. In 2016, Reid starred as

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

in the

presentation of '' The Audience'' at the

Royal Alexandra Theatre The Royal Alexandra Theatre, commonly known as the Royal Alex, is a theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located near King and Simcoe Street. Built in 1907, the 1,244-seat Royal Alex is the oldest continuously operating legitimate theatre in Nort ...

in Toronto. In 2019, Fiona started her run in ''

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child ''Harry Potter and the Cursed Child'' is a play written by Jack Thorne from an original story by J. K. Rowling, John Tiffany, and Thorne. Previews of the play began at the Palace Theatre, London, on 7 June 2016 as a two-part play, and it prem ...

'' on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

Awards

She has twice won the

Dora Mavor Moore Award The Dora Mavor Moore Award (also known as the Dora Award) is an award presented annually by the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts which honours theatre, dance and opera productions in Toronto. Named after Dora Mavor Moore, who helped estab ...

, in 1993 for ''Fallen Angels'' and in 1995 for ''

Six Degrees of Separation Six degrees of separation is the idea that all people are six or fewer social connections away from each other. As a result, a chain of "friend of a friend" statements can be made to connect any two people in a maximum of six steps. It is also k ...

''. She won an Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Award (Sterling Award) for her performance in '' August: Osage County''. In 2006, she was made a Member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

She received The Barbara Hamilton Award in 2008. and an award of excellence from

ACTRA The Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) is a Canadian trade union representing performers in English-language media. It has 25,000 members working in film, television, radio, and all other recorded media. The org ...

Toronto in 2010. Fiona has received an honorary doctorate from

Bishop's University Bishop's University (french: Université Bishop's) is a small English-language Liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Lennoxville, a borough of Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. The founder of the institution was the Anglican Diocese of Quebe ...

and is a graduate of

. She is the past president of the Actor's Fund of Canada (AFC).

Personal life

Reid met McCowan Thomas doing summer stock theatre and married him in 1977. They have two children, Alec and Julia.

Filmography

References

External links

*
Fiona Reid
at Northern Stars {{DEFAULTSORT:Reid, Fiona Canadian film actresses Canadian television actresses Canadian voice actresses English film actresses English television actresses English voice actresses English emigrants to Canada Living people McGill University alumni Members of the Order of Canada Actors from Whitstable Dora Mavor Moore Award winners Actresses from Kent 1951 births