Hélène Joy (born October 21, 1978) is an Australian-Canadian actress, who is best known for her work in television series '' Durham County'' and ''

Murdoch Mysteries ''Murdoch Mysteries'' is a Canadian television drama series that premiered on Citytv on January 20, 2008, and currently airs on CBC. The series is based on characters from the ''Detective Murdoch'' novels by Maureen Jennings and stars Yannick ...

''.

Biography

Joy was born and raised in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, Australia. She began acting in Kewdale Senior High School in Perth. She subsequently toured Europe with a youth theatre company. She spent a year as a theatre major at

Curtin University Curtin University (previously Curtin University of Technology and Western Australian Institute of Technology) is an Australian public university, public research university based in Bentley, Western Australia, Bentley, Perth, Western Australia. ...

before winning a place at the

Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts The Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) at Edith Cowan University (ECU) is a performing arts school in Perth, Western Australia. Established in 1980, it is notable for being the most comprehensive performing arts school in Aus ...

in Perth where she obtained an acting diploma. She won the Academy’s Leslie Anderson Award for Best Performer.

Career

Television and film

She had minor roles in Australian television series such as: '' Snowy River: The McGregor Saga'' (1996), '' Water Rats'' (1996–97), '' Big Sky'' (1997), and ''Stingers'' (1999). After three years, at the urging of her then boyfriend, she moved to

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, British Columbia, Canada.Greg Quill
"Hélène Joy: Successful – and ignored"
''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...

'', 10 January 2009. After arriving in Vancouver, Joy found work on shows such as '' First Wave'' (2000), ''

The Outer Limits ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

'' (2001), ''

The Chris Isaak Show ''The Chris Isaak Show'' is an American sitcom that follows a fictionalized version of the life of American rock musician Chris Isaak. The show portrays Isaak and his band members as everyday people with everyday problems. The series was produced ...

'' (2002), and ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology series, anthology television series created by Rod Serling in which characters find themselves dealing with often disturbing or unusual events, an experience described ...

'' (2002). In 2003, she landed the lead role of Judy Surgick in the short-lived CBC TV sitcom ''

An American in Canada ''An American in Canada'' is a Canadian television sitcom that aired on CBC Television in 2003 and 2004. The show starred Rick Roberts as Jake Crewe, an American television news host who was forced, after beating up his station manager, to accep ...

'' (2003–04) which was a 2003 Gemini Award nominee for Best Ensemble Performance Comedy Series/Program. In 2005 she appeared in the feature film ''Desolation Sound''. While still in Vancouver, Joy began landing roles in Toronto, including a supporting role in the TV movie ''The Murdoch Mysteries: Under the Dragon’s Tail'' (2004). After moving to Toronto, she played recurring roles in TV series such as ''

This Is Wonderland ''This Is Wonderland'' is a Canadian legal comedy-drama television series that premiered on CBC on January 12, 2004. The series was created by George F. Walker, Dani Romain, and Bernard Zukerman. The second season premiered on January 25, 2005 ...

'' (2005–06) and ''

ReGenesis ''ReGenesis'' is a Canadian science-fiction television series produced by The Movie Network and Movie Central in conjunction with Shaftesbury Films. The series, which ran for four seasons from 2004 to 2008, revolves around the scientists of Nor ...

'' (2006). She then starred in ''Durham County'' between 2007 and 2010, and appeared as Doc in the primetime soap opera '' MVP: The Secret Lives of Hockey Wives'' (2008). In Christmas 2007, Joy appeared in the fantastical musical film version of the Nutcracker ballet, ''The Secret of the Nutcracker'' starring opposite Brian Cox for the CBC. Joy starred in ''

An Old Fashioned Thanksgiving ''An Old Fashioned Thanksgiving'' is a television film loosely based on a short story by Louisa May Alcott. Filmed on location in Canada, the film premiered on Hallmark Channel on November 22, 2008. It was followed by the sequel, ''An Old Fashione ...

'' with

Jacqueline Bisset Winifred Jacqueline Fraser Bisset ( ; born 13 September 1944) is a British actress. She began her film career in 1965 and first came to prominence in 1968 with roles in ''The Detective (1968 film), The Detective'', ''Bullitt'', and ''The Sweet ...

for Hallmark in 2008. Joy has made guest appearances on '' Heartland'', ''

Rookie Blue ''Rookie Blue'' is a Canadian police procedural 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, and aired on Global in ...

'' (2011), ''

Republic of Doyle ''Republic of Doyle'' is a Canadian comedy-drama television series set in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, which aired on CBC Television from January 6, 2010, to December 10, 2014. The show stars Allan Hawco as private investigator and f ...

'' (2012) and ''

The L.A. Complex ''The L.A. Complex'' (originally ''Highland Gardens'') is a Canadian drama television series that premiered on CTV on January 10, 2012, subsequently airing on MuchMusic. It also began airing in the United States on April 24, 2012, on The CW. Th ...

'' (2012) among other programs. Although she played a different character in ''Under the Dragon's Tail'', the third made-for-television film about William Murdoch and his unique ways of doing detective work, the book's author, Maureen Jennings, was so impressed with Joy's acting ability that she successfully pressed the TV show's producers to select her for the role of Dr. Julia Ogden. As a result, Joy was hired for the part and has played this continuing character in the period detective drama ''Murdoch Mysteries'' since 2008.

Theatre

Joy's theatrical career began in Australia with roles in the Shakespeare Program at the Bell Shakespeare Company. She then played a number of roles at the Melbourne Theatre Company: Ophelia in ''Hamlet'', Lady Macbeth in ''Macbeth'', and Juliet in ''Romeo and Juliet''. She made her Canadian theatrical debut in 2012 in Australian playwright

Andrew Bovell Andrew Bovell (born 1962) is an Australian writer for theatre, film and television. Life Bovell was born on 23 November 1962 in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia and completed his secondary school education in Perth. He graduated from the Universi ...

's ''Speaking in Tongues'' at The Company Theatre in Toronto.

Voice acting

She supplied the voice of Sunnyside and Shelly in ''

The Eggs ''The Eggs'' is a children's animated television program that broadcast on the Nine Network on 2004 to 2005. There are 52 episodes of 12 minutes duration. Two cartoon episodes were usually screened together in a half hour timeslot. ''The Eggs'' ...

'' (2004), Gabby and Polly in ''Faireez'' (2005), Patsy and Mrs. Berton in ''

The Secret World of Og ''The Secret World of Og'' is a children's novel written by Pierre Berton and illustrated by his daughter Patsy. It was first published in 1961 by McClelland and Stewart. This Canadian classic has sold more than 200,000 copies in four editions. ...

'' (2006), Opal in ''

Pearlie ''Pearlie'' is an animated comedy television series based on the children's book series ''Pearlie the Park Fairy'' by Wendy Harmer. Pearlie is a co-production between Sticky Pictures and Nelvana Limited. The series aired on Network Ten in Au ...

'' (2009), and Vice Principal Victoria in ''

Detentionaire ''Detentionaire'' is a Canadian mystery thriller animated series produced by Nelvana and aired on Teletoon from September 12, 2011, to January 29, 2015, for total of 53 episodes, spanning 4 seasons. It was created by Daniel Bryan Franklin and C ...

'' (2012).

Awards and nominations

In 2006, Joy was nominated for a Gemini Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Supporting Role in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series for her work in the TV movie ''The Murdoch Mysteries: Under the Dragon’s Tail'' as well as being nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Guest Role Dramatic Series for ''ReGenesis''. In 2011, and again in 2012, she was nominated for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series for her work in ''Murdoch Mysteries'' by the Monte-Carlo TV Festival Awards. She won a

Leo Award The Leo Awards are the awards program for the British Columbia film and television industry. Held each May or June in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, the Leo Awards were founded by the Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Foundation of British C ...

in 2005 for Best Lead Performance by an Actress in a Feature Length Drama for her role in ''Desolation Sound''. She won the Gemini Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role in 2008 for her role in ''Durham County''.

Personal life

Joy left Australia and followed her boyfriend to his native

. She has been a vegan and enjoys travelling all over the world during her time off. Joy trained and is licensed as a real estate agent in Australia; she has subsequently taken up property development. In late December 2021, Joy gave birth to a daughter, Harrison Joy.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Joy, Helene 1978 births Living people Actresses from Perth, Western Australia Actresses from Vancouver Australian emigrants to Canada Australian film actresses Australian television actresses Australian voice actresses Best Actress in a Drama Series Canadian Screen Award winners Canadian film actresses Canadian television actresses Canadian voice actresses Naturalized citizens of Canada People with multiple citizenship