Janette Bertrand (born March 25, 1925) is a
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...
journalist, actress, educator, and writer.
Biography
She was born in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...
, grew up there, and studied journalism at the
Université de Montréal
The Université de Montréal (UdeM; ; translates to University of Montreal) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte- ...
. She began work at the ''Petit Journal'', working there for 16 years. She next moved to radio, becoming the host of the
Radio-Canada program ''Déjeuner en musique'' in the early 1950s. Bertrand married the actor
Jean Lajeunesse. The couple hosted the program ''Jean et Janette'', and then ''Mon mari et nous'' at radio station
CKAC
CKAC is a French-language radio station located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Owned by Cogeco, the station operates as a commercial traffic information service branded as ''Radio Circulation 730''. Its studios are located at Place Bonaventure i ...
. Later, she began appearing on television for Radio-Canada,
Télé-Métropole
CFTM-DT (channel 10) is a television station in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, serving as the flagship of the French-language TVA network. Owned by Groupe TVA, the station has studios on Boulevard de Maisonneuve East and Rue Alexandre de Sève in th ...
and
Radio-Québec. She developed the television series ''
Grand-Papa'',
[ '']L'Amour avec un Grand A
''Avec un grand A'' is a French-Canadian drama television series comprising 52 episodes which aired from February 19, 1986 to March 22, 1996 on Télé-Québec. Created and written by Janette Bertrand, the series dealt with issues impacting romanc ...
'', and ''Parler pour parler''.[
Bertrand wrote the lyrics for the ]Celine Dion
Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...
song "Berceuse", which was included on the ''D'Elles
''D'elles'' (meaning ''About Them'' or ''From Them'') is a thirteenth French-language and twenty-second studio album by Canadian singer Celine Dion, released by Columbia Records on 18 May 2007. It is a concept album which features thirteen songs w ...
'' album.
Bertrand supported the Parti Québécois
The Parti Québécois (; ; PQ) is a sovereignist and social democratic provincial political party in Quebec, Canada. The PQ advocates national sovereignty for Quebec involving independence of the province of Quebec from Canada and establishin ...
' proposed Charter of Values, arguing that accommodating religious minorities could lead to the erosion of women's rights.
Awards
Bertrand received a Governor General's Performing Arts Awards
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
in 2000. She also received several Gemini Award
The Gemini Awards were awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television between 1986–2011 to recognize the achievements of Canada's television industry. The Gemini Awards are analogous to the Emmy Awards given in the United States ...
s, including one for Lifetime Achievement, the Order of Merit from the Canadian Association of Radio Broadcasters, was named a Chevalier in the National Order of Quebec
The National Order of Quebec, termed officially in French as ''l'Ordre national du Québec'', and in English abbreviation as the Order of Quebec, is an order of merit in the Canadian province of Quebec. Instituted in 1984 when Lieutenant Gove ...
in 1992, and was named Woman of the Century by the Salon de la femme de Montréal in 1990.
In 2003, she received the Prix Condorcet Prix Condorcet was instituted in 1993, by the Mouvement laïque québécois to honour a public personality who had worked for the defense of secularity and freedom of thought. The name honours the Marquis de Condorcet, a philosopher of the Age of E ...
, which is awarded annually to a public figure who has contributed to secularity
Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. Anything that does not have an explicit reference to religion, either negativ ...
and freedom of conscience
Freedom of thought (also called freedom of conscience) is the freedom of an individual to hold or consider a fact, viewpoint, or thought, independent of others' viewpoints.
Overview
Every person attempts to have a cognitive proficiency by ...
in Quebec.
She was appointed an Officer 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 ...
in 2002, and in 2020 was elevated to Companion.
Selected works[ ]
* ''Moi Tarzan, Toi Jane'', play
* ''Dis moi si j'dérange'', play
* ''Ma vie en trois actes'', biography (2004)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bertrand, Janette
1925 births
Living people
Canadian women screenwriters
Canadian dramatists and playwrights in French
Actresses from Montreal
Journalists from Montreal
Canadian women dramatists and playwrights
Knights of the National Order of Quebec
20th-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights
20th-century Canadian actresses
20th-century Canadian women writers
21st-century Canadian women writers
Canadian women journalists
Université de Montréal alumni
Writers from Montreal
Canadian women television writers
Canadian television writers
Canadian feminists
Canadian women non-fiction writers
Companions of the Order of Canada
Officers of the Order of Canada