Jessica Holmes (born August 29, 1973) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

comedian and actress. She is best known for her work with the '' Royal Canadian Air Farce'', which she joined in 2003, after starring in her own show, ''

The Holmes Show ''The Holmes Show'' is a Canadian television sketch comedy series that premiered on CTV on September 24, 2002. The 22-episode series stars Jessica Holmes, Roman Danylo and Kurt Smeaton. Filming took place at the CTV studios in June and August 2 ...

'' in 2002. She is married to actor

Scott Yaphe Scott Yaphe (born February 16, 1970) is a Canadian actor and comedian best known as a cast member of the YTV variety show '' It's Alive!''. After its cancellation in 1997, Yaphe and a few other ''It's Alive!'' regulars such as Mike Beaver and Pa ...

. Holmes attended Canterbury High School in Ottawa followed by

Ryerson University Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU or Toronto Met) is a public university, public research university located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university's core campus is situated within the Garden District, Toronto, Garden District, although i ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

. For one season, Holmes hosted her own show, ''

''. She also appeared on '' XPM'' and ''

History Bites ''History Bites'' is a television series on the History (Canada), History Television network that ran from 1998 to 2004. Created by Rick Green (comedian), Rick Green, ''History Bites'' explored what would be on television if the medium had been a ...

''. Holmes is the daughter of a

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

mother and a

Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

father. She joined

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

(LDS Church) at age 19; beginning at age 21, for 18 months she was a

Mormon missionary Missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church)—widely known as Mormon missionaries—are volunteer representatives of the church who engage variously in proselytizing, church service, humanitarian aid, and commu ...

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

. She is no longer a member of the LDS Church. In her comedy, she parodies right wing Christian fundamentalists through her character, Candy Anderson Henderson. She also parodies this by appearing as Sister Bessy, a nun with a thick

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

accent who comments on politics. On both ''The Holmes Show'' and ''Air Farce'', she has performed

caricature A caricature is a rendered image showing the features of its subject in a simplified or exaggerated way through sketching, pencil strokes, or other artistic drawings (compare to: cartoon). Caricatures can be either insulting or complimentary, a ...

s of various celebrities, including

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

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 ...

Liza Minnelli Liza May Minnelli ( ; born March 12, 1946) is an American actress, singer, dancer, and choreographer. Known for her commanding stage presence and powerful alto singing voice, Minnelli is among a rare group of performers awarded an Emmy, Grammy ...

, Myriam Bédard, Belinda Stronach, Geri Halliwell,

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage productio ...

, Tim Allen,

Jim Carrey James Eugene Carrey (; born January 17, 1962) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian and artist. Known for his energetic slapstick performances, Carrey first gained recognition in 1990, after landing a role in the American sketch comedy te ...

and others. Jessica and Scott have 2 children. Penelope Corrin was her fill-in on ''Air Farce'' during Jessica's first maternity leave during the first two months of 2007. She returned to the show in March 2007. Holmes took her second leave during the first few episodes of ''Air Farces last season in October 2008, as she gave birth to her second child. ''Air Farce'' left the air as a regular show as of December 2008. Though the show has broadcast an annual reunion special every year since, Holmes has only participated in the 2010 and 2016 reunion special. In 2010, she published a memoir entitled ''I Love Your Laugh: Finding the Light in My Screwball Life''. Holmes has appeared in a number of

Ross Petty Ross Petty (born August 29, 1946) is a Canadian actor and theatre producer. He is best known for his eponymous production company, which staged what were promoted as "family musical" theatre productions in the British pantomime tradition in Toront ...

's annual Christmas

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...

family musicals at the Toronto's

Elgin Theatre The Elgin Theatre can refer to: * Elgin Theatre (Ottawa) in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, a former movie cinema that was the first twin cinema in North America * Elgin and Winter Garden Theatres, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada * Elgin Theater, a former mov ...

. She received a

Canadian Screen Award 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 ...

nomination for Best Lead Performance in a Web Program or Series at the

10th Canadian Screen Awards The 10th Canadian Screen Awards were held on April 10, 2022, to honour achievements in Canadian film, television and digital media production in 2021.Etan Vlessing"Maitreyi Ramakrishnan to Receive Canadian Screen Awards Special Honor" ''The Hollyw ...

in 2022, for her role in '' The Communist's Daughter''.Brent Furdyk
"2022 Canadian Screen Award Nominees Announced, ‘Sort Of’ & ‘Scarborough’ Lead The Pack"
''

ET Canada ''ET Canada'' (previously referred to as ''Entertainment Tonight Canada'') is a Canadian entertainment news television series, using the same format as the American entertainment newsmagazine ''Entertainment Tonight''. ''ET Canada'' is a broadcas ...

'', February 15, 2022.

Filmography

Television

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Holmes, Jessica 1973 births Actresses from Ottawa Canadian film actresses Canadian television personalities Canadian television actresses Canadian voice actresses Canadian Unitarian Universalists Former Latter Day Saints Living people Mormon missionaries in Venezuela Royal Canadian Air Farce Toronto Metropolitan University alumni Canadian Mormon missionaries 20th-century Mormon missionaries Female Mormon missionaries Canadian women comedians Canadian expatriates in Venezuela Converts to Mormonism Canadian memoirists Canadian sketch comedians Canadian women television personalities Canadian impressionists (entertainers) Canadian women memoirists 21st-century Canadian comedians Comedians from Ontario