Karen LeBlanc is a Canadian film, television and musical theatre actress.

Early life

LeBlanc grew up in

Tottenham, Ontario Tottenham is a community in the town of New Tecumseth, in south-central Ontario, Canada. It takes its name from its first postmaster, Alexander Totten. The Tottenham Conservation Area is a recreational facility in the village, which is also famous ...

to family from

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

. She attended the musical theatre program at Sheridan College.

Career

Starting with a minor role in the 1992 television movie ''Split Images'', LeBlanc's credits include guest appearances in television series including ''

Trailer Park Boys ''Trailer Park Boys'' is a Canadian mockumentary sitcom television series created by Mike Clattenburg that began airing in 2001 as a continuation of his 1999 film bearing the same name. The show follows the misadventures of a group of trailer pa ...

'', '' Producing Parker'', ''

Soul Food Soul food is an ethnic cuisine traditionally prepared and eaten by African Americans, originating in the Southern United States.Soul Food originated with the foods that were given to enslaved Black people by their white owners on Souther ...

'', '' Mutant X'', and most notable ''

The Playboy Club ''The Playboy Club'' is an American historical crime drama television series that aired on NBC from September 19 to October 3, 2011. Set in 1961, the series centers on the employees (known as Bunnies) of the original Playboy Club operating in ...

'' (2011) playing

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer o ...

and singing two of Turner's signature songs, "

Shake a Tail Feather "Shake a Tail Feather" is a song written by Otha Hayes, Verlie Rice, and Andre Williams and originally recorded in 1963 by the Chicago-based group the Five Du-Tones. The original recording reached #28 on ''Billboard''s Hot R&B Singles chart and ...

" and "I Want to Be Made Over". As regular, she first starred in the final season of the CBC sitcom '' Material World'' from 1992 to 1993. She appeared in 2000 fantasy-comedy film ''

Santa Who? ''Santa Who?'' is a 2000 American made-for-television fantasy-comedy film starring Leslie Nielsen and directed by William Dear, in which Santa Claus develops a case of amnesia right before Christmas. Plot The film starts with Santa feeling ill ...

'' starring Leslie Nielsen. She co-starred in a number of made-for-television movies, including '' Snap Decision'' (2001), ''Guilt by Association'' (2002), ''Lucky Day'' (2002), '' Martha: Behind Bars'' (2005), ''

Knights of the South Bronx ''Knights of the South Bronx'' is a 2005 American drama television film directed by Allen Hughes and written by Jamal Joseph and Dianne Houston. Based on a true story, it stars Ted Danson as a teacher who helps students at a tough South Bronx ...

'' (2005), and '' Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome'' (2012). On stage, she has appeared in productions of ''

Outrageous! ''Outrageous!'' is a 1977 Canadian comedy drama film written and directed by Richard Benner. The film stars Craig Russell as female impersonator Robin Turner, and Hollis McLaren as Turner's schizophrenic roommate Liza Conners. The plot begins i ...

'', ''

Rent Rent may refer to: Economics *Renting, an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property *Economic rent, any payment in excess of the cost of production *Rent-seeking, attempting to increase one's share of e ...

''. and '' Cinderella''. She has also performed as a backing vocalist for

Chaka Khan Yvette Marie Stevens (born March 23, 1953), better known by her stage name Chaka Khan (), is an American singer. Her career has spanned more than five decades, beginning in the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the funk band Rufus. Known as the " Qu ...

, Rik Emmett and Glass Tiger. LeBlanc starred in the short-lived the CW drama series ''

Runaway Runaway, Runaways or Run Away may refer to: Engineering * Runaway reaction, a chemical reaction releasing more heat than what can be removed and becoming uncontrollable * Thermal runaway, self-increase of the reaction rate of an exothermic proce ...

'' in 2006. For her recurring role in ''

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 No ...

'', she was nominated for

Gemini Awards 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 a ...

for Best Performance by an Actress in a Guest Role, Dramatic Series in 2008. In 2009, LeBlanc received positive reviews and Canadian Screen Award for Best Actress nomination for her performance in the drama film ''

Nurse.Fighter.Boy ''Nurse.Fighter.Boy'' is a Canadian drama film, directed by Charles Officer and released in 2008."Canadian flicks". ''The Globe and Mail'', September 5, 2008. The film stars Karen LeBlanc as Jude, a widowed single mother undergoing treatment for si ...

''. Her other film credits include '' Make It Happen'' (2008) and '' Dolan's Cadillac'' (2009). Also that year, she starred in the ABC drama series, '' Defying Gravity''. Her other series regular credits including ''

Soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

'' (2009), ''

Shattered Shattered may refer to: Books * ''Shattered'' (Casey book), a 2010 non-fiction book: true-crime account of pregnant mother's murder * ''Shattered'' (Francis novel), a 2000 novel by Dick Francis: glassblower seeks videotape following death of j ...

'' (2010–11), '' Cracked'' (2013), ''Insomnia'' (2018), ''

Frontier A frontier is the political and geographical area near or beyond a boundary. A frontier can also be referred to as a "front". The term came from French in the 15th century, with the meaning "borderland"—the region of a country that fronts o ...

'' (2017–18), and ''

Ransom Ransom is the practice of holding a prisoner or item to extort money or property to secure their release, or the sum of money involved in such a practice. When ransom means "payment", the word comes via Old French ''rançon'' from Latin ''red ...

'' (2018-19). She also had a recurring roles in '' Motive'', '' Trailer Park Boys '' and '' Killjoys''. As regular, LeBlanc starred on the second season of Peacock series '' Departure'' in 2021, and in 2022 starring in the Oprah Winfrey Network prime time soap opera ''

The Kings of Napa ''The Kings of Napa'' is an American prime time television soap opera, created and produced by Janine Sherman Barrois, and executive produced by Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Films and Warner Bros. Television. The series premiered on OWN on January 11, ...

''. She was a Canadian Screen Award nominee 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 the web series '' For the Record''.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.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leblanc, Karen Canadian film actresses Canadian television actresses Canadian musical theatre actresses Canadian voice actresses Black Canadian actresses Living people Year of birth missing (living people)