Michelle Giroux (born 1976) 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 ...

stage, television and film actress whose credits include numerous productions at the

Stratford Shakespeare Festival The Stratford Festival is a theatre festival which runs from April to October in the city of Stratford, Ontario, Stratford, Ontario, Canada. Founded by local journalist Tom Patterson (theatre producer), Tom Patterson in 1952, the festival was fo ...

over fourteen seasons.

Stage roles

Upon graduating from high school in Toronto, Giroux was accepted as an acting student at The National Theatre School of Canada. In her third year she was featured among other artists as one of the "ones to watch" in the Montreal Gazette by theatre critic, Pat Donnelly. Shortly after graduating she joined the Stratford Festival acting Company in 1997. Later she would be called "one of the best young talents at Stratford," in Martin Hunter's book about the Festival. In ''Romancing the Bard: Stratford at Fifty'', Martin Hunter writes: Her featured roles include the 1998 production of ''

The Miser ''The Miser'' (french: L'Avare; ; also known by the longer name ''L'Avare ou L'École du Mensonge,'' meaning The Miser, or the School for Lies) is a five-act comedy in prose by the French playwright Molière. It was first performed on September 9 ...

opposite William Hutt'' which also played at the

New York City Center New York City Center (previously known as the Mecca Temple, City Center of Music and Drama,. The name "City Center for Music and Drama Inc." is the organizational parent of the New York City Ballet and, until 2011, the New York City Opera. and th ...

, Lady Teazle in a 2001 production of ''

The School for Scandal ''The School for Scandal'' is a comedy of manners written by Richard Brinsley Sheridan. It was first performed in London at Drury Lane Theatre on 8 May 1777. Plot Act I Scene I: Lady Sneerwell, a wealthy young widow, and her hireling Sna ...

opposite Brian Bedford'' which went on to play at the

Chicago Shakespeare Theater Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) is a non-profit, professional theater company located at Navy Pier in Chicago, Illinois. Its more than six hundred annual performances performed 48 weeks of the year include its critically acclaimed Shakespeare s ...

, a 2003 production of

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time'' magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and ...

's ''

Present Laughter ''Present Laughter'' is a comic play written by Noël Coward in 1939 but not produced until 1942 because the Second World War began while it was in rehearsal, and the British theatres closed. The title is drawn from a song in Shakespeare's ''T ...

'', a 2005 production of ''

The Brothers Karamazov ''The Brothers Karamazov'' (russian: Братья Карамазовы, ''Brat'ya Karamazovy'', ), also translated as ''The Karamazov Brothers'', is the last novel by Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. Dostoevsky spent nearly two years writing '' ...

'', as well as Julia in a 2007 production of

Edward Albee Edward Franklin Albee III ( ; March 12, 1928 – September 16, 2016) was an American playwright known for works such as ''The Zoo Story'' (1958), '' The Sandbox'' (1959), ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' (1962), '' A Delicate Balance'' (1966) ...

's '' A Delicate Balance''. Other Stratford credits include Nina in The Seagull, Portia in The Merchant of Venice, Elvira in Blithe Spirit, Jean-Louise in To Kill a Mockingbird, Isabella in Edward II, Mary Robinson in The Swanne III, Helena in Midsummer Night's Dream, Rosaline in Love's Labours Lost, Joan La Pucelle in Henry VI, Lydia in Pride and Prejudice and Althia McLaren in ''Front Page.'' Her non-Stratford stage credits include starring in

Claudia Dey Claudia Dey (born 1972/1973) is a Canadian writer, based out of Toronto. Dey's debut novel, first novel, ''Stunt'', was published by Coach House Books. It was one of The Globe and Mail's "2008 Globe 100" and Quill and Quire's "Books of the Year ...

's ''Trout Stanley'' at the

Factory Theatre Factory Theatre is a theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded as Factory Theatre Lab in 1970 by Ken Gass and Frank Trotz, and it was run for almost 20 years by Dian English. Factory was the first theatre to announce that it would ...

Karoline Leach Karoline Leach (born 20 July 1967) is a British playwright and author, best known for her book '' In the Shadow of the Dreamchild'' (), which re-examines the life of Lewis Carroll (pseudonym of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson), the author of ''Alice's ...

's ''

Tryst Tryst may refer to: Art and entertainment * ''Tryst'' (novel), a 1939 novel by Elswyth Thane * ''Tryst'' (play), a 2006 play by Karoline Leach * ''Tryst'' (album), a 2019 studio album by Kate Ceberano and Paul Grabowsky * "Tryst", a song by Joh ...

'' and ''Same Time Next Year'' opposite R.H Thomson at the

Segal Centre for Performing Arts The Segal Centre for Performing Arts, formerly the Saidye Bronfman Centre for the Arts, is a theatre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is located at 5170 chemin de la Côte-Sainte-Catherine, in the borough of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâc ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, an adaptation of ''

The Misanthrope ''The Misanthrope, or the Cantankerous Lover'' (french: Le Misanthrope ou l'Atrabilaire amoureux; ) is a 17th-century comedy of manners in verse written by Molière. It was first performed on 4 June 1666 at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal, Paris b ...

'' and ''The Oxford Room Climbers' Rebellion'' at the

Tarragon Theatre The Tarragon Theatre is a theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and one of the main centers for contemporary playwriting in the country.

and ''The Winter's Tale, Measure for Measure'' and Portia (Dora nomination) in ''Julius Caesar'' with Groundling Theatre Company.

Screen roles

In 2009, Giroux studied in the inaugural acting class at the Canadian Film Center. Among her teachers were

Norman Jewison Norman Frederick Jewison (born July 21, 1926) is a retired Canadian film and television director, producer, and founder of the Canadian Film Centre. He has directed numerous feature films and has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best D ...

Sarah Polley Sarah Ellen Polley (born January 8, 1979) is a Canadian actress,Howell, Peter (September 24, 1999)"Nobody's Starlet: Toronto's Sarah Polley is Only 20 but already a veteran actor so secure in her craft she can thumb her nose at Hollywood" ''Tor ...

Kiefer Sutherland Kiefer William Sutherland (born 21 December 1966) is a British-Canadian actor and musician. He is best known for his starring role as Jack Bauer in the Fox drama series '' 24'' (2001–2010, 2014), for which he won an Emmy Award, a Golden Glo ...

and

Patricia Rozema Patricia Rozema (born 20 August 1958) is a Canadian film director, writer and producer. She was part of a loosely-affiliated group of filmmakers to emerge in 1980s from Toronto known as the Toronto New Wave. Early life Rozema was born in King ...

. In 2013, Giroux starred in her first feature film, ''

Blood Pressure Blood pressure (BP) is the pressure of circulating blood against the walls of blood vessels. Most of this pressure results from the heart pumping blood through the circulatory system. When used without qualification, the term "blood pressure" r ...

'', directed by Sean Garrity. She was nominated in 2014 for best actress by the Vancouver Film Critics for her performance.

Filmography

Personal life

A resident of Toronto, she married Stratford colleague

Graham Abbey Graham Abbey (born Graham Robert Thomson Abbey, March 24, 1971) is a Canadian film, television and stage actor, who is best known for his role as Gray Jackson in TV drama '' The Border''. History At the then Stratford Festival of Canada, the e ...

in August 2008.

References

External links

*
Stratford Theatre Festival biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Giroux, Michelle 1970s births Living people National Theatre School of Canada alumni Actresses from Toronto