Erin Karpluk (born ) is a Canadian actress. She is known for her portrayal of Erica Strange on the

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French- ...

series ''

Being Erica ''Being Erica'' is a Canadian comedy-drama television series that aired on CBC from January 5, 2009, to December 12, 2011. Created by Jana Sinyor, the series was originally announced by the CBC as ''The Session'', but was later retitled ''Bein ...

'' from 2009 to 2011.

Early life

Karpluk was born in

Jasper, Alberta Jasper is a specialized municipality and townsite in western Alberta within the Canadian Rockies. The townsite is in the Athabasca River valley and is the commercial centre of Jasper National Park. History Established in 1813, Jasper ...

to a mother who was a high-school principal and a father who was a railway engineer. She is of Ukrainian descent. She majored in theatre at the

University of Victoria The University of Victoria (UVic or Victoria) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. The university traces its roots to Victoria College, the first post-secondary insti ...

and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 2000.

Career

Karpluk began her acting career in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. ...

. Between 2000 and 2005 she appeared in more than a dozen television movies and series before landing the role of Kate in ''

Godiva's ''Godiva's'' is a Canadian television comedy-drama series created by Michael MacLennan with Julia Keatley of Keatley Entertainment. It debuted on Bravo! and Citytv in 2005 and was celebrated for its intelligent, fast-paced depiction of young Can ...

''. Her work during this period included "Voice of Sylan" in the final episode of '' Dark Angel'' and the TV movie ''Family Sins''. She was also in a short-lived US television series called '' Glory Days'' in 2002. In 2004, she appeared in ''

Legend of Earthsea ''Legend of Earthsea'' (later shortened to ''Earthsea'') is a two-part television fantasy miniseries produced for the Sci-Fi Channel. It is an adaptation of the ''Earthsea'' novels by Ursula K. Le Guin. The teleplay was written by Gavin Scott, a ...

'' and played a serial killer in '' Ripper 2: Letter from Within''. She earned a Leo nomination for her first season of ''Godiva's'' and a 2006 Gemini nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role. After ''Godiva's'', Karpluk continued to work in television and short films. In 2007, she appeared in '' Bionic Woman'', ''

Flash Gordon Flash Gordon is the protagonist of a space adventure comic strip created and originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by, and created to compete with, the already established '' Buck Rogers'' adv ...

'', and ''

The L Word ''The L Word'' is a television drama that aired on Showtime from January 18, 2004 to March 8, 2009. The series follows the lives of a group of lesbian and bisexual women who live in West Hollywood, California. The premise originated with Ile ...

''. She had a leading role in a 2008 television movie, ''Smokejumpers'', directed by

John Terlesky John Todd Terlesky (born May 30, 1961) is an American actor, film director, television director and screenwriter. As an actor, he is best known for playing Deathstalker in the 1987 film '' Deathstalker II'', and Mike in ''Chopping Mall'' (1986) ...

. Karpluk was offered the lead role of Erica Strange in the

series ''

'' when she was working in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

on ''The L Word''. In 2009, Karpluk won the Gemini award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role for her portrayal of the titular character. She also had a recurring role as Alice the

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activitie ...

during the first season of

The CW ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

's ''

Life Unexpected ''Life Unexpected'' is an American teen drama television series that aired for two seasons from January 18, 2010 to January 18, 2011. It was produced by Best Day Ever Productions and Mojo Films in association with CBS Productions and Warner Bro ...

''. Her only appearance during the second season was in the series finale because of the scheduling conflict that resulted when ''Being Erica'' was picked up for a third year. Karpluk has also had recurring roles on ''

Rookie Blue ''Rookie Blue'' is a Canadian police drama 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, at 9:00 p.m. Eastern/8 ...

'' and ''

Slasher Slasher may refer to: * Slasher (basketball), a style of play in basketball * Slasher film, a subgenre of the horror film * Slasher (tool), a scrub-clearing implement * ''Slasher'' (2004 film), a 2004 documentary film * ''Slasher'' (2007 film ...

'', and starred in the web series ''Riftworld''. Since 2017, she has had a recurring supporting role on the

Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Hallmark Movies & Mysteries (formerly known as Hallmark Movie Channel, and also known as HMM) is an American digital cable and satellite television channel owned by Crown Media Holdings. The channel was spun off from sister network Hallmark Chan ...

series ''

Fixer Upper Mysteries ''The Fixer Upper Mysteries'' is a series which airs on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries channel. The films star Jewel and Colin Ferguson and are filmed in the US and Canada. They are based on the Fixer Upper Mystery novels by Kate Carlisle and th ...

''.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Karpluk, Erin Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century Canadian actresses Actresses from Alberta Canadian film actresses Canadian people of Ukrainian descent Canadian television actresses Best Actress in a Drama Series Canadian Screen Award winners People from Jasper, Alberta Living people University of Victoria alumni