Sonja O'Hara (born Sonja Kristiansen) is an Emmy-nominated Canadian writer, director and actress who is represented by Verve and Gotham Group. She is originally from

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...

, Canada, and resides in Los Angeles, California. Her digital series ''Doomsday'' (which she created, directed and stars in) was nominated for the 2021 Daytime Emmy Awards under Outstanding Daytime Fiction Program. She was selected as one of the “10 Filmmakers to Watch” by Independent Magazine, chosen by a jury from ''MovieMaker Magazine'', the Sundance Institute and Austin Film Festival. Past recipients include

Barry Jenkins Barry Jenkins (born November 19, 1979) is an American filmmaker. After making his filmmaking debut with the short film ''My Josephine'' (2003), he directed his first feature film '' Medicine for Melancholy'' (2008) for which he received an Inde ...

, the Oscar-winning director of ''

Moonlight Moonlight consists of mostly sunlight (with little earthlight) reflected from the parts of the Moon's surface where the Sun's light strikes. History The ancient Greek philosopher Anaxagoras was aware that "''the sun provides the moon with its ...

''. O'Hara created the critically acclaimed Amazon series ''Doomsday'', which won Best Series at HBO's ITVFest. A Streamy Nominee (for “Best Indie Series”), O'Hara was presented the “Best Director” award out of 4,000 submissions at The New York Television Festival. She was a guest speaker at SXSW Film Festival on the episodic TV panel. Her upcoming series ''Astral'' was greenlit by Adaptive Studios, and she will write and direct all six episodes. As an actress, she is best known for playing the role of Calpurnia Dylan in the 2015 American film ''Ovum''. In 2007, O'Hara appeared on the New York stage in a production of

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

-winning author

Norman Mailer Nachem Malech Mailer (January 31, 1923 – November 10, 2007), known by his pen name Norman Kingsley Mailer, was an American writer, journalist and filmmaker. In a career spanning more than six decades, Mailer had 11 best-selling books, at least ...

's play ''The Deer Park'' as a character based on

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe ( ; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; June 1, 1926 August 4, 1962) was an American actress and model. Known for playing comic "Blonde stereotype#Blonde bombshell, blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex ...

. In 2019, O'Hara made her feature film directorial debut helming the live-action adaptation of the popular Japanese video game ''

Root Letter ''Root Letter'', stylized as ''√Letter'', is a 2016 visual novel adventure video game developed and published by Kadokawa Games for PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Microsoft Windows, Android, and iOS. It is the first entry in the ''Kadokawa Ga ...

''.

Early life

O'Hara began acting at age ten, appearing in school plays, including a local production of ''The Nutcracker'' in which she played Clara. She is the youngest of two siblings. At 17, O'Hara moved to New York City to attend The

New York Conservatory For Dramatic Arts The New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts (NYCDA) is a private drama school in New York City. It was originally conceived for the purpose of training actors for film and television acting and is accredited by the National Association of Scho ...

. In 2006, she was cast as a lead in the New York debut of the recently discovered

Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the three ...

play ''Pieces of Paradise'', directed by

Stephan Morrow Stephan may refer to: * Stephan, South Dakota, United States * Stephan (given name), a masculine given name * Stephan (surname), a Breton-language surname See also * Sankt-Stephan * Stefan (disambiguation) * Stephan-Oterma * Stephani * Stephe ...

Filmography

Film

References

Sources

* * * Zinoman, Jason.
Three Dollar Bill
, The New York Times, Theater Review, December 8, 2005. *
The DVD Blu-ray Release Report (2013)

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:OHara, Sonja 1986 births Canadian film actresses Canadian television actresses Living people Actresses from Halifax, Nova Scotia