Sandra Oh

Early life

Sandra Miju Oh was born in Nepean, Ontario, on July 20, 1971, to middle-class South Korean immigrants Oh Young-nam, a biochemist, and Oh Jun-su (John), a businessperson. Her parents had moved to the area in the early 1960s. She has a brother, Ray, and a sister, Grace, and grew up in a Christian household, living on Camwood Crescent in Nepean, where she began practicing ballet at age four to correct her pigeon toed stance. She took up acting at the age of 10. Growing up, Oh was one of the few youths of Asian descent in Nepean.

At age ten, Oh played The Wizard of Woe in a class musical called The Canada Goose. Later, at Sir Robert Borden High School, she founded the environmental club BASE (Borden Active Students for the Environment), leading a campaign against the use of styrofoam cups. While in high school, she was elected student council president. She also played the flute and continued both her ballet training and acting studies, though she knew that she "was not good enough to be a professional dancer" and eventually focused on acting. She took drama classes, acted in school plays, and joined the drama club, where she took part in the Canadian Improv Games and Skit Row High, a comedy group. Against her parents' advice, she rejected a four-year journalism scholarship to Carleton University to study drama at the National Theatre School of Canada in Montreal, paying her own way.

Oh told her parents that she would try acting for a few years, and promised to return to university if it failed. Reflecting on forgoing university, she has said that she is "the only person in [her] family who doesn't have a master's in something". Oh would later receive an honorary doctorate from Dartmouth College and deliver the commencement address in 2025. Soon after graduating from the National Theatre School in 1993, she starred in a stage production of David Mamet's Oleanna in London, Ontario. Around the same time, she won roles in biographical television films of two significant female Chinese-Canadians: as Vancouver author Evelyn Lau in The Diary of Evelyn Lau, where she won the role over more than 1,000 others who auditioned, and as Adrienne Clarkson in a CBC biopic of Clarkson's life.

Career

1994–2004: Early work

Oh came to prominence in her home country for her lead performance in the Canadian film Double Happiness (1994), playing Jade Li, a twenty-something Chinese-Canadian woman negotiating her wishes and those of her parents. The film received critical acclaim, with Roger Ebert praising Oh's "warm performance". Janet Maslin of The New York Times also praised her performance, saying: "Ms. Oh's performance makes Jade a smart, spiky heroine you won't soon forget." Oh won the Genie Award for Best Actress for the role. In 1995 she appeared in the Canadian film Little Criminals with a multi-scene, but uncredited, performance.

In 1997 she appeared in the film Bean, playing the supporting role of Bernice, the art gallery PR manager. Her other Canadian films include Long Life, Happiness & Prosperity and Last Night (1998), for which she again won a Best Actress Genie. She was cast in the drama Dancing at the Blue Iguana (2000), playing a stripper at a gentlemen's club opposite Daryl Hannah. The film received mediocre reviews, though Oh was praised for her performance. The New York Times review said, "Oh make[s] the most of [her] opportunity to explore the vulnerability below [her] characters' hard-edged surface." The same year, she appeared in the drama Waking the Dead. In 2002, Oh appeared in the family comedy Big Fat Liar, followed by a minor role in Steven Soderbergh's Full Frontal (2002).

Oh garnered critical acclaim for her six seasons as Rita Wu, the assistant to the president of a major sports agency, on the HBO series Arliss, receiving a nomination for an NAACP Image Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series and a Cable Ace award for Best Actress in a Comedy for her work. She also made several guest appearances on the series Popular (1999) playing a humanities teacher and guest starred in the television series Kung Fu: The Legend Continues, Judging Amy, Six Feet Under and Odd Job Jack.

In theatre, Oh has also starred in the world premieres of Jessica Hagedorn's Dogeaters at the La Jolla Playhouse and Diana Son's Stop Kiss at Joseph Papp's Public Theater in New York City.

In 2003, she was cast in a supporting role opposite Diane Lane in Under the Tuscan Sun, followed by a supporting role in Alexander Payne's drama Sideways (2004). She considers Sideways and The Diary of Evelyn Lau to be the two best films she has made.

2005–2013: ''Grey's Anatomy''

In 2005, Oh appeared in several films, including David Slade's thriller Hard Candy; and the independent anthology drama 3 Needles (2005), opposite Chloë Sevigny and Olympia Dukakis, in which she plays a Catholic nun in an AIDS-stricken African village. The same year, Oh was cast as Cristina Yang in the first season of what became the hit ABC medical series Grey's Anatomy. Oh's role on the show earned her both a 2005 Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Series and a 2006 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series. In July 2009, she received her fifth consecutive Primetime Emmy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actress in a Drama for her work on the series.

In addition to her work on Grey's Anatomy, Oh continued to appear in films. She co-starred in the thriller The Night Listener (2006), alongside Robin Williams and Toni Collette; in the superhero comedy Defendor (2009); Ramona and Beezus (2010); and in the critically acclaimed drama Rabbit Hole (2010), opposite Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart.

In her only audiobook, she played Brigid O'Shaughnessy in a Grammy-nominated dramatization of The Maltese Falcon (2008), which also featured Michael Madsen and Edward Herrmann. She also has done a few voice roles in animation, including a few guest appearances in American Dragon: Jake Long, the voice of Princess Ting-Ting in Mulan II, and the voice of Doofah in The Land Before Time XIII: The Wisdom of Friends.

Oh was the host of the 28th Genie Awards on March 3, 2008. In 2009, Oh performed in The People Speak, a documentary feature film that uses dramatic and musical performances of the letters, diaries, and speeches of everyday Americans, based on historian Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States. During the off-season hiatus from filming Grey's Anatomy in 2010, Oh took the part of Sarah Chen in the British crime drama, Thorne. She undertook intensive dialect coaching in order to play her British character.

On June 28, 2011, it was announced that Oh would receive a star on Canada's Walk of Fame; she was inducted on October 1 at Elgin Theatre in Toronto. In 2013, Oh formally announced that she would be leaving Grey's Anatomy at the end of the tenth season. Oh exited the series with the season 10 finale.

2014–present: Film roles and ''Killing Eve''

In October 2014, Oh announced that she would be teaming up with Canadian director Ann Marie Fleming to collaborate on an animated feature film titled Window Horses. She also appeared in a supporting role in the comedy film Tammy (2014), playing the wife of Kathy Bates' character.

In 2015, she starred on the Refinery29 comedy web series Shitty Boyfriends. Oh began filming the comedy film, Catfight (2016), in New York City in December 2015. In 2017, Oh starred as Abby Tanaka in the third season of the anthology drama series American Crime.

Beginning in April 2018, Oh began a leading role in the BBC America and BBC Three spy thriller series Killing Eve, playing British intelligence agent Eve Polastri whose quarry is psychopathic assassin Villanelle (played by Jodie Comer), with the two women developing a mutual fascination. Upon reading the series script, Oh did not realize she was being considered for a leading role, stating that she had been "brainwashed" by years of being typecast as the leads' best friend. The series was renewed for a second season ahead of its debut, and a third was announced less than a day after the second premiered in the United States. Killing Eve was also renewed for a fourth season shortly after.

Oh has garnered critical acclaim for her performance on the series, with Jenna Scherer describing her in Rolling Stone as "a compulsively watchable actor – expressive and complex, blending wry wit and deep pathos." When Vulture declared Oh the best actress currently on television, critic Matt Zoller Seitz wrote: "It's a tour de force performance, yet so self-effacing and invisible in its effects that you come away thinking that you've seen a crackling yarn with compelling characters rather than a cultural landmark. This is a magic trick of a high order." In 2018, Oh became the first actress of Asian descent to be nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, for that role. She won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama, becoming the first woman of Asian descent to win two Golden Globe Awards. Oh won Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series at the SAG Awards in 2019.

From 2018 to 2020, Oh voiced the role of Castaspella in the animated superhero series She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. In 2019, she co-hosted the 76th Golden Globe Awards, alongside Andy Samberg. Oh became the first woman of Asian descent to host the awards show. In March 2019, she became the first Asian-Canadian woman to host Saturday Night Live, and only the third actress of Asian descent, after Lucy Liu in 2000 and Awkwafina in 2018. In 2021, Oh voiced Virana, the chieftess of the Fang tribe in the Disney animated film Raya and the Last Dragon.

Oh voices the role of Debbie Grayson in the animated superhero drama series Invincible. The series, based on the comic book series of the same name, premiered on Amazon Prime Video in 2021.

In 2021, Oh served as executive producer and had the lead role in the Netflix comedy-drama series The Chair.

In 2022, Oh voiced the role of Ming Lee, the strict and overprotective mother of the main character in the Pixar animated film Turning Red. She joined Lynne Ramsay's adaptation of Margaret Atwood's short story collection Stone Mattress.

In 2023, Oh played the role of Jenny Yum, a brash, outgoing, and impulsive older sister of the main character in the 20th Century Studios comedy film Quiz Lady.

In 2025, she appeared in Good Fortune, directed by Aziz Ansari.

Personal life

Oh was in a relationship with filmmaker Alexander Payne for five years. They married in January 2003, separated in early 2005, and divorced in late 2006.

On July 8, 2013, Oh received the key to the city of Ottawa from Mayor Jim Watson.

Oh practices Vipassanā, a Buddhist form of meditation. Her work in acting is informed by a loose creative collective that teaches "creative dream work", which reportedly fuses Jungian dream analysis with method acting and aims to bring one's "subconscious work into consciousness".

Oh became a US citizen in 2018. On the first anniversary of her citizenship, she discussed it while hosting Saturday Night Live and referred to herself as an "Asian-Canadian-American".

Oh was awarded the National Arts Centre Award from the Governor General of Canada in 2019, as a part of the Governor General's Performing Arts Awards.

In June 2022, Oh was named an officer of the Order of Canada. Later in that year, she was one of a number of recent inductees to the Order to be included in the Canadian delegation to the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.

Activism

On March 22, 2021, Oh gave a speech at a Stop Asian Hate rally in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in response to the Atlanta spa shootings. She encouraged people "to reach out to the Asian American community", stating that they were "very scared".

Acting credits

Film

Television

Theatre

Awards and nominations

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Sandra Oh

Among her accolades, she has received two Golden Globe Awards and four Screen Actors Guild Awards, as well as nominations for thirteen Primetime Emmy Awards, winning one in 2024.

References

References

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2. (June 29, 2022). "Governor General announces new appointments to the Order of Canada and promotions within the Order". Office of the Secretary to the Governor General.
3. (December 20, 2021). "Horoscope". [[TV Guide]].
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5. "Sandra Oh first Asian woman to host, win at Golden Globes".
6. Butler, Karen. (March 10, 2019). "Sandra Oh to guest host 'SNL'; Awkwafina celebrates". [[United Press International.
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9. (October 28, 2024). "Sandra Oh {{!}} Biography, Movies, Sideways, Grey's Anatomy, Killing Eve, & Facts".
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12. (April 13, 2007). "Sandra Oh on the Challenge of Being Korean in Hollywood". The Chosun Ilbo.
13. (April 30, 2008). "Sandra Oh: "Asians ROCK Month"". Asia Society.
14. (October 10, 2013). "Sandra Oh Live On Kelly And Michael Talks About Leaving Greys Anatomy". [[Kelly and Michael]].
15. (May 15, 2018). "The Canada Goose: a musical play in three acts from Canada is- music 3–4 (Musical score, 1988)".
16. Dodge, Brier. (July 18, 2013). "Sandra Oh receives key to the city". Ottawa Community News.
17. McDonald, Soraya Nadia. (May 16, 2014). "Seven things you didn't know about Sandra Oh, who played Cristina Yang on 'Grey's Anatomy'". The Washington Post.
18. Dartmouth. (June 15, 2025). "2025 Commencement Address by Sandra Oh".
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20. "Oh, Sandra". Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia.
21. "Sandra Oh". [[Canada's Walk of Fame]].
22. Ebert, Roger. (August 25, 1995). "Double Happiness Movie Review". The Chicago Sun-Times.
23. Maslin, Janet. (July 28, 1995). "FILM REVIEW; A Delicate Asian Flower In a Motorcycle Jacket". The New York Times.
24. [https://carlithiel.livejournal.com/15218.html Little Criminals]
25. "Dancing at the Blue Iguana (2000)". Rotten Tomatoes.
26. Holden, Stephen. (October 19, 2001). "FILM REVIEW; A Club Where Strippers May Also Be Dreamers".
27. "Awards Ceremony Host biography".
28. [http://www.thepeoplespeak.com/pages/credits/] {{webarchive. link. (May 13, 2010)
29. "Thorne: Characters: Sandra Oh – Sky1 HD". Sky1.sky.com.
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31. Goldberg, Lesley. (August 13, 2013). "Sandra Oh to Exit 'Grey's Anatomy' (Exclusive)". [[The Hollywood Reporter]].
32. Bibel, Sara. (August 13, 2013). "Sandra Oh Will Leave 'Grey's Anatomy' at the End of the Tenth Season". TV by the Numbers.
33. Harnick, Chris. (August 13, 2013). "Sandra Oh Leaving 'Grey's'". Huffington Post.
34. (July 27, 2015). "Home". CBC News.
35. (December 23, 2015). "Catfight Stars Sandra Oh, Anne Heche and Alicia Silverstone". ComingSoon.net.
36. Roshanian, Arya. (September 29, 2016). "TV News Roundup: Sandra Oh Joins 'American Crime' Season 3". Variety.
37. (May 8, 2018). "''Killing Eve'' is a smart and seductive spy thriller that has a 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes". Business Insider.
38. Lee, Jess. (April 8, 2019). "Killing Eve has been renewed for season 3 – with another new showrunner".
39. (May 14, 2018). "''Killing Eve'': The Cracked Female Spy-Thriller Buddy Comedy of the Year".
40. (June 27, 2018). "The Best Actress on TV Is Killing Eve's Sandra Oh".
41. Dockterman, Eliana. "Sandra Oh Is Now the First Asian Best Actress Emmy Nominee".
42. Melas, Chloe. (January 28, 2019). "See who won at the SAG Awards".
43. "She-Ra gets a makeover! A first look at the new Netflix series and meet the cast".
44. Mitovich, Matt Webb. (March 10, 2019). "Sandra Oh to Make SNL Hosting Debut".
45. (March 5, 2021). "Raya and the Last Dragon Voice Cast: Who's Voicing Each Character".
46. Unni Krishnan, Adersh. (March 13, 2020). "Invincible TV Show Release Date, Cast, Plot, Trailer And What Fan Theories You Should Know??".
47. (February 21, 2020). "Sandra Oh To Star In 'The Chair' Dramedy Series From Amanda Peet & 'Game Of Thrones' Creators At Netflix".
48. (July 13, 2021). "Sandra Oh Stars In Disney's 'Turning Red' Set In Toronto — Watch The Trailer". ET Canada.
49. (May 18, 2022). "Julianne Moore & Sandra Oh Set For Lynne Ramsay's 'Stone Mattress'; Margaret Atwood Thriller Adaptation From Amazon, John Lesher, JoAnne Sellar, Studiocanal & Film4". Deadline.
50. Horton, Adrian. (2023-11-02). "Quiz Lady review – Sandra Oh and Awkwafina can't lift uneven comedy". The Guardian.
51. (April 5, 2024). "Sandra Oh Joins Aziz Ansari's Lionsgate Comedy 'Good Fortune". Deadline.
52. (December 27, 2006). "Sandra Oh's Marriage Is Officially Over". People Magazine.
53. (May 30, 2013). "Actor Sandra Oh to get Ottawa's Key to the City". CBC News.
54. (August 21, 2018). "'''The Protagonist''' After decades in supporting parts, Emmy nominee Sandra Oh plays the hero in ''Killing Eve''.".
55. Night Live. (March 30, 2019). "Sandra Oh Monologue - SNL".
56. (April 1, 2019). "Sandra Oh celebrates U.S. citizenship anniversary on 'Saturday Night Live': The Canadian-born Sandra Oh announced the special occasion during the monologue of "Saturday Night Live."". [[NBC News]].
57. "Award Recipients - Governor General's Performing Arts Awards (GGPAA)".
58. Vlessing, Etan. (September 19, 2022). "Why Sandra Oh Attended Queen Elizabeth's Funeral". [[The Hollywood Reporter]].
59. (2021-03-21). "Sandra Oh gives speech at Stop Asian Hate rally in Pittsburgh".
60. "Sandra Oh (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors.
61. Floridia, Adriana. (2017-12-22). "Sandra Oh, Cheng Pei Pei and Don McKellar star in the exclusive new trailer for Meditation Park".
62. Tartaglione, Nancy. (2020-06-23). "'Over The Moon' Trailer: Netflix & Pearl Studio's Animated Musical Adventure Reveals Voice Cast".
63. Renfro, Kim. (2021-03-06). "See what the cast of Disney's new animated movie 'Raya and the Last Dragon' looks like in real life".
64. Grobar, Matt. (2022-08-24). "Peter Hedges Film 'The Same Storm' Starring Sandra Oh, Mary-Louise Parker, Elaine May & More Acquired By Juno Films".
65. Vorrasi-Banis, Lacey. (March 10, 2022). "Pixar's 'Turning Red' director on Sandra Oh, Easter eggs, and the rise of the nerdy girl".
66. Fisher, Jacob. (2020-01-27). "Sandra Oh Cast In Iris K Shim's 'Umma' - Produced By Sam Raimi (Exclusive)".
67. N'Duka, Amanda. (2020-10-29). "Sandra Oh, Awkwafina Team For Netflix Sister Comedy Movie; Jessica Elbaum & Will Ferrell Producing".
68. Kit, Borys. (2020-09-14). "Sandra Oh, Michelle Yeoh Join Henry Golding in 'Tiger's Apprentice' (Exclusive)".
69. Gardner, Chris. (2024-04-11). "'The Smurfs Movie' Sets Starry Cast to Join Rihanna; Dave Bautista, Eric Nam Board 'Airbender' Franchise".
70. Grobar, Matt. (2024-04-05). "Sandra Oh Joins Aziz Ansari's Lionsgate Comedy 'Good Fortune'".
71. (July 22, 2022). "'Gremlins' Star Zach Galligan, Sandra Oh, George Takei & More Join 'Secrets of the Mogwai' Guests".
72. "Jessica Hecht and Sandra Oh to Stop and Kiss Dec. 6".
73. "Satellites Orbit Brooklyn in Diana Son's New Play, Opening June 18".
74. "The Welkin".
75. (July 25, 2024). "Peter Dinklage, Lupita Nyong'o, Sandra Oh, Jesse Tyler Ferguson to Star in 'Twelfth Night' in Central Park".
76. "See Sandra Oh and the Cast of La Fille du Régiment at the Metropolitan Opera".