Sheila McCarthy

Early life

McCarthy was born in Toronto, Ontario on January 1, 1956. She attended Thornlea Secondary School in Thornhill in her youth. Her first appearance on stage was at Toronto's Elgin Theatre in Peter Pan when she was age six. She later attended the University of Victoria and spent a year studying with Uta Hagen at her HB Studio in New York City, and also workshopped with the Second City troupe in Toronto.

Career

After several years of television work under her belt, McCarthy secured a role in the made-for-television movie A Nest of Singing Birds (1988), receiving early recognition for her talent with a Gemini Award nomination for Best Performance by a Lead Actress in a Dramatic Program. That year, she made her first notable impression on the Canadian movie scene as Polly, the quirky, "organizationally impaired girl" in Patricia Rozema's I've Heard the Mermaids Singing. For this role, McCarthy won the Genie Award for Best Actress. The film became wildly popular in Canada, earning many international and domestic awards and critical acclaim.

McCarthy has since become one of Canada's more honoured actors, having won two Genie Awards (film), two Gemini Awards (television), and two Dora Awards (theatre) along with multiple nominations.

She played Sarah Hamoudi in the Canadian television series Little Mosque on the Prairie (2007–2012), a role for which she was nominated for a Gemini award. One of her more recognized big-screen roles is Samantha, the news reporter in the movie Die Hard 2 with Bruce Willis. Her most recent roles are Connie Hendrix, mother of the clone Alison in series Orphan Black and Agnes Rofa in the series The Umbrella Academy.

She is also an accomplished voice-over actress, having performed characters voices in Free Willy, Mythic Warriors: Guardians of the Legend, The Busy World of Richard Scarry, The Neverending Story, Bad Dog and Marvin the Tap-Dancing Horse.

On stage, McCarthy has appeared in Little Shop of Horrors, Hamlet, Cabaret, Guys and Dolls, Anything Goes, and Love Letters.

Personal life

McCarthy was married to actor Peter Donaldson from 1986 until his death in 2011. They have two daughters: Drew and Mackenzie Donaldson, who is also in show business (producer of Whatever, Linda and Orphan Black).

McCarthy is a spokesperson for The Quilt Project, a support group for families affected by breast cancer, and Canadian Feed the Children.

Filmography

Television

Discography

• 2006: "All Good Now" – from the movie Cow Belles

Awards and nominations

:This section needs to be expanded to include further awards and nominations.

Notes

References

References

1. (2009). "McCarthy, Sheila, 1956-". Gale.
2. . (2020). ["Sheila McCarthy"](https://www.allmovie.com/artist/sheila-mccarthy-p46970).
3. . (n.d.). ["Little Mosque on the Prairie Cast: Sheila McCarthy"](http://www.cbc.ca/littlemosque/cast.php?sid=6&cid=3). *Canadian Broadcasting Corporation*.
4. Ben Kaplan. (31 January 2013). "Sheila McCarthy: the star on collaborating with Liza Minnelli and why she loves life at Yonge & St. Clair". Post City Toronto.
5. Townend, Paul. (March 4, 2015). "Sheila McCarthy". Historica Canada.
6. . (2020). ["Alumni"](https://hbstudio.org/about-hb-studio/alumni/).
7. Ebert, Roger. (March 4, 1988). "I've Heard the Mermaids Singing".
8. . (n.d.). ["I've Heard the Mermaids Singing"](http://tiff.net/spring2015-cinematheque/canadian-open-vault-spring-2015/ive-heard-the-mermaids-singing). *Toronto International Film Festival*.
9. Aksich, Caroline. (October 31, 2013). "Cover story: A profile of Sheila McCarthy". Post City Toronto.
10. . (January 9, 2011). ["Peter Donaldson was 'finest actor's actor'"](http://news.ca.msn.com/top-stories/cbc-article.aspx?cp-documentid=2717727). *[[CBC News]]*.
11. Barnard, Elissa. (January 26, 2012). "Actress finds inspiration even in sadness of death". Herald Arts & Life.
12. (July 1, 2025). "Fantasia: The Well".
13. . (February 19, 2014). ["Dear Viola"](http://www.uptv.com/dearviola/cast). *UPtv.com*.
14. . (2017). ["Cardinals: World Premiere, Toronto International Film Festival, 2017"](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5a79aa83010027f2c098cae0/t/5a7c45c7e2c483d427b86775/1518093771493/Cardinals_Press%2BKit.pdf). *Wildling Pictures*.
15. Mietkiewicz, Henry. (September 5, 1985). "Cats leads pack of Dora nominees". The Toronto Star.
16. (February 26, 2018). "Winners: The 16th annual ACTRA Awards in Toronto". [[ACTRA.
17. Moreau, Jordan. (January 11, 2023). "SAG Awards 2023 Nominations: The Complete List". [[Variety (magazine).