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Sarah Polley extracted from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia, distributed under the GNU Free Documentation License

Sarah Polley
Born	January 8, 1979 (1979-01-08) (age 31) Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Occupation	Actress, Singer, Director, Screenwriter
Years active	1985 - Present
Spouse(s)	David Wharnsby (2003 - Present)

Sarah Polley (born January 8, 1979) is a Canadian actress, singer, film director and screenwriter. Polley is best known for her role as Sarah Stanley in the Canadian television series, Road to Avonlea. She has also starred in such films as The Sweet Hereafter, Guinevere, Go, The Weight of Water, My Life Without Me, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen and Dawn of the Dead.

Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 2.1 Early career and fall-out with Disney 2.2 Acting career as adult 2.3 Directing career 2.3.1 Becel controversy 3 Political activism 4 Personal life 5 Awards and nominations 6 Filmography 6.1 Films 6.2 Television 6.3 Director & writer 7 References 8 External links

Early life

Polley, the youngest of five children, was born in Toronto, Ontario, the daughter of Diane, an actress and casting director, and Michael Polley, a British-born actor and insurance agent (he attended acting classes with Albert Finney in England before moving to Canada).¹² Polley's mother died of cancer just after Polley's 11th birthday. Polley attended Subway Academy II then Earl Haig Secondary School, but dropped out before graduating.

Career

Early career and fall-out with Disney

Her first cinematic appearance was at the age of four, as Molly in the Disney film One Magic Christmas. At age eight, she was cast in the title role in the television series Ramona, based on Beverly Cleary's books. That same year, she also played one of the lead characters in Terry Gilliam's The Adventures of Baron Munchausen. Polley burst into the public eye the following year as Sara Stanley on the popular CBC television series Road to Avonlea. The series made her famous and financially independent, and she was hailed as "Canada's Sweetheart" by the popular press.^{citation needed}

The show was picked up by the Disney Channel for distribution in the United States. At the age of 12 (around 1991), Polley attended an awards ceremony while wearing a peace sign to protest the first Gulf War. Disney executives asked her to remove it, and she refused. This soured her relationship with Disney, and she left Road to Avonlea in 1994.³ The show itself was cancelled in 1996 (to which she publicly claimed indifference), although she did return as Sara Stanley for an episode in 1995 and for the final episode in 1996.^{citation needed}

Acting career as adult

Polley appeared as Lily on the CBC television series, Straight Up. It ran from 1996–1998 and she won the Gemini Award for Best Performance in a Children's or Youth Program or Series for her role. Polley's subsequent role as Nicole Burnell in the 1997 film The Sweet Hereafter, brought her considerable attention in the United States; she was a fan favourite at the Sundance Film Festival. Her character in the film was an aspiring singer — on the soundtrack, she performed a cover of The Tragically Hip's "Courage" and Jane Siberry's "One More Colour", as well as the film's title track which she co-wrote with Mychael Danna. "Courage" was also played in the ending of an episode of Charmed, "Long live the Queen" (Season 4 Episode 20).

She was cast in the role of Penny Lane in the big-budget 2000 film Almost Famous, but dropped out of the project to return to Canada for the low-budget The Law of Enclosures. Her role in the 2003 film My Life Without Me, garnered the Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in 2004. In the same year, she starred in a lead role in the stylish and successful remake of Dawn of the Dead, which was a departure from her other indie roles. In 2005 she starred in The Secret Life of Words, opposite Tim Robbins and Julie Christie. She was nominated as Best European Actress by the European Film Academy for her role as Hanna.⁴

Directing career

She made her feature-length film directing debut with Away From Her, based on the Alice Munro short story The Bear Came Over the Mountain. The movie, starring Julie Christie, debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 11, 2006 as part of the TIFF's Gala showcase. Away From Her was acquired by Lionsgate for release in the US for the sum of $750,000. It drew rave reviews from Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, and the three Toronto dailies, both for the performances of Christie and her co-star, Canadian actor Gordon Pinsent, and for Polley's direction. It also earned Polley a 2008 Academy Award nomination for her adapted screenplay and won the Genie Award for Best Achievement in Direction (the first woman to do so). At the 2008 Genies, she was also awarded the Claude Jutra Award, which recognizes outstanding achievement by a first-time feature film director.

Polley takes pride in her work and enjoys both acting and directing but is not keen on combining the two. "I like the feeling of keeping them separate. I find that really gratifying. I can't imagine combining those. For me, I love the feeling of using different parts of my brain separately."⁵

Becel controversy

In 2009, Becel margarine commissioned Polley to direct a two-minute short "to inspire women to take better care of that particular vital organ"⁶. A week before the short's planned premiere in Canada during a commercial break during the broadcast of the 82nd Academy Awards, Polley attracted headlines for taking her name off the film. Polley had understood that the film, titled "The Heart," would be used to promote the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, but was unhappy with the association with Becel. "Regretfully, I am forced to remove my name from the film and disassociate myself from it. I have never actively promoted any corporate brand, and cannot do so now," Polley said.⁷⁸⁹ In response, Becel said it was a "founding sponsor" of the Heart Truth campaign and had commissioned the film "to put heart health on the radar of Canadian women."¹⁰

Political activism

Following the row with Disney, Polley dedicated more of her efforts to politics, becoming a prominent member of the New Democratic Party, where Ontario legislator Peter Kormos was said to be her political mentor.

In 1995, she lost two back teeth after being struck by a riot police officer during a protest against the Provincial Progressive Conservative government of Mike Harris in Queen's Park.²¹¹ She was subsequently involved with the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty.¹¹ She has recently scaled back on her political activism.^{citation needed}

She was part of a group in 2001 which opposed the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas. The 3rd Summit of the Americas was held in Quebec City in April 2001.^{citation needed}

In 2003, she was part of newly-elected Toronto mayor David Miller's transition advisory team.

Personal life

On September 10, 2003 she married Canadian film editor David Wharnsby, her companion of seven years. "My relationship [with him] is the thing I'm proudest of in my life. I had a lot of opportunities to end up in some pretty bad situations and, despite all my faults, I had the sense to find someone like him and make the decision to be with him. You spend a lot of time wanting to be with the wrong person and I just feel incredibly lucky because I've succeeded at that one thing. I figured that out."¹²

Awards and nominations

• ACTRA
  • 2006 - ACTRA Toronto Award of Excellence (Won)
• Academy Awards
  • 2008 - Best Adapted Screenplay, Away From Her (Nominee)
• Director's Guild of Canada
  • 2007 - Best Feature Film :DGC Team Award, Away From Her (Won)
  • 2007 - Best Director :DGC Craft Award, Away From Her (Nominated)
• Gemini Awards
  • 2007 - Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Supporting Role in a Dramatic Series, Slings and Arrows (Nominated)
  • 1998 - Best Performance in a Children's or Youth Program or Series, Straight Up (Won)
  • 1998 - Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Supporting Role in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series, The Planet of Junior Brown (Nominated)
  • 1998 - Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series, White Lies (Nominated)
  • 1994 - Best Performance by an Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role, Road to Avonlea (Nominated)
  • 1993 - Best Performance by an Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role, Road to Avonlea (Nominated)
  • 1992 - Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role, Lantern Hill (Won)
  • 1990 - Best Performance by an Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role, Road to Avonlea (Nominated)
  • 1988 - Best Performance by an Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role, Ramona, (Nominated)
• Genie Awards
  • 2008 - Claude Jutra Award, (Special Prize)
  • 2008 - Best Director, Away From Her, (Won)
  • 2008 - Best Adapted Screenplay, Away From Her, (Won)
  • 2004 - Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role, My Life Without Me, (Won)
  • 2003 - Best Live Action Short Drama, I Shout Love (Won)
  • 2002 - Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role, The Law of Enclosures (Nominated)
  • 1997 - Best Original Song, The Sweet Hereafter, (Nominated)
  • 1997 - Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role, The Sweet Hereafter, (Nominated)
• Independent Spirit Awards
  • 2000 - Best Supporting Female, Go, (Nominated)

Filmography

Films

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1985	One Magic Christmas	Molly Monaghan
1986	Confidential
1987	Heaven on Earth
	Prettykill	Karla
	Hands of a Stranger	Suzie Hearn	Made for TV.
	The Big Town	Christy Donaldson
	Blue Monkey	Ellen
1988	The Adventures of Baron Munchausen	Sally Salt
1989	Babar: The Movie	Young Celeste (voice)
1990	Lantern Hill	Jody Turner	Made for TV.
1994	Johann's Gift to Christmas	Angel	Made for TV.
	Take Another Look	Amy	Made for TV.
	Exotica	Tracey Brown
1996	Children First!
	Joe's So Mean to Josephine	Josephine
1997	The Sweet Hereafter	Nicole Burnell
	The Hanging Garden	Teen Rosemary
	The Planet of Junior Brown	Butter
1998	Jerry and Tom	Deb
	White Lies	Catherine Chapman	Made for TV.
	Last Night	Jennifer 'Jenny' Wheeler
1999	Guinevere	Harper Sloane
	eXistenZ	Merle
	Go	Ronna Martin
	The Life Before This	Connie
2000	This Might Be Good
	The Weight of Water	Maren Hontvedt
	Love Come Down	Sister Sarah
	The Law of Enclosures	Beatty 'Beatrice'
	The Claim	Hope Burn
2001	No Such Thing	Beatrice
2003	The I Inside	Clair
	The Event	Dana
	My Life Without Me	Ann
	Dermott's Quest	Gwen
	Luck	Margaret
2004	Dawn of the Dead	Ana
	Sugar	Pregnant Girl
	Siblings	Tabby
2005	Don't Come Knocking	Sky
	The Secret Life of Words	Hanna
	Beowulf & Grendel	Selma
2009	Mr. Nobody	Elise
	Splice	Elsa

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1985	Night Heat Ep: The Game	Cindy Keating
1987	Friday the 13th Ep: The Inheritance	Mary
1988	Ramona	Ramona
1990	Road to Avonlea 1990-1994 (62 episodes)	Sara Stanley
1993	The Hidden Room Ep: Dangerous Dreams	Alice
1995	Road to Avonlea Ep: Comings and Goings Ep: So Dear to My Heart	Sara Stanley
1996
	Straight Up
1999	Made in Canada Ep: It's a Science	Rhonda
2006	Slings and Arrows 5 episodes	Sophie
2008	John Adams Ep: Reunion Ep: Unite or Die Ep: Unnecessary War Ep: Peacefield	Nabby Adams

Director & writer

Year	Film
1999	The Best Day of My Life
	Don't Think Twice
2001	I Shout Love
2004	The Shields Stories Ep: The Harp
2006	Away from Her

References

External links

• Sarah Polley at the Internet Movie Database
• Sarah Polley at TV.com
• Sarah Polley Interview
• Interview with Sarah Polley
• SarahPolley.Org
• The Heart Short film directed by Sarah Polley

Persondata
NAME	Polley, Sarah
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Actor
DATE OF BIRTH	1979-1-8
PLACE OF BIRTH	Toronto, Ontario, Canada
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH