Megan Follows
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Megan Follows | |
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 Follows as Anne Shirley |
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| Born | March 14, 1968 Toronto, Ontario |
Megan Elizabeth Laura Diana Follows (born March 14, 1968) is a Canadian/American actress. She is known to international audiences for her role as Anne Shirley in the acclaimed 1985 Canadian television miniseries Anne of Green Gables and its two sequels.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
Follows was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada to an acting family (sometimes referred to as "The Fighting Follows"). Her parents are noted Canadian theatre actor and director Ted Follows and his first wife, actress Dawn Greenhalgh.[1] Her siblings, Laurence, Edwina and Samantha Follows are also actors. Her first acting job came at age nine, when she landed a spot in a commercial. She was directed to make an impudent gesture out of a school bus window - like sticking out her tongue - but ended up making a rather obscene and adult gesture instead.[2]
[edit] Career
After appearing in the kids tv show Matt and Jenny and a later stint in the Canadian series The Littlest Hobo, Follows was cast as Anne Shirley in the miniseries Anne of Green Gables, and subsequently appeared in the two sequels that followed. The part of "Anne" was a coveted role that she won over 3,000 other young girls. The miniseries, wholly produced in Canada, became successful around the world. Follows gained a substantial fan following for her portrayal of the popular literary character. Her performances earned her two Gemini awards as best actress for the first two miniseries, Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Green Gables-The Sequel.
Follows has made a number of appearances on Canadian television. She appeared in a popular made-for-TV movie, Hockey Night, around the time she appeared in Anne of Green Gables. She played the lead role of Cathy, a young girl who played hockey on a previously all-male team. Other Canadian television appearances included a role in the period drama Under the Piano, and a supporting role in Shania: A Life in Eight Albums. More recently, she appeared in the Canadian ensemble drama Robson Arms as one of the tenants of the Robson Arms apartment complex, and in the hospital drama Open Heart as a surgeon.[3]
Among the earliest American television appearances were roles in The Facts of Life (as a cousin of Jo Polniaczek in an episode that was intended as a backdoor pilot for a proposed spin-off) in 1982, and in the short-lived series Domestic Life as Martin Mull's TV daughter in 1984. A rarely recognized role played by Follows was Clara in the movie The Nutcracker Prince starring Kiefer Sutherland. In 1993-94 Follows was part of the ensemble in a short-lived CBS television series Second Chances with a then-unknown Jennifer Lopez. Follows has also appeared on ER, Law & Order, The X Files, Cold Case, and CSI:Crime Scene Investigation, among other TV guest roles.
Although Follows has been more prolific in television appearances, she has appeared in a number of feature films, including Termini Station, which reunited her with Anne of Green Gables co-star Colleen Dewhurst, Christmas Child, A Foreign Affair, and two movie adaptations of Bernice Thurman Hunter's "Booky" series, Booky Makes Her Mark and Booky and the Secret Santa in which she appears with her real life husband, Stuart Hughes. Follows also co-starred with Corey Haim and Gary Busey in the 1985 film adaptation of Stephen King's novella Silver Bullet.
On the stage, Follows has starred in Romeo and Juliet at the Stratford Festival, as well as Ibsen's A Doll's House at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. Recent years has seen the return of Follows on stage as a regular of the Toronto-based Soulpepper Theatre Company. In 2005, she had the leading role of May in their production of Fool for Love by Sam Shepard.[4] The following year, she took on the role of Annie in Tom Stoppard's The Real Thing which ran from May 11 to May 27 at Ottawa's National Arts Centre as a coproduction between Soulpepper and NAC English Theatre. Following this run, the play also made its way to Toronto as part of Soulpepper's 2006 season from June 10 to July 29 at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts. In 2007, she played the role of Marlene in the summer production of Caryl Churchill's Top Girls, running from June 25 to August 4, again with the Soulpepper Theatre Company. The show was extended to August 18 after much critical acclaim from the Toronto press. Following this, she starred in Soulpepper's 2007 production of Anton Chekhov's Three Sisters, which ran from August 30 to September 29 and which was also extended to October 13. Soulpepper's 2008 season, marking the company's 10-year anniversary, signals the continuation of Megan's prolific theatre career. She is scheduled to appear in two plays. The first play, running from May 13 to June 28, is Marsha Norman's 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Drama 'night, Mother in which she will co-star with her real-life mother, Dawn Greenhalgh. The second play will be Soulpepper's revival of its critically acclaimed 2007 production of Caryl Churchill's Top Girls. The show will feature the same cast and director, and will run from October 25 to November 22.
[edit] Personal life
In 1991, Follows married Canadian Christopher Porter, a gaffer and photographer, and was for a time credited as Megan Porter Follows. The couple divorced in 1995. They had two children: Lyla, who is dating the sexy Sean Winnik, and Russell Porter-Follows. Follows is now married to fellow actor Stuart Hughes, a founding member of the Soulpepper Theatre Company. She and Hughes (and her children) divide their time between residences in Los Angeles and Toronto. Follows is now a dual citizen of the United States and Canada.
Follows championed A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry in the 2002 edition of Canada Reads. She has also served as a spokesperson for the relief organization World Vision.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Megan Follows at the Internet Movie Database
- Megan Follows at the Soulpepper Theatre Company
- Megan Follows UK
- Shedding: A Megan Follows Fansite
- 2005 CBC profile of Megan Follows
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Follows, Megan |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Actor |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1968-3-14 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Toronto, Ontario |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
