Michelle Giroux (born 1976) is a Canadian stage, television and film actress whose credits include numerous productions at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival over fourteen seasons.
Michelle Giroux | |
|---|---|
 Portrait of Michelle Giroux | |
| Born | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Education | The Bishop Strachan School, The National Theatre School of Canada, The Birmingham Conservatory and The Canadian Film Centre |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Spouse | Graham Abbey |
Stage roles
editUpon graduating from high school in Toronto, Giroux was accepted as an acting student at The National Theatre School of Canada. In her third year she was featured among other artists as one of the "ones to watch" in the Montreal Gazette selected by theatre critic Pat Donnelly. Shortly after graduating she joined the Stratford Festival acting Company in 1997. Later she would be called "one of the best young talents at Stratford," in Martin Hunter's book about the Festival.[1]
In Romancing the Bard: Stratford at Fifty, Martin Hunter writes:
Michelle Giroux has shown a particular aptitude for willful, witty, and elegant young women in her portrayals of Lady Teazle in The School for Scandal, Gwendolyn in The Importance of Being Earnest, and Olivia in Twelfth Night.[2]
Her featured roles include the 1998 production of The Miser opposite William Hutt which also played at the New York City Center,[3] Lady Teazle in a 2001 production of The School for Scandal opposite Brian Bedford which went on to play at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater,[4] a 2003 production of Noël Coward's Present Laughter,[5] a 2005 production of The Brothers Karamazov,[6] as well as Julia in a 2007 production of Edward Albee's A Delicate Balance.[7] Other Stratford credits include Nina in The Seagull, Portia in The Merchant of Venice, Elvira in Blithe Spirit, Jean-Louise in To Kill a Mockingbird, Isabella in Edward II, Mary Robinson in The Swanne III, Helena in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Rosaline in Love's Labours Lost, Joan La Pucelle in Henry VI, Lydia in '"Pride and Prejudice and Althia McLaren in Front Page.
Her non-Stratford stage credits include starring in Claudia Dey's Trout Stanley at the Factory Theatre, Karoline Leach's Tryst and Same Time Next Year opposite R.H Thomson at the Segal Centre for Performing Arts in Montreal,[8] an adaptation of The Misanthrope and The Oxford Room Climbers' Rebellion at the Tarragon Theatre and The Winter's Tale, Measure for Measure and Portia (Dora nomination) in Julius Caesar with Groundling Theatre Company.
Screen roles
editIn 2009, Giroux studied in the inaugural acting class at the Canadian Film Center. Among her teachers were Norman Jewison, Sarah Polley, Kiefer Sutherland and Patricia Rozema. In 2013, Giroux starred in her first feature film, Blood Pressure, directed by Sean Garrity.[9][10] She was nominated in 2014 for best actress by the Vancouver Film Critics for her performance.
Filmography
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | She Said Lenny | Ellen | Short film |
| 2010 | Impossible | Narrator (voice) | Short film |
| 2011 | Murdoch Mysteries | Sarah Conolly Forbes | Episode: "Tattered and Torn" |
| 2011 | John A.: Birth of a Country | Isabella | TV film |
| 2011 | Flashpoint | Miranda Collins | Episode: "Day Game" |
| 2012 | The L.A. Complex | Samantha | Episode: "Down in L.A." |
| 2012 | King | Wendy Stetler | Episode: "Wendy Stetler" |
| 2013 | Blood Pressure | Nicole | Feature film |
| 2017 | Black Mirror | English Teacher | Episode: "Arkangel" |
| 2020 | Life in a Year | Amanda | Feature film |
| 2022 | Delia's Gone | Helena | Feature film |
| 2023 | BlackBerry | Dara Frankel | Feature film |
| 2023 | The Burning Season | Lillian | Feature film |
Personal life
editA resident of Toronto, she married Stratford colleague Graham Abbey in August 2008.[9][11]
References
edit- ^ "Alumni, Acting: 1990-1999". National Theatre School of Canada. Archived from the original on 2009-04-23.
- ^ Hunter, Martin (2001). Ramsay Derry (ed.). Romancing the Bard: Stratford at Fifty. Dundurn Press. pp. 290. ISBN 1-55002-363-2.
Michelle Giroux.
- ^ Wallach, Allan (November 15, 1998). "Stratford Sends Two Classics to New York". CurtainUp. Retrieved 2009-03-29.
- ^ Bowen, Joseph (January 21, 2001). "The School for Scandal". Centerstage. Archived from the original on September 29, 2011. Retrieved 2009-03-29.
- ^ Ouzounian, Richard (July 10, 2003). "Present Laughter". Variety. Retrieved 2009-03-29.
- ^ Ouzounian, Richard (June 19, 2005). "The Brothers Karamazov". Variety. Retrieved 2009-03-29.
- ^ "Hutt backs out of Stratford season for health reasons". CBC News. March 26, 2007. Archived from the original on November 4, 2012. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
- ^ Boyce, Neil (March 19–25, 2009). "Defying convention". Montreal Mirror. Retrieved 9 January 2011.
- ^ a b Donnelly, Pat (May 5, 2012). "Mouawad's latest will speak for itself". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved June 2, 2012.
- ^ Nayman, Adam (15 March 2013). "Blood Pressure: A Toronto love story, or something more sinister?". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
- ^ Ouzounian, Richard (September 27, 2008). "Border star steady with sword as well as gun". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2009-03-27.