The Great White North has produced a number of great actors, writers and directors within the entertainment industry over the years, including comedic legends, prominent stage actors, action heroes and the like. Here we celebrate Canada’s most successful actresses. The actresses listed below started their careers in their humble homeland of Canada and eventually made a name for themselves in Hollywood. While many of them started their careers in local television productions, they have gone on to star in some of the greatest movies and television series ever made.
Together they played in hit shows such as real blood, Grey’s Anatomy, Lostand How I met your mother and also starred in blockbuster movies and franchises such as scream, ant man, The Avengersand Sherlock Holmes. Although there are many great and talented canadian actresses to choose from, the women below have achieved unprecedented success in their careers across the border. From humble beginnings to Hollywood heavyweights, here are the six most successful Canadian actresses in Hollywood.
6 Evangeline Lilly
born in Alberta Evangeline Lilly was discovered by Ford Modeling Agency in her teens. She was eventually cast in a number of commercials and earned small non-speaking roles on the television series smallville and Kingdom Hospital. In 2004, Lilly defeated 75 other women to win the role of Kate Austen in the ABC primetime series Lost. Lilly also starred in movies like The hurt lockerJRR Tolkien’s three-part adaptation of the hobbit, and Marvel’s ant man and Ant-Man and the Wasp.
5 Anna Paquino
born in Winnipeg Anna Paquino is the second-youngest person in history to ever win an Academy Award. She won the prestigious Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress at age 11 for her first acting role as Flora McGrath in The piano. Paquin lived a nomadic lifestyle, moving from Canada to New Zealand at the age of four and then to the United States in her teens. She starred in several popular 90s movies, including: Fly home, that’s all of them, X-Menand Almost Famous, and then focused on stage productions from 2001 to 2004, torn between New York and England. However, it was in 2007 that she landed her breakthrough role as Sookie Stackhouse in the HBO drama Real blood. More recently she starred in the Amazon Original’s Flack and modern love.
4 Neve Campbell
Neve Campbell began her acting career in the Canadian-made teen drama catwalkhowever, most would remember her for her next TV venture as Julia Salinger in Party of Five. The critically acclaimed television series opened many doors for Campbell, and in 1996 she would land a life-changing role as Sidney Prescott in the first episode of the scream franchisee. Campbell also starred in the craft, wild things, Companyand more recently in the popular series House of cards and The Lincoln Attorney. She recently made headlines when she walked away from the popular horror franchise, saying her contribution was undervalued.
3 Cobie Smulders
Before she became famous as Robin Scherbatsky in the comedy series How I met your mother Cobie Smulders starred in several television series, including a recurring role on the Showtime drama The L word. Since her time on the hit sitcom, she has starred in several films, including a voice role as Wonder Woman in The Lego movie and The Lego movie: the second part. She also played the role of SHIELD agent Maria Hill in several MCU movies and television series, including: Captain America: The Winter Soldier, The Avengers franchise, Spider-Man: Far From Homeand Agents of SHIELD.
2 Rachel mcadams
born in Ontario Rachel mcadams became interested in acting at a young age. In her youth she went to acting camps and was a member of the Ontario Kids Theater Company. In high school, she was persuaded by her drama teacher to pursue a professional acting career. In 2001 she graduated from York University theater with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. That same year, she made her film debut with the Italian-Canadian film My name is Tonino. A year later, she made her Hollywood debut with the 2002 film The pretty girl. Two years later she appeared as Regina George in mean girls, marking her breakthrough role. Since then, she has starred in several hit movies, including: The notebook, Wedding Crashers, Sherlock Holmes, Doctor Strange, and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Throughout her career, she has won several Gemini and Genie awards and earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her work in the 2015 film based on a newspaper article spotlight.
1 Sandra Oh
born in Ontario Sandra Oh was active in the arts from an early age, starring in several school productions and participating in the Canadian Improv Games. After graduating from the National Theater School in Montreal in 1993, Oh found success in the acclaimed Canadian drama Double happiness, which won her a Genie Award. In the early 2000s, Oh starred in films such as Dancing at the Blue Iguana, Under the Tuscan sun, and sideways. She also earned credit for her role as Rita Wu in the HBO comedy Arliss. In 2005, she won her most iconic role as Dr. Cristina Yang in the popular medical drama Grey’s Anatomy, but would eventually leave on season 10 because she felt it was time to let go. Ever since Grey’s came to an end, Oh starred in several movies and in the Netflix series The chair and the BBC series Kill Eve. Throughout her career, she has won a slew of awards for her work, including two Golden Globes and four Screen Actors Guild Awards. Oh recently uttered the delightful Disney Pixar animation To blushand in her most recent project you can see her on Prime Video in the Sam Raimi horror movie Umma. There’s no denying that Oh is currently the hottest Canadian actress in Hollywood.