Shirley Jean Douglas, OC , LL.D (born 2 April 1934) is a Canadian television, film and stage actress and activist. Her acting career combined with her family name has made her recognisable in Canadian film, television and politics.

Biography

Personal life

Douglas was born in Weyburn, Saskatchewan, the daughter of Irma May (née Dempsey) and Tommy Douglas (1904-1986), former Canadian statesman and Premier of Saskatchewan. She is mother of three children: Thomas, from her first marriage, and of twins Rachel and Kiefer Sutherland, from her second marriage (1966-1971) to actor Donald Sutherland.

Acting work

Douglas's acting career began in 1950 with a role in the Regina Little Theatre entry at the Dominion Drama Festival,^[1] where she won the best actress award. In 1952 Shirley graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, UK, and stayed in England for several years, performing for theatre and television, before returning to Canada in 1957.

She continues to act and her career since then has encompassed several memorable roles on stages in Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States. She has portrayed prominent feminist Nellie McClung, family matriarch and business woman May Bailey in the television series Wind at My Back, Hagar Shipley in Margaret Laurence's The Stone Angel, and even characters in popular science fiction series like The Silver Surfer and Flash Gordon.

Douglas appeared on stage in 1997 with her son Kiefer Sutherland at the Royal Alexandra Theatre and the National Arts Centre in The Glass Menagerie. In 2000, she performed on stage in The Vagina Monologues. In 2006, she portrayed former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright in the American Broadcasting Company mini-series The Path to 9/11.

For her contributions to the performing arts, she was named an officer of the Order of Canada in 2003.

Activism

Upon moving to Los Angeles, California in 1967, Douglas became involved in the American Civil Rights Movement ? first in the campaign against the Vietnam War and later on behalf of immigrants and women. She helped to establish the fundraising group called "Friends of the Black Panthers" and was subsequently refused a U.S. work permit due to this. As a result, she returned to Toronto in 1977 with her three children.

As the daughter of the man who brought medicare to Canada, Douglas has also been one of Canada's most prominent activists in favoring the publicly-funded health care system over privatization of health care services. During the Canadian federal election, 2006, Douglas campaigned on behalf of the federal New Democratic Party.

Awards

• (2000) Gemini Award for her performance in the 1999 TV film ?Shadow Lake.?
• (2000) Honorary doctorate from Ryerson University
• (2000) "Diamond Award" for her volunteerism, by the Variety Club an international charity for children in need
• (2003) Order of Canada
• (2004) awarded a space on the Wall of Fame at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa
• (2004) received the "Distinguished Canadian Award" by the Seniors? Education Centre at the University of Regina, an award first presented to her father almost 20 years before
• (2004) inducted with a star, on Canada's Walk of Fame in Toronto
• (2006) In November, Shirley gave an honorary lecture at Trent University

Filmography

• The Path to 9/11 (2006) - Madeleine Albright
• Corner Gas (2005) - Peg ('Trees a Crowd')
• Robson Arms (2005)- Pauline Dubois
• The Christmas Shoes (2002) - Ellen Layton
• Made in Canada (2001) - Cybill Thornbush ('Beaver Creek Commercials')
• The Law of Enclosures (2000) - Myra
• A House Divided (2000) - Elizabeth Dickson
• Woman Wanted (2000) - Peg
• Shadow Lake (1999) - ?
• Barney's Great Adventure (1998) - Grandma Greenfield
• The Silver Surfer (1998) - Infectia
• Franklin (1997) - Narrator
• Wind at My Back (1996) - May Bailey
• Flash Gordon (1996) - ?(voice)
• Johnny's Girl (1995) - Mrs. Hardwick
• Redwood Curtain (1995) - Schyler Noyes
• Mesmer (1994) - Duchess DuBarry
• Shattered Trust: The Shari Karney Story (1993) - Vivian Karney
• The Hat Squad (1992) - Kitty (#1) (pilot)
• Road to Avonlea (1992) - Miss Cavendish ('High Society')
• The Shower (1992) - Marie
• Passage of the Heart (1992) - Katherine Ward
• Street Legal (1990-91) - Mayor Riley
• Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1989) - Monica Logan ('Driving Under the Influence')
• Dead Ringers (1988) - Laura
• Shadow Dancing (1988) - Nicole
• Really Weird Tales (1987) - Edna Besley ('Cursed with Charisma')
• Screwball Academy (1986) - Dadapopoplous' wife
• Turning to Stone (1985) - Lena
• The Wars (1983) - Mrs. Lawson
• Nellie McClung (1978) - Nellie McClung
• Lolita (1962) - Mrs. Starch
• Joe MacBeth (1955)
• Singin' in the Rain (1952)
• The Wizard of Oz (1939) - Young Munchkin

Further reading

• Shirley Douglas: Distinguished Canadian in The Commonwealth, Vol 64, No 3 (Jun-Jul 2004)
• Canadian Women in Theatre and Dance
• The Canadian Enclopedia

References

External links

• Order of Canada Citation
• Northern Stars
• The Commonwealth Journal

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