Sheila McCarthy

McCarthy was born in Toronto, Ontario. She was married to actor Peter Donaldson, who died January 8, 2011 two years after being diagnosed with cancer. Together they had two daughters, Drew and Mackenzie Donaldson, who is also in show business (producer of Whatever, Linda and Orphan Black).

She played Sarah Hamoudi in the Canadian television series Little Mosque on the Prairie (2007-2012), a role for which she was nominated for a Gemini award. One of her most recognized big-screen roles is as Samantha, the news reporter in the movie Die Hard 2 with Bruce Willis. Her most recent roles are Connie Hendrix, mother of the clone Alison in the BBC America series Orphan Black, and Agnes Rofa in the Netflix series The Umbrella Academy.

After several years of television work under her belt, McCarthy secured a role in the made-for-television movie A Nest of Singing Birds (1987), receiving early recognition for her talent with a Gemini Award nomination for Best Performance by a Lead Actress in a Dramatic Program. That year, she made her first notable impression on the Canadian movie scene as Polly, the quirky, "organizationally challenged girl" in Patricia Rozema's I've Heard the Mermaids Singing. For this role, McCarthy won the Genie Award for Best Actress. The film went on to become wildly popular in Canada, earning many international and domestic awards and critical acclaim, with some critics dubbing it an instant Canadian classic.

Sheila McCarthy (born January 1, 1956) is a Canadian actress and singer. She has worked in film, television, and on stage. McCarthy is one of Canada's most honoured actors, having won two Genie Awards (film), two Gemini Awards (television), an ACTRA Award, and two Dora Awards (theatre), along with multiple nominations.