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The Hollywood Reporter recently put together their first list of Canada's most powerful women in entertainment.
Not all of the women on the list are celebrities. In fact, most of them work on the business side of things. The list is also diverse with Korean-Canadians, Ukrainian-Canadians, those of Mohawk descent and a member of a First Nation who's also half-Jewish.
Most of the 42 names on the list may not be household names outside of Canada, but in time, maybe they will be. If that's what they want.
The 42 Most Powerful Canadian Women in Entertainment
The Actresses
Alessia Cara
The 27-year-old singer-songwriter was the first Canadian-born singer to win best new artist at the Grammys. She won the award for her 2016 song How Far I'll Go from Disney's Moana. She started her career at 13 years old when she uploaded videos of herself singing covers of Justin Bieber's Love Yourself and The Neighborhood's Sweater Weather on YouTube.
Tatiana Maslany
The Emmy Award-winning actress first became a name in the mainstream when she starred in the BBC America sci-fi drama series Orphan Black, playing most of the major female roles. The show ran for five seasons from 2013 to 2017. The actress won the only Emmy Award for the show in 2016 for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series.
That's all before she became the sometimes Hulked-out lawyer in the Marvel series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. She also voice several characters in the animated series Invincible. She'll next be seen in AMC's psychological thriller Invitation to a Bonfire. Maslany will also star in the horror film The Monkey with Theo James and Elijah Wood. The movie is co-written by Stephen King.
Rachel McAdams
The Academy Award nominee is one of the most powerful Canadian women in entertainment and will most likely be forever known for her starring roles in the 2004 romantic movie The Notebook and, of course, the original Queen Bee, Regina George in the 2004 comedy Mean Girls. She was most recently seen in the 2023 movie Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, based on Judy Blume's 1970 novel. She earned her Oscar nomination for best supporting actress for the 2015 film Spotlight.
Her other film credits include playing half of Fire Saga in Netflix's 2020 comedy Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga with Will Ferrell, Dr. Strange's (Benedict Cumberbatch) love Dr. Christine Palmer, the late Irene Adler in 2019's Sherlock Holmes and as a True Detective in its second season.
Alanis Morissette
If you grew up in the '90s, there's no way you didn't belt out an Alanis Morissette song. She released her first album, Jagged Little Pill, in 1995. It went on to sell more than 33 million copies worldwide — a feat for a first album before streaming was even a thing. That album earned her four Grammys: album of the year and best rock album; and for You Oughta Know, best female rock vocal performance and and best rock song.
Jagged Little Pill is on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 200 Definitive Albums list as well as Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Most recently, the album was number 31 on Apple Music's 100 best albums. The lead single, You Oughta Know, was also number 103 on the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Morissette has seven Grammys, the second-most for a female Canadian singer, second only to Joni Mitchell's 10.
Sandra Oh
Before she was one of the most powerful Canadian women in entertainment and also Eve Polastri in BBC America's Killing Eve (which ran for four seasons from 2018 to 2022), she was Dr. Cristina Yang in the longest running primetime medical drama, Grey's Anatomy. Oh won two Golden Globe Awards (one for Grey's Anatomy in 2006 for best supporting actress and another for Killing Eve in 2019 for best actress).
She also has four SAG Awards (the first for the 2005 wine movie Sideways for outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture, the second in 2006 for best actress for Grey's, an ensemble award for the same show the next year and the last in 2019 for best actress for Killing Eve).
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Oh is the first actress of Asian descent to earn a Primetime Emmy nomination for outstanding lead actress in a drama series as well as the first woman of Asian descent to win two Golden Globes.
She most recently voiced Debbie Grayson in the animated series Invincible. The actress is currently in the HBO miniseries The Sympathizer, adapted from Viet Thanh Nguyen's 2015 book of the same name. She'll next be seen in Aziz Ansari's upcoming directorial debut Good Fortune with Keanu Reeves and Seth Rogen.
Sarah Polley
Known in her home country as Canada's sweetheart, Polley earned her first Academy Award nomination in 2008 for best adapted screenplay for the film Away from Her. She won the Oscar for the same category last year for Women Talking.
Lilly Singh
She started out as Superwoman on YouTube and had almost 15 million followers. She parlayed this success into mainstream media in the US, hosting NBC's A Little Late. While the show only lasted two seasons, Singh returned to Canada to host CTV's Battle of the Generations and as a judge on Canada's Got Talent.
Shania Twain
The biggest-selling female country singer of all time is one of the most powerful Canadian women in entertainment, and has sold 100 million record so far. Twain still holds the Guinness World Record for the biggest-selling studio album ever recorded by a female vocalist for her third studio album Come on Over released in 1997.
As if that's not enough, the singer has five Grammys: her first in 1996 for her second studio album The Woman in Me for best country album. In 1999, she won two for best female country vocal performance and best country song. The next year, she won the same awards for Man! I Feel Like a Woman and Come on Over, respectively.
Twain also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, which she received in 2011. According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), she is the only female artist in history to have three consecutive albums that have been certified Diamond by the RIAA.
Nia Vardalos
Academy Award nominee Vardalos broke big with her 2002 film My Big Fat Greek Wedding. She was nominated for best original screenplay. The film grossed $368.7 million on the worldwide box office on a $5 million budget, making it the highest-grossing romantic comedy movie of all time.
The film spawned two sequels (one in 2016 and another last year) and a TV series a year after the movie was released. Tom Hanks and his wife, Rita Wilson, financed My Big Fat Greek Wedding, after seeing her one-woman show in La Brea.
Katheryn Winnick
Originally a martial artist, having earned a black belt at age 13 and opening three martial arts studios by 21, she broke big in the US when she played the shield maiden Lagertha in the hit TV series Vikings. It ran for six seasons from 2013 to 2020. She most recently played a detective on the Hulu crime drama mystery Big Sky. The actress, who is of Ukrainian descent, was recently asked by Volodymyr Zelensky to head United24's Rebuild Ukraine to help those displaced by the war to find new homes.
The Artists and The Entrepreneurs
The rest of the list includes:
- Neishaw Ali – CEO, executive producer, Spin VFX; oversaw visual effects on some 150 films (lMarvel's Ant-Man and the Wasp) as well as 32 TV series (including HBO's Game of Thrones and Netflix's The Umbrella Academy)
- Annie Bradley – Chair, Directors Guild of Canada, Ontario
- Tassie Cameron – Screenwriter, producer; ran TV shows like Flashpoint and Rookie Blue, Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent
- Valerie Creighton – President and CEO, Canada Media Fund
- Tracey Deer – Director; 2008's Club Native, 2005's Mohawk Girls
- Michela Di Mondo – Executive VP International, Fremantle Canada
- Jennifer Dodge – President, Spin Master Entertainment
- Sophie Dupuis – Director; 2018's Chien de Garde (Family First)
- Prem Gill – CEO, Creative BC
- Danis Goulet – Director; 2021's Night Raiders, Reservation Dogs (3 seasons, 2021-2023)
- Magda Grace – Head of Prime Video for Canada, Australia and New Zealand
- Jocelyn Hamilton – President, television, eOne Canada
- Jennifer Holness – Writer, producer, director; 2021's Subjects of Desire, 2022's BLK: An Origin Story, 2016's Shoot the Messenger, 2009's Guns, upcoming 40 Acres
- Susan Hummel – Executive Vice President & Managing Director, Canada Distribution and Ventures, Lionsgate
- Monica Ille – CEO, Aboriginal Peoples Television Network
- Devery Jacobs – Actor, producer; FX/Hulu's Reservation Dogs, Marvel's Echo and What If…?, 2023's Backspot,
- Christina Jennings – Chairman and President, Shaftesbury Films
- Katrina Kowalski – Senior VP, content strategy & acquisitions, Pluto TV
- Jenn Kuzmyk – Executive director, Banff World Media Festival
- Anita Lee – Chief programming officer, Toronto Film Festival
- Margaret Lewis – Senior relationship manager, Royal Bank of Canada
- Laurie May – Co-founder and co-president, Elevation Pictures
- Laura Michalchyshyn – Executive producer, Blue Ant Media
- Eleanor Noble – Actor, ACTRA National President; Alice in Borderland
- Sangita Patel – TV host; Entertainment Tonight Canada, Home to Win
- Jennifer Podemski – Actor, producer; FX's Reservation Dogs, Little Bird
- Julie Roy – CEO, executive director, Telefilm Canada
- Stephanie Shinkoda – VP distribution and co-country manager, Canada, Sony Pictures Entertainment
- Kari Skogland – director; Marvel's The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Fifty Dead Men Walking and The Stone Angel, Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale, Showtime's The Loudest Voice, Apple TV+'s Firebug, AMC's NOS4A2 and Starz's The Rook
- Karen Thorne-Stone – President, CEO, Ontario Creates
- Kim Todd – President, Original Pictures
- Hayley Wickenheiser – Olympic gold medalist, Toronto Maple Leafs senior director of player development
- Barbara Williams – Executive VP, English services, Canadian Broadcasting Corp.
Rising Talents:
- Jessica Cheung – line producer, production manager
- Meredith Hama Brown – director
- Sasha Leigh Henry
- Zosia Mackenzie – production designer
- Kudakwashe Rutendo – actor; 2023's Backstop
