Michelle Thrush (born February 6, 1967) is a Canadian actress and
First Nations activist for Aboriginal Canadians and the other
Indigenous peoples of the Americas. She is best known for her leading
role as Gail Stoney in Blackstone, for which she won the Gemini Award
for Best Performance by an Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic
Role in 2011,[1] and her recurring roles as Sylvie LeBret in North of
60 and Deanna Martin in Arctic Air.Thrush starred in the Palme d'Or
and Cesar award-nominated film Jimmy P: Psychotherapy of a Plains
Indian.Thrush, who is Cree, was born and raised in Calgary, Alberta,
Canada,[1] by parents she admits were chronic alcoholics.[2] She
recalls being called "Squaw" at Bowness High School and bullied
because of her parents' illness. In grade nine she changed schools and
attended Calgary's Plains Indian Cultural Survival School. There she
felt accepted for the first time. She learned about herself, her
language, culture, singing and drumming. She remembers: "They filled
in a lot of the voids that my soul was just begging for."[3]Her
childhood hardships affected her profoundly. Though she acted in her
first film at 17, it did not occur to her it could be a career. She
planned to become a social worker and help children. She met Gordon
Tootoosis, a First Nations actor, who told her: "[I]f [acting] is what
your heart wants, you need to follow it and be true." At this point
her parents were sober. With no other ties to Calgary, at age 20 she
moved to Vancouver and found an agent.[3]
First Nations activist for Aboriginal Canadians and the other
Indigenous peoples of the Americas. She is best known for her leading
role as Gail Stoney in Blackstone, for which she won the Gemini Award
for Best Performance by an Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic
Role in 2011,[1] and her recurring roles as Sylvie LeBret in North of
60 and Deanna Martin in Arctic Air.Thrush starred in the Palme d'Or
and Cesar award-nominated film Jimmy P: Psychotherapy of a Plains
Indian.Thrush, who is Cree, was born and raised in Calgary, Alberta,
Canada,[1] by parents she admits were chronic alcoholics.[2] She
recalls being called "Squaw" at Bowness High School and bullied
because of her parents' illness. In grade nine she changed schools and
attended Calgary's Plains Indian Cultural Survival School. There she
felt accepted for the first time. She learned about herself, her
language, culture, singing and drumming. She remembers: "They filled
in a lot of the voids that my soul was just begging for."[3]Her
childhood hardships affected her profoundly. Though she acted in her
first film at 17, it did not occur to her it could be a career. She
planned to become a social worker and help children. She met Gordon
Tootoosis, a First Nations actor, who told her: "[I]f [acting] is what
your heart wants, you need to follow it and be true." At this point
her parents were sober. With no other ties to Calgary, at age 20 she
moved to Vancouver and found an agent.[3]
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