Karine Vanasse
Karine Vanasse (born November 24, 1983 in Drummondville, Quebec) is a French Canadian actress. Vanasse is the daughter of council worker Conrad Vanasse and Renée Gamache, now her manager.
Career
From as young as 9 years old, Vanasse expressed her desire to become a singer or an actress one day. That desire became an ambition when she appeared in Quebec's teen show Club des 100 watts after winning a "lip sync" competition. It was then, with the help of her mother and TV show host France Beaudoin, that she began to audition and take part in TV commercials as well as playing minor and supporting roles in French Canadian TV movies.
In 1998, Vanasse was approached by what is now known as the Motion International production company to co-host the once-popular Québécois children's science show, Les Petits Debrouillards , in an attempt to re-brand its "comeback" with a new, friendlier image. It was during her time on this show that she was spotted and hired by producer Lorraine Richard and director Léa Pool to play the role of Hanna in her first big break Emporte-moi (1999), a film telling the story of a teenager trying to find her identity in a tormented family environment. The film was presented in 40 festivals, shown across 20 countries and earned two Oscar nominations for best foreign film. Her performance was highly acclaimed both nationally and internationally and earned her the title of best actress at the Jutra Award Gala, in Quebec.
Vanasse then moved on to play Zac (Benoit Langlais's love interest) in the controversial Quebec TV series 2 frères (1999). Her character, Lucie, became much more prominent and realistic in 2000–2001 and the debate stirred by the realistic and violent reality revealed led her to become, together with Langlais, a spokesperson for the government-funded TV program Parler, c'est grandir , a broadcast aimed at youngsters from unstable backgrounds.
Her teen roles began to stick and at the risk of becoming typecast she took on the main role for the feature film Du pic au coeur (2001), a trendy production by Céline Baril on the intricacies of today's youngsters' love lives. In the spring of 2001, Vanasse applied for the ITHAKA program and took a six-month break in Greece to devote her time to travelling and academic work.
After this break, she broke from the rebellious teenager typecasting by playing Donalda in Charles Binamé's film, Séraphin: un homme et son péché (2002), with actor Roy Dupuis. She was cast as an FLQ terrorist in the 2006 miniseries October 1970 on CBC's English network. Vanasse has also appeared in various Canadian theatrical productions in both French and English.
Vanasse was a producer and cast member of the 2009 film Polytechnique which portrays the 1989 École Polytechnique massacre in Montreal.
She provides the voice of Wendy in the French dubbed version of South Park which is scheduled for broadcast on V from September 2009.
Filmography
- 1999: Le Souper
- 1999: Emporte-moi
- 2001: Du pic au cœur
- 2002: Séraphin: un homme et son péché
- 2004: Nous étions libres (Head in the Clouds)
- 2006: Sans elle
- 2006: Marie-Antoinette
- 2007: Ma fille, mon ange (My daughter, my angel)
- 2007: Killer Wave
- 2008: Emma Fire
- 2009: Polytechnique
- 2009: South Park (V, French version)
References
- ^ Lupick, Travis (2009-03-16). "Polytechnique an intense journey for Karine Vanasse". The Georgia Straight . http://www.straight.com/article-206268/polytechnique-intense-journey . Retrieved 2009-08-15 .
- ^ Wilner, Norman (2009-03-17). "Q&A: Karine Vanasse / Actor, Polytechnique". NOW . http://www.nowtoronto.com/movies/story.cfm?content=168522 . Retrieved 2009-08-15 .
- ^ "South Park to air in French this fall". CBC News. 14 August 2009 . http://www.cbc.ca/arts/tv/story/2009/08/14/south-park-french.html . Retrieved 2009-08-15 .
