Ellen Philpotts-Page (born February 21, 1987), known professionally as Ellen Page, is a Canadian actress. Page received both Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations for Best Actress for her role as the title character in the movie Juno.
She is also known for her starring roles in Hard Candy (2005), Smart People (2008), and as Katherine "Kitty" Pryde in X-Men: The Last Stand (2006). She also received attention in her native Canada for award-winning roles in Pit Pony and Marion Bridge, as well as television shows Trailer Park Boys and ReGenesis.
In 2008, Page was nominated for Time's 100 Most Influential People list[1] and placed #61 on FHM's Sexiest Women in the World list.[2] In June 2008, Page was named to Entertainment Weekly's future A-List stars list.[3]Contents [hide] 1 Early life 2 Career 3 Personal life 4 Filmography 5 Awards and nominations 6 Notes 7 External links
[edit] Early life
Page was born and raised in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, the daughter of Martha Philpotts, a teacher, and Dennis Page, a graphic designer.[4] She attended the Halifax Grammar School until grade 10, spent some time at Queen Elizabeth High School, and graduated from the Shambhala School in 2005. She also spent two years in Toronto, Ontario studying in the Interact Program at Vaughan Road Academy along with close friend and fellow Canadian actor Mark Rendall.[5][6] Growing up, Page enjoyed playing with action figures and climbing trees.[7]
[edit] Career
Page began acting at age 10, appearing in the telefilm Pit Pony, which would later spin-off a television series. This led to roles in a number of small Canadian films and television series—notably playing Treena Lahey in Season 2 of Trailer Park Boys. At 16, she was cast in an independent film shot in Europe, Mouth to Mouth.
Page starred in the 2005 movie Hard Candy, and gained praise for "one of the most complex, disturbing and haunting performances of the year".[8] She also appeared in X-Men: The Last Stand as Kitty Pryde (Shadowcat), the girl who can walk through walls. In the previous X-Men movies, the part had been used in brief cameos played by other actresses, but never as a main character.
As the title-character star of Juno, Page garnered substantial praise; A. O. Scott of the New York Times noted her as being "frighteningly talented"[9] and Roger Ebert said, "Has there been a better performance this year than Ellen Page's creation of Juno? I do not think so".[10] Page was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in Juno, but lost to Marion Cotillard in La Vie En Rose. The role, however, did win her several awards, including a Canadian Comedy Award, Independent Spirit Award, and Satellite Award.
Page starred in Smart People, which premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival and received a wide release on April 11, 2008. Although released after Juno, Smart People was shot earlier.[11]
Other film credits include An American Crime, which premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival; The Tracey Fragments, which was released in November 2007 in Canada and May 2008 in the U.S.; and The Stone Angel.
Page had planned to work on an as-yet unmade film entitled Jack and Diane opposite Olivia Thirlby, with whom she co-starred in Juno[12] and had discussed with Heath Ledger, starring in his directorial debut, The Queen's Gambit.[13]
She stars in Michael Lander's Peacock, opposite Cillian Murphy, Susan Sarandon, Bill Pullman and Josh Lucas,[14][15] which will be released in 2009.[16] She also stars in Drew Barrymore's directorial debut, Whip It! starring alongside Juliette Lewis, Marcia Gay Harden, Drew Barrymore, and Kristen Wiig.[17] The film is currently in post-production.[18] Of her post-Juno roles, Page told Teen Vogue, "People expect me to do some kind of gritty look-at-me-I'm-such-an-actor thing, but that would have felt contrived."[19]
Page hosted Saturday Night Live on March 1, 2008[20] and in May 3, 2009 she guest starred in the episode Waverly Hills 9-0-2-1-D'oh of the animated series The Simpsons as a character named Alaska Nebraska, a parody of Hannah Montana.[21]
She is attached to play the title character in an adaptation of Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre[22] and will reportedly play Stacie Andree in an upcoming film about Laurel Hester.[23] She is in talks to work on the thriller Inception in 2009.[24]
[edit] Personal life
Page resides in her hometown of Halifax,[25] and has a dog named Patti, named after one of her idols, Patti Smith.[26] She is prone to walk and talk in her sleep.[27] In 2008, Page was one of 30 celebrities who participated in an online ad series for U.S. Campaign for Burma, calling for an end to the military dictatorship in Burma.[28] She is a pro-choice feminist.[29]
[edit] FilmographyYear Film Role Notes 1997 Pit Pony Maggie Maclean TV movie 1999 Pit Pony Maggie Maclean TV series 2001 Trailer Park Boys Treena Lahey TV series 2002 The Wet Season Jocelyn short film Marion Bridge Joanie Rideau Hall Helene TV series 2003 Love That Boy Suzanna Going for Broke Jennifer TV movie Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story Young Lisa TV movie Touch & Go Trish Ghost Cat Natalie Merritt TV movie 2004 ReGenesis Lilith Sandström TV series Wilby Wonderful Emily Anderson I Downloaded a Ghost Stella Blackstone 2005 Mouth to Mouth Sherry Hard Candy Hayley Stark 2006 X-Men: The Last Stand Katherine "Kitty" Pryde 2007 An American Crime Sylvia Likens The Tracey Fragments Tracey Berkowitz The Stone Angel Arlene Juno Juno MacGuff Academy Award nomination - Best Actress Golden Globe nomination - Best Actress BAFTA Award nomination - Best Actress 2008 Smart People Vanessa Wetherhold 2009 Peacock Maggie Post-production[30] Whip It! Bliss Cavendar Post-production Jane Eyre Jane Eyre In development [31] The Simpsons Alaska Nebraska "Waverly Hills 9-0-2-1-D'oh" 2010 Inception Pre-production
[edit] Awards and nominations ACTRA Maritimes Awards 2003 - Outstanding Female Performance, Marion Bridge (Won)[5] Academy Awards (Oscars) 2007–Best Actress in a Leading Role, Juno (Nominated) BAFTA 2008 - Best Actress, Juno (Nominated)[32] 2008 - Orange Rising Star Award (Nominated)[33][34] Broadcast Film Critics 2007 - Critics' Choice Award: Best Actress, Juno (Nominated)[35][36] Canadian Comedy Awards 2008 - Best Actress, Juno (Won) Gemini Awards 2005 - Best Supporting Actress, ReGenesis (Won)[37] 2004 - Best Performance in a Children's or Youth Program or Series, Mrs. Ashboro's Cat (Won)[38] 2000 - Best Performance in a Children's or Youth Program or Series, Pit Pony (Nominated) Genie Awards 2008 - Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role, The Tracey Fragments (Nominated)[39] 2005 - Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role, Wilby Wonderful (Nominated) Golden Globe Awards 2008 - Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, Juno (Nominated)[40] Independent Spirit Awards 2007 - Best Female Lead, Juno (Won)[41] Screen Actors Guild Awards 2008 - Outstanding Performance by a Female Actress in a Leading Role, Juno (Nominated) Satellite Awards Best Actress - Musical or Comedy (Won) National Board of Review Best Breakthrough Performance - Female (Won) MTV Movie Awards 2008 - Best Female Performance (Won) 2008 - Best Kiss (shared with Michael Cera) (Nominated) Teen Choice Awards 2008 - Best Actress, Comedy (Won) 2008 - Best Breakthrough Actress (Won)
