Genie
Award Winner
Sandra Oh’s father, Joon
Soo, and mother, Young Nam, were married in Seoul, Korea, before moving
to the United States to attend university. Upon completing their education
in Michigan, the Oh family then moved to Toronto, 1967, where, as graduate
students, University of Toronto, Joon Soo studied Economics and Young Nam
specialized in Biochemistry. Upon completing their education, the Oh family
then moved to the Ottawa suburb of Nepean. From there, Joon Soo worked
as an Economist with the Federal Government while Young Nam worked at the
University of Ottawa. Sandra, born, Nepean, 1971, upon graduating from
high school, enrolled at the National Theatre School of Canada, Montreal,
and following her training there as an actress, became recognized almost
immediately as a film star, winning, 1994, FIPA d’Or, Cannes, France, for
her lead role in Runaway: The Diary of Evelyn Lau. The next year, she won
a Genie – Canada’s version of the Oscar – as best actress for her lead
role in the film, Double Happiness. For her performance in Last Night,
played at the Cannes Film Festival, 1998, she won the coveted Prix de la
Jeuness. In the middle of shooting her third season in the HBO Television
comedy series, Sandra won the best actress award for her portrayal of Rita
Woo, a quirky, oddly sexy, obsessive-compulsive with somewhat exaggerated
human problems. According to Larry Tazuma, Associate Editor, KOREAM, Sandra
stands out as one of the few Asian actors, “good enough to stand up to
the likes of Hollywood’s leading talents.” In 1999, Sandra won the Theatre
World Award for Outstanding New York Debut for her role in Stop Kiss. [Photo,
courtesy John Oh]