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]