Toronto's Top 5 homegrown actresses: Catherine O' Hara at No. 1
· Toronto Sun
When it comes to Toronto Sun readers favourite homegrown actresses, it doesn’t get any better than the late, great Catherine O’ Hara.
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Coming in at No. 1 in the latest Top 5 readers poll is the uber-talented comedian-actress of SCTV, Home Alone, Beetlejuice, Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind, and Schitt’s Creek fame, who passed away in January at the age of 71
1. Catherine O’Hara
The comedy icon, who got her start as a coat check girl and a waitress at Second City in Toronto, never forgot her roots, crediting Toronto’s vibrant comedy scene in the ‘70s for nurturing her comedic gift: “The first time I went to the old fire hall (Second City’s original space) in Toronto – the world made sense.”
Her sister is singer Mary Margaret but O’ Hara found herself in improv theatre. From Second City to television’s hilarious SCTV, O’ Hara gave us such memorable characters as Lola Heatherton – “I want to bear your children!” – and Dusty Towne, and won an Emmy for writing before a enjoying a remarkable film career.
She was working right up until the end in The Studio from fellow Canadian Seth Rogen, who called her a genius who would rewrite every scene she was in and make it better, had a more serious role in The Last of Us, and more recently played herself in Martin Short’s new documentary, Marty: Life is Short, on Netflix.
Here’s the rest of Toronto Sun reader choices when it comes to favourite homegrown actresses:
2. Rachel McAdams
This London, Ont.-born actress graduated from York University in Toronto and after appearing in theatre and theatre-based TV shows like Slings and Arrows, McAdams made a name for herself outside Canada as the villainous Regina George in Mean Girls, before memorable turns in The Notebook, Wedding Crashers, Red Eye, and The Family Stone before getting a supporting actress Oscar nod for her role in Spotlight.
More recently, McAdams, 47, played against type as the mousy if extremely resourceful office worker who gets back at her pompous boss when their plane crashes near a remote island in 2026’s Get Help from horror filmmaker Sam Raimi and she got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame .
3. Elisha Cuthbert
Born in Calgary, the 43-year-old actress is an honorary Torontonian having married then-Toronto Maple Leafs Captain Dion Phaneuf in 2013 with whom she has two children.
Herself a child actress ( Are You Afraid of the Dark? Popular Mechanics for Kids), Cuthbert appeared in such Canadian movies as Dancing on the Moon, Airspeed and Lucky Girl before moving to Hollywood and getting cast as Kim Bauer in the series 24 alongside Kiefer Sutherland. She also did smaller roles in Old School and Love Actually before her breakout role in The Girl Next Door and movies like House of Wax and The Quiet.
She was back on TV in Happy Endings and The Ranch. More recently you could see her and Phaneuf in Booster juice ads.
4. Sarah Polley
The daughter of actress-casting director, Diane Elizabeth Polley, this Toronto-born former child star (Ramona, Road to Avonlea) has proven to be a multi-threat as an actress-screenwriter-director-author.
Her early acting film credits included The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, Exotica and The Sweet Hereafter and Splice, but she proved herself behind the camera both as writer and director in such acclaimed movies as Away from Her, Take This Waltz and the documentary Stories We Tell.
But it was the excellent Women Talking, based on the 2018 novel of the same name by Miriam Toews, for which Polley, 47, won the best adapted screenplay Oscar.
5. Nina Dobrev
Born in Bulgaria but raised in Scarborough, Dobrev, 37, is best known for her role on The Vampire Diaries.
Her earlier breakout role was as Mia Jones in the drama series Degrassi: The Next Generation and post Vampire Diaries she appeared in such films as The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Flatliners remake. Her biggest commercial success came with XXX: Return of Xander Cage.
After taking acting classes at Armstrong Acting Studios in Toronto and attending the arts program at Wexford Collegiate School for the Arts in Scarborough, she went to Toronto Metropolitan University majoring in sociology, though her acting prevented her from graduating.
Her famous boyfriends have included Vampire Diaries co-star Ian Somerhalder and retired American professional snowboarder, skateboarder and Olympic gold medalist Shaun White, the latter who she was engaged to in October 2024 but by September 2025, they had ended their engagement and separated .
Hey Toronto Sun Readers: What should our next Top 5 be?
Don’t be shy about letting us know what subject you’d like to see of a future Top 5 poll and vote.
The subject can be anything from local – like your favourite swimming area – to Ontario – like favourite places for weekend getaways – or even favourite ways of distraction online be it entertainment, sports or lifestyle.
Please send your ideas to [email protected] .