Mia Kirshner | |
|---|---|
 Kirshner at the 2012San Diego Comic-Con | |
| Born | (1975-01-25)January 25, 1975 (age 50) |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1989–present |
| Partner | Sam Shepard (2014–2015) |
Mia Kirshner (born January 25, 1975)[1] is a Canadian actress, writer, and social activist. She is known for television roles as Mandy in24 (2001–2005), as Jenny Schecter inThe L Word (2004–2009), asAmanda Grayson inStar Trek: Discovery (2017–2019) andStar Trek: Strange New Worlds (2023), and as Isobel Flemming inThe Vampire Diaries (2010–2011). Her film credits includeLove and Human Remains (1993),Exotica (1994),The Crow: City of Angels (1996),Mad City (1997),Not Another Teen Movie (2001), andThe Black Dahlia (2006).
Kirshner was born inToronto,Ontario, Canada,[2] the daughter of Etti (Henrietta),[3] a teacher, and Sheldon Kirshner, a journalist who wrote forTheCanadian Jewish News.[4][5] Kirshner is a granddaughter ofHolocaust survivors;[2] her father was born in thedisplaced persons camp atBad Reichenhall in Germany in 1946; and met Kirshner's mother, aBulgarianJewish refugee (ofSephardi Jewish descent), after theyimmigrated toIsrael.[6][2] Kirshner's paternal grandparents werePolish Jews (ofAshkenazi Jewish descent).[7][8] Kirshner had a middle class upbringing,[9] and attendedForest Hill Collegiate Institute but later graduated fromJarvis Collegiate Institute. Kirshner studiedRussian literature and the 20th-century movie industry atMcGill University in Montreal. Her younger sister, Lauren Kirshner, a writer, was involved in the I Live Here project.[10]
Kirshner started her career in 1989 in "Loving the Alien", a second-season episode ofWar of the Worlds, as both Jo, a young resistance fighter who is captured and duplicated by the enemy aliens, and herdoppelgänger. Kirshner made her film debut in 1993 at the age of 18 inDenys Arcand'sLove and Human Remains. She convinced her father to sign a "nudity waiver" to play adominatrix.[11] The following year, she starred as a conflictedexotic dancer inAtom Egoyan'sExotica. In 1996, she appeared inThe Crow: City of Angels. She also played Kitty Scherbatsky in the1997 version ofAnna Karenina.
Kirshner also appeared in the first three episodes of24 as theassassinMandy in 2001. She would later reprise the role for the second season's finale and in the latter half of the show's fourth season.[12] Also in 2001, Kirshner played Catherine Wyler, "The Cruelest Girl in School", inNot Another Teen Movie. The character is primarily a spoof ofKathryn Merteuil (played bySarah Michelle Gellar) inCruel Intentions, and was partially based on Mackenzie Siler (played byAnna Paquin) fromShe's All That. InMarilyn Manson's music video for "Tainted Love", which was featured on the movie's soundtrack, she made acameo appearance as her character Catherine Wyler.
In 2004, Kirshner was cast as writerJenny Schecter, a main character in the drama seriesThe L Word. She remained with the show through 2009, for all six seasons.[13]
In 2006, she starred inBrian De Palma'sThe Black Dahlia in which she plays the young aspiring actressElizabeth Short, whose mutilation and murder in 1947 remains unsolved. While the film itself was critically panned, many reviews singled out her performance for acclaim.[14][15][16][17]Stephanie Zacharek ofSalon.com, in a largely negative review, notes that the eponymous character was "played wonderfully by Mia Kirshner..."[14] Mick LaSalle wrote that Kirshner "makes a real impression of the Dahlia as a sad, lonely dreamer, a pathetic figure."[15] J. R. Jones described her performance as "haunting" and that the film's fictional screen tests "deliver the emotional darkness so lacking in the rest of the movie."[16] In 2010, Kirshner co-starred in the film30 Days of Night: Dark Days which began filming in the fall of 2009.[18] In 2010, she was cast as Isobel Flemming, a guest role onThe Vampire Diaries.[13]
In 2011, she voiced the title character inBear 71, aNational Film Board of Canadaweb documentary that premiered at theSundance Film Festival.[19][20]
On April 20, 2012, it was announced that Kirshner would join the newSyfy seriesDefiance.[21]
On October 9, 2013, it was mentioned on theShowcase blog that Kirshner would be one of several guest stars in season four of the television seriesLost Girl.[22]
From 2017 to 2019, she played the recurring role ofAmanda Grayson, mother ofSpock and stepmother of series protagonistMichael Burnham onStar Trek: Discovery (a role originated byJane Wyatt on the originalStar Trek). She later reprised the role in an episode ofStar Trek: Strange New Worlds.
On September 5, 2019,Entertainment Tonight's news outletET Online reported that Kirshner would play a character inLifetime's filmThe College Admissions Scandal with co-starPenelope Ann Miller in roles inspired by real-life actressesLori Loughlin's andFelicity Huffman's involvement in a massive college admissions bribery scam. Describing her role, Kirshner was quoted saying "This story is about privilege and corruption and it's about people who don't follow the rules because they think they're above rules... My character [based on Loughlin but named "Bethany" in the film] is so corrupt, greedy, narcissistic, self-centered, and the dialogue is hilarious, so I'm glad that they're able to capture humor about this as well."[23]
In September 2020, it was announced that Kirshner would co-star withBen Savage in aHallmark Channel holiday film entitledLove, Lights, Hanukkah!, which premiered on December 12, 2020. Kirshner plays a restaurant owner named Christina, who learns of herJewish ancestry through aDNA test.[24]
In October 2008, after seven years in production,[25] Kirshner published the bookI Live Here,[26] which she co-produced with ex-Adbusters staffers Paul Shoebridge and Michael Simons,[27] as well as writer James MacKinnon. In the book, four different groups of women and children refugees from places such asChechnya,Juárez,Burma andMalawi tell their life stories. The book features original material from well-known comic and graphic artists includingJoe Sacco andPhoebe Gloeckner. It was published in the U.S. byRandom House/Pantheon. It was supported logistically byAmnesty International, which will receive proceeds from the book. After the release of the book, the Center for International Studies atMIT invited Kirshner to run a 4-week course onI Live Here in January 2009.[28]
Kirshner was ranked #43 on theMaxim Hot 100 Women of 2002.[29] She andBeverly Polcyn were nominated for Best Kiss at the2002 MTV Movie Awards forNot Another Teen Movie.[30] In 2011 it was announced that Kirshner would be the face ofMonica Rich Kosann's jewelry collection.[31]
Between 2014 and 2015, Kirshner was in a relationship with actor and playwrightSam Shepard.[32][33]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Love and Human Remains | Benita | |
| 1993 | Cadillac Girls | Page | |
| 1994 | Exotica | Christina | |
| 1995 | Murder in the First | Rosetta Young | |
| 1995 | The Grass Harp | Maude Riordan | |
| 1996 | The Crow: City of Angels | Sarah Mohr | |
| 1997 | Anna Karenina | Kitty | |
| 1997 | Mad City | Laurie Callahan | |
| 1999 | Speed of Life | Sarah | |
| 1999 | Out of the Cold | Deborah Berkowitz | |
| 2000 | Innocents | Dominique Denright | |
| 2000 | Cowboys and Angels | Candice | |
| 2001 | Century Hotel | Dominique | |
| 2001 | According to Spencer | Melora | |
| 2001 | Not Another Teen Movie | Catherine Wyler | |
| 2002 | New Best Friend | Alicia Campbell | |
| 2002 | Now & Forever | Angela Wilson | |
| 2003 | Party Monster | Natasha Gatien | |
| 2005 | The Iris Effect | Rebecca | |
| 2006 | The Black Dahlia | Elizabeth Short | |
| 2008 | Miss Conception | Clem | |
| 2010 | 30 Days of Night: Dark Days | Lilith | Direct-to-video film |
| 2011 | 388 Arletta Avenue | Amy Walker | |
| 2012 | The Barrens | Cynthia Vineyard | |
| 2013 | I Think I Do | Julia | |
| 2016 | Milton's Secret | Jane Adams | |
| 2017 | A Swinger's Weekend | Fiona | |
| 2021 | Crisis | Susan Reimann |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | War of the Worlds | Jo Crane | Episode: "Loving the Alien" |
| 1990 | Danger Bay | Catherine Walker | Episode: "Live Wires" |
| 1990–1991 | Dracula: The Series | Sophie Metternich | Main role |
| 1991 | E.N.G. | Risa Timerman | Episode: "Suffer the Little Children" |
| My Secret Identity | Alana Porter | Episode: "My Other Secret Identity" | |
| 1991–1992 | Tropical Heat | Cathy Paige / Sandy | 2 episodes |
| 1992 | Road to Avonlea | Emily Everett-Smythe | Episode: "High Society" |
| Are You Afraid of the Dark? | Pam / Dora Pease | Episode: "The Tale of the Hungry Hounds" | |
| 1995 | Johnny's Girl | Amy Ross | Television film |
| 2001–2002 | Wolf Lake | Ruby Cates | Main role |
| 2001–2005 | 24 | Mandy | Recurring role |
| 2004–2009 | The L Word | Jenny Schecter | Main role |
| 2007 | They Come Back | Faith Hardy | Television film |
| 2009 | The Cleaner | April May | Episode: "Does Everybody Have a Drink?" |
| CSI: NY | Deborah Carter | Episode: "Dead Reckoning" | |
| 2010–2011 | The Vampire Diaries | Isobel Flemming | Recurring role (seasons 1–2) |
| 2012 | Kiss at Pine Lake | Zoe McDowell | Television film |
| 2013 | The Surrogacy Trap | Christy Bennett | |
| Graceland | Ashika Pearl | Episode: "Pizza Box" | |
| Lost Girl | Clio | Episodes: "In Memoriam", "Sleeping Beauty School", "Lovers. Apart." | |
| 2013–2014 | Defiance | Kenya Rosewater | Main role |
| 2015 | Bloodline | Sarah Rayburn | 3 episodes |
| Reluctant Witness | Erin Villenueve | Television film | |
| 2016 | Real Detective | Detective Mannina | Episode: "No One Is Safe" |
| 2017–2019 | Star Trek: Discovery | Amanda Grayson | Recurring role |
| 2019 | The College Admissions Scandal | Bethany Slade | Television film |
| 2020 | Love, Lights, Hanukkah! | Christina | Television film[34] |
| 2023 | Star Trek: Strange New Worlds | Amanda Grayson | Episode: "Charades" |
