Samantha Gail Weinstein (March 20, 1995 – May 14, 2023) was a Canadian actress.
Samantha Weinstein | |
|---|---|
 Weinstein at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2011 | |
| Born | Samantha Gail Weinstein March 20, 1995 |
| Died | May 14, 2023 (aged 28) Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 2001–2023 |
| Notable work | Heather in Carrie Audrey O'Hara in Jesus Henry Christ Sloane Plunderman in D.N. Ace |
| Spouse |
Michael Knutson (m. 2022) |
Life and work
editSamantha Gail Weinstein was born in Toronto, Ontario on March 20, 1995. She began her professional acting career at the age of six. By 2008, at the age of thirteen, she had appeared in the films Siblings in 2004,[1] Big Girl in 2005,[2] Ninth Street Chronicles in 2006,[3] The Stone Angel in 2007, and Toronto Stories in 2008.[4]
In February 2006, the 10-year-old Weinstein won the ACTRA Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female for her work in Big Girl,[5][6] the youngest performer ever to win that award.[7]
She was also a prolific voice actor, working in many cartoons right up until the last few weeks before her death, and was a singer and guitarist in the garage rock band Killer Virgins.[7]
Death
editOn May 14, 2023, Weinstein died at the age of 28, following from her two and a half year battle with ovarian cancer at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto, Ontario.[7][8]
Prior to her death, Weinstein had come out as nonbinary.[9][10]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Siblings | Danielle | |
| 2005 | Big Girl | Josephine | Short film |
| 2006 | Ninth Street Chronicles | Sara | |
| 2007 | The Stone Angel | Child Hagar Currie | |
| 2008 | Toronto Stories | Cayle | |
| The Rocker | Violet | Supporting role | |
| 2010 | Babar and the Adventures of Badou | Chiku | Voice |
| 2012 | Jesus Henry Christ | Audrey O'Hara | Main role |
| 2013 | Carrie | Heather | Supporting role |
| Haunter | Frances Nichols | ||
| 2015 | Reign | Brooke |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | The Red Green Show | Sam the Brownie | Episode: "The Spelling Bee" |
| 2004 | 72 Hours: True Crime | Lindsay | Episode: "The Game" |
| XPM | Emma MacDonald | ||
| The Winning Season | Reeny Soshack | TV film | |
| 2005 | Zoe Busiek: Wild Card | Young Zoe | Episode: "A Whisper from Zoe's Sister" |
| 2005 | At the Hotel | Piper | Recurring role (4 episodes) |
| 2005–2007 | Gerald McBoing Boing | Janine | Voice, recurring role |
| 2005 | Swarmed | Cindy Orsow | TV film |
| 2008 | The Border | Katie Johanson | Episode: "Grave Concern" |
| Super Why! | Swan Maiden | Voice, 2 episodes | |
| Céline: Her Life Story | Margaret | TV film | |
| 2009 | Maggie Hill | Emily Ransom | TV film |
| Being Erica | Young Erica | Episode: "Adultescence" | |
| 2010 | Less Than Kind | Jen | Episode: "Coming Home" |
| 2010–2012 | Babar and the Adventures of Badou | Chiku | Voice, recurring role (26 episodes) |
| 2012 | Copper | Kayleigh O'Connor | Episode: "In the Hands of an Angry God" |
| 2014 | Darknet | Heather | Episode: "Darknet 3" |
| 2016 | The ZhuZhus | Mindy Gelato | Voice, recurring role |
| 2017 | Alias Grace | Effie | Recurring role (3 episodes) |
| Wishfart | Finnula | Voice, recurring role | |
| 2019–2020 | D.N. Ace | Sloane Plunderman | Voice, main role |
| 2020-2022 | Let's Go Luna! | Gina, Harmony | Voice, episode: "Arrievederci Aqua!" "Love and Harmony" |
| 2021–2023 | Dino Ranch | Clara Tinhorn | Voice |
| 2023 | FLCL: Grunge | Akira, Saya | Voice, episode: "Shonari" "Orinoko" |
Awards and nominations
edit- ACTRA Award, won Outstanding Performance – Female, 2005, Big Girl.[6]
- Cyprus International Film Festival, won Special Mention for an actress's leading role in a short film, 2007, Big Girl.
- Austin Film Festival, awarded Special Jury Mention for her performance, 2007, Ninth Street Chronicles.[11]
References
edit- ^ Rita Zekas, "Step-sibling survivalry". Toronto Star, September 18, 2004.
- ^ Gayle MacDonald, "Twinkle, twinkle little star". The Globe and Mail, September 10, 2005.
- ^ "Toronto child actor Samantha Weinstein to make third appearance at TIFF". Canadian Press, July 21, 2006.
- ^ Rita Zekas, "At 13, already a TIFF veteran; Samantha Weinstein in their 6th festival film with Toronto Stories". Toronto Star, September 5, 2008.
- ^ "Tom McCamus, Samantha Weinstein win ACTRA Awards". The Daily Gleaner, February 25, 2006.
- ^ a b Gayle MacDonald, "A best actress at 10, they already wants to direct". The Globe and Mail, March 6, 2006.
- ^ a b c Puzic, Sonja (May 24, 2023). "'Embodiment of a sunbeam': Canadian actor, musician Samantha Weinstein dies at 28". The Canadian Press. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
- ^ Vlessing, Etan (May 25, 2023). "Canadian Actress Samantha Weinstein Dies at 28". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 25, 2023.
- ^ Evans, Greg (May 25, 2023). "Samantha Weinstein Dies: 'Alias Grace', 'Carrie' Remake Actor Was 28". Deadline. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
- ^ Weinstein, Samantha (July 15, 2022). "'What's the best thing that ever happened to me? Easy. Getting cancer.': Cancer patient shares beautiful love story, self discovery". Love What Matters. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
- ^ Bauder, Sarah (October 10, 2013). "Breakthrough Jew – Samantha Weinstein". shalomlife.com. Archived from the original on December 25, 2014. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
