
Sarah Polley
Department: Acting
Biography
Sarah Ellen Polley OC (born January 8, 1979) is a Canadian filmmaker, political activist and retired actress. She first garnered attention as a child actress for her role as Ramona Quimby in the television series Ramona, based on Beverly Cleary's books. This subsequently led to her role as Sara Stanley in the Canadian television series Road to Avonlea (1990–1996). She has starred in many feature films, including The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988), Exotica (1994), The Sweet Hereafter (1997), Guinevere (1999), Go (1999), The Weight of Water (2000), No Such Thing (2001), My Life Without Me (2003), Dawn of the Dead (2004), Splice (2009), and Mr. Nobody (2009). Polley made her feature film directorial debut with Away from Her (2006), for which she won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Director and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. Polley's second film, Take This Waltz (2011), premiered at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival, followed by her first documentary film, Stories We Tell (2012). She also wrote the miniseries Alias Grace, based on the 1996 novel of the same name by Margaret Atwood. In 2022, Polley wrote and directed the film Women Talking, based on the 2018 novel of the same name by Miriam Toews, for which she won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. Description above from the Wikipedia article Sarah Polley, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For

My Life Without Me
2003

The Secret Life of Words
2005

Dawn of the Dead
2004

The Sweet Hereafter
1997

Don't Come Knocking
2005

eXistenZ
1999

Exotica
1994

Mr. Nobody
2009

The I Inside
2004

Go
1999

One Magic Christmas
1985

The Weight of Water
2001

The Event
2003

No Such Thing
2002

Babar: The Movie
1989

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
1988

Guinevere
1999

Splice
2010

The Claim
2000

Last Night
1998

Heaven On Earth
1987

Trigger
2010

White Lies
1998

Joe's So Mean to Josephine
1997

Jerry and Tom
1998

Wrath of Gods
2007

Blue Monkey
1987

Siblings
2004

Stories We Tell
2012

Pretty Kill
1987

This Might Be Good
2000

Lantern Hill
1989

Preludes
2000

Beowulf & Grendel
2005

The Life Before This
1999

The Planet of Junior Brown
1997

Children First!
1996

Luck
2004

Hands of a Stranger
1987

Road to Avonlea: The Movie
1990

Confidential
1986

The Law of Enclosures
2000

Johann's Gift to Christmas
1992

Love Come Down
2000

Margaret Atwood: A Word After a Word After a Word Is Power
2019

The Hanging Garden
1997

The Madness and Misadventures of Munchausen
2008

Sugar
2004

The Big Town
1987

Reel Herstory: The Real Story of Reel Women
2014

Dermott's Quest
2003

The Incredible Time-Travels of Henry Osgood
1986

Friday the 13th: The Series
1987

Ramona
1988

Slings & Arrows
2003

Road to Avonlea
1990

John Adams
2008

Teen Choice Awards
1999

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
2015

The Oscars
1953

Directors on Directors
2021

The Studio
2025

Golden Globe Awards
1944