Noreen Stevens facts for kids

Noreen Stevens (born 1962) is a Canadian cartoonist and writer. She is best known for creating the popular comic strip The Chosen Family. Her career as a cartoonist started in 1984, and her work has appeared in many publications.

Early Life and Education

Noreen Stevens was born in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. She spent her childhood in the towns of Mississauga, Ontario, and Strathroy, Ontario.

In 1985, she earned a bachelor's degree in interior design from the University of Manitoba. This degree involves learning how to design the inside spaces of buildings.

Career as a Cartoonist

After finishing college, Stevens decided to follow her passion for drawing comics. She began her career with a comic strip called Local Access Only. It was published in the student newspaper at the University of Manitoba from 1986 to 1987.

The Success of 'The Chosen Family'

In 1987, Stevens received a $5,000 grant from the Manitoba Arts Council. This money helped her create her most famous comic strip, The Chosen Family.

Starting that year, she began sending out new strips every two weeks. Her comic was published in newspapers and magazines across Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Some of these publications included Xtra!, Swerve, and The Washington Blade.

Stevens drew The Chosen Family for many years. She created nearly 400 strips before retiring the comic in 2004.

Art for Social Change

In 1991, Stevens teamed up with photographer Sheila Spence to form an art group called Average Good Looks. Their goal was to use art to promote fairness and acceptance for all people.

They created a series of large billboards in the city of Winnipeg. The billboards showed photos of people from the LGBTQ+ community in everyday situations. The messages on the billboards, such as "Lesbian, it's not a dirty word," aimed to challenge negative ideas. This project later expanded to other cities like Calgary, Edmonton, and Saskatoon.

Other Creative Work

Stevens also worked on other projects. In 1992, she drew the pictures for Ellen Orleans's book of essays, Can't Keep a Straight Face. She worked with Orleans again in 1996 on a second book.

Her comics were included in many collections, called anthologies. These books featured the work of many different cartoonists. In 2009, she wrote an online article for Xtra! about the serious impact of bullying on young people.

Personal Life

From 1993 to 1995, Stevens owned and managed a café in Winnipeg called Winona's Coffee and Ice.

In 2003, Stevens and her partner, Jill Town, became the first same-sex couple in Manitoba to jointly adopt children. They adopted two children, Dillon and Savannah, whom they had cared for as foster parents. Their family's story was shown on an episode of the Discovery Health Channel show Adoption Stories in 2009. Stevens and Town married in 2006.