Sarah Polley facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Sarah Polley OC
Polley at the 2009 Venice International Film Festival
Born	Sarah Ellen Polley (1979-01-08) January 8, 1979 (age 46) Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Occupation	Actor writer director producer political activist
Years active	1985–present
Spouse(s)	David Wharnsby ​ ​ (m. 2003; div. 2008)​ David Sandomierski ​ ​ (m. 2011)​
Children	3
Parent(s)	Harry Gulkin (biological father)

Sarah Ellen Polley OC (born January 8, 1979) is a Canadian filmmaker, writer, and former actress. She first became known as a child actress. She played Ramona Quimby in the TV series Ramona, based on Beverly Cleary's books. She also starred as Sara Stanley in the Canadian TV series Road to Avonlea (1990–1996).

Sarah Polley has been in many movies. These include The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988), Exotica (1994), The Sweet Hereafter (1997), Go (1999), My Life Without Me (2003), and Dawn of the Dead (2004).

Polley later became a director. Her first feature film was Away from Her (2006). For this movie, she won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Director. She was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. Her other films include Take This Waltz (2011) and the documentary Stories We Tell (2012). She also wrote the miniseries Alias Grace. In 2022, she wrote and directed Women Talking. For this film, she won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Early Life and Learning

Sarah Ellen Polley was born on January 8, 1979, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She was the youngest of five children. Her mother, Diane Elizabeth Polley, was an actress and casting director. She passed away from cancer in 1990, when Sarah was 11 years old.

As a child, Sarah had a condition called scoliosis, which affects the spine. At 15, she had surgery for it and spent a year recovering in bed.

Sarah was raised by her mother and Michael Polley. Later, as an adult, she found out her biological father was Harry Gulkin. He was a film producer from Quebec.

Polley went to Subway Academy II and then Earl Haig Secondary School. She left school at age 15. Around this time, she lived on her own. She has said that the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty helped her find housing and get involved in activism.

In November 2024, Polley received an honorary degree from the University of British Columbia.

Career Highlights

Starting as a Child Actor

Sarah Polley first appeared on screen at age four in the film One Magic Christmas. In 1987, she was in the pilot episode of Friday the 13th: The Series.

At eight years old, she was cast as Ramona Quimby in the TV series Ramona. This show was based on popular books by Beverly Cleary.

That same year, she played a main character in Terry Gilliam's movie The Adventures of Baron Munchausen. In 1990, Polley became very famous as Sara Stanley in the CBC TV series Road to Avonlea. This show made her well-known and financially independent. It was also shown in the United States on the Disney Channel.

When she was 12, Polley wore a peace sign to an awards ceremony to protest the first Gulf War. Disney executives asked her to remove it, but she refused. This caused problems with Disney. However, she continued on Road to Avonlea until 1994. She returned for an episode in 1995 and for the series finale.

In 1994, Polley started acting in plays at the Stratford Festival. She played Alice in Alice Through the Looking Glass. She left the play early. In 2022, she shared that she had severe stage fright, which continued into her adult life.

Acting as an Adult

Polley appeared in the TV series Straight Up from 1996 to 1998. She won an award for her role in this show. By age 13, Polley was not happy with her acting career. Working with director Atom Egoyan in his film Exotica changed her view.

Her role in Egoyan's 1997 film The Sweet Hereafter brought her a lot of attention. In the film, her character was a singer. Polley sang songs for the movie's soundtrack.

In 1998, Polley was in the film Last Night. The next year, she starred in Go. She was offered a role in the big movie Almost Famous (2000). But she chose to return to Canada for a smaller film instead.

Her role in the 2003 film My Life Without Me won her an award for Best Actress. In 2004, she starred in the remake of Dawn of the Dead. This was different from her usual independent film roles.

In 2005, she starred in The Secret Life of Words. She was nominated for an award for her role as Hanna.

In 2006, Polley took a role in the TV series Slings and Arrows. Her father, Michael Polley, was also a regular actor on this show. In 2007, she was a judge at the Cannes Film Festival.

In 2008, Polley played Nabby Adams in the HBO miniseries John Adams. She also appeared in Mr. Nobody (2010). Critics praised her acting in this film.

Polley at the premiere of Mr. Nobody at the 2009 Toronto Film Festival

Sarah Polley has not taken an acting role since 2010. She has moved into a career of writing and directing.

Becoming a Director

In 1999, Polley made her first short film, The Best Day of My Life. She also made another short film that year called Don't Think Twice. Polley studied directing in 2001. She won an award in 2003 for her short film I Shout Love.

Her first full-length movie as a director was Away from Her (2006). Polley wrote the script for this film, based on a short story. The movie received great reviews. It earned Polley an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay. She also won an award for Best Director.

Polley wrote and directed her second feature film, Take This Waltz, which came out in 2011.

Her documentary film Stories We Tell premiered in 2012. This film explored family secrets from Polley's own childhood. It won a major Canadian film award. In 2017, Polley was an executive producer for the film A Better Man.

In 2012, Polley announced she would adapt Margaret Atwood's novel Alias Grace. Polley had wanted to adapt this book since she was 17. The six-part miniseries premiered in 2017. It received very good reviews from critics.

In 2020, Polley announced she would direct Women Talking. This film is based on a novel by Miriam Toews. It premiered in 2022 and was widely praised. Polley won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for this film. The movie was also nominated for Best Picture.

Polley has said she enjoys both acting and directing. However, she prefers to keep them separate. She likes using different parts of her brain for each role.

Writing Books

Polley has written many essays about her experiences as a child star. In 2022, she released her first book of essays, called Run Towards the Danger. This book has six essays that look at parts of Polley's career. It talks about her roles in plays and in films like The Adventures of Baron Munchausen and Road to Avonlea.

Political and Social Activism

After the incident with Disney when she was 12, Polley became more involved in politics. She was a member of the Ontario New Democratic Party.

In 1995, she was hit by a police officer during a protest in Queen's Park. She lost two back teeth. She was also involved with the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty. After this, she became less active in political protests.

In 2001, she was part of a group that opposed a trade agreement called the Free Trade Area of the Americas. In 2003, she was part of former Toronto mayor David Miller's team.

In 2009, Polley directed a short film to support the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada. This film was meant to be shown during the 82nd Academy Awards. However, Polley learned that the film was also being used to promote a margarine product. She then removed her name from the film. She stated that she had never promoted a company brand and could not do so then.

In January 2012, Polley supported Peggy Nash in the leadership race for the New Democratic Party.

In 2017, Polley wrote an article in The New York Times. She shared her experiences in Hollywood and how women are treated there. She connected this to why she had not acted in years.

Personal Life

On September 10, 2003, Polley married Canadian film editor David Wharnsby. They had been together for seven years. They divorced in 2008. On August 23, 2011, she married David Sandomierski. They have three children together.

Polley is an atheist. This means she does not believe in a god or gods.

Filmography

Film Production

Short Films

Feature Films

Film Acting

Television Work

Executive Producer

• Secret Path (2016) (TV movie)
• Better Man, AA Better Man (2017) (Documentary)

Acting Roles

Awards and Nominations

On October 16, 2010, it was announced that Polley would receive a star on Canada's Walk of Fame. In June 2013, she received an award from the National Arts Centre. She was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada on December 30, 2013.

See also

In Spanish: Sarah Polley para niños