Biography
Best known for her acclaimed portrayal of Anne Shirley in the TV miniseries "Anne of Green Gables" (CBC, 1985), Megan Follows racked up over 100 TV and film credits to become one of Canada's most prolific character actresses. Born in Toronto, Ontario in 1968, Follows grew up in an acting family and made her first on-screen appearance in a commercial for Bell Canada at the age of nine. Two years later, she made her TV debut in Boer War drama "A Gift To Last" (CBC, 1976-79), and starred in adventure series "Matt and Jenny" (Global, 1979) and sitcom "The Baxters" (Syndicated, 1979-1981), before moving to Los Angeles to study acting. After guesting as Jo's cousin Terry in "The Facts of Life" (NBC, 1979-1988), Follows joined her entire family in a two-part episode of "The Littlest Hobo" (CTV, 1979-1985), landed a recurring role as Didi Crane in comedy "Domestic Life" (CBS, 1984) and appeared in TV movie "Hockey Night" (1984). Follows' breakthrough year arrived when she made her cinematic debut in the adaptation of Stephen King's novella "Silver Bullet" (1985) and was cast as feisty red-headed orphan Anne Shirley in "Anne of Green Gables" (CBC, 1985), a role she also reprised for its sequel "Anne of Avonlea" (CBC, 1987) and its belated follow-up, "Anne of Green Gables: The Continuing Story" (CBC, 2000). Follows subsequently landed major roles in TV movies "Sin of Innocence" (1986) and "Inherit The Wind" (1988) before showing up in gritty small-town drama "Termini Station" (1989). After starring as Shelley in psychological thriller "Deep Sleep" (1990), Follows voiced Clara in animated feature "The Nutcracker Prince" (1990), portrayed real-life kidnap victim Peggy Ann Bradnick in "Cry In The Wild: The Taking of Peggy Ann" (1991), and tackled Shakespeare as the lead in "Romeo and Juliet" (1993). Following a brief stint as Kate Benedict in short-lived crime drama "Second Chances" (CBC, 1993-94), Follows guested on "Murder, She Wrote" (CBS, 1984-1996) and "The Outer Limits" (Syndication, 1995-2002), earned rave reviews for her performance as an autistic pianist in period drama "Under The Piano," (1996) and played small time crook Lisa in comedy "Reluctant Angel" (1998). Follows remained just as busy throughout the following decade with one-off parts in "Law & Order" (NBC, 1990-2010), "ER" (NBC, 1994-2009) and "The X-Files" (Fox, 1993-2002), supporting turns in "A Foreign Affair" (2003) and festive Christian film "Christmas Child" (2004) and a recurring role as Janice Keneally in anthology series "Robson Arms" (CTV, 2005-08). After portraying Shania Twain's mother in biopic "Shania: A Life in Eight Albums" (2005), Follows played Francie Thomson in several TV adaptations of Bernice Thurman Hunter's Booky novels, and guested on hit shows "Lie To Me" (Fox, 2009-2011), "Brothers and Sisters" (ABC, 2006-2011) and "House" (Fox, 2004-2012). Follows was then cast in two historical fiction series, firstly as Maud in "World Without End" (ReelzChannel, 2012), and then as Queen Catherine in "Reign," (The CW, 2013-) before taking on the role of Barbara in racing thriller "Drive Hard" (2014).
