Popular culture has allowed many people to cross the border south from Canada and show Hollywood (and everyone else) that the Great White North tundra isn’t all boring and cold. We know, we know: Pam Anderson, Jim Carrey, Paul Shaffer, Kids in the Hall, Bryan Adams, Michael J. Fox, Tom Green, Avril Lavigne, Shania Twain, Nickelback (this is where we pause to make an obligatory, but they’re very boring and cold put-down!), and others all are Canadians. But what if we told you there were others, living and working among us. Real live celebrities who are, and always will be, Canadian? Stunning, but true. Here are 10 that made us pause and reflect. Will this get us as much flack as our 10 Hot Jews For Passover? Only you can decide that.
Happy Canada Day to…
10. Nia Vardalos
That’s right. The lady you most associate with Big Fat Greek Weddings and all things Greek, is Canadian. Born in Winnipeg. Became a dual citizen of Canada and…not Greece, but the U.S., in 1999.
9. Shannon Tweed
Playboy Playmate, longtime unmarried lover of KISS frontman Gene Simmons, born and grew up on Newfoundland and Labrador. Sonofabitch! Proving Canada was importing blonde bombshells well before Pam Anderson.
8. James Doohan
You heard us, captain. Star Trek’s Scotty was a Canuck! Doohan was born in Vancouver, grew up in Ontario and even served in the Canadian army, which of course, serving the Queen of England or something, made him part of the Royal Canadian Artillery. He gave us all he got. And despite the accent, it was always Canadian.
7. Evangeline Lilly
Lost in love, and we don’t know much, but thinking of Kate, we now realize that she has had such a hard time choosing between Jack and Sawyer because she’s Canadian. And was even a flight attendant for Air Canada! That explains everything. (No it doesn’t) Where were we? WHEN were we?
6. Sarah Chalke
We grew up with her on Roseanne, saw her try to foil Zach Braff on Scrubs, and now wonder if she’s going to end up being the mother in How I Met Your Mother, but all this time, it never dawned on us that she might have been born in Ottawa and raised in Vancouver.
5. Cobie Smulders
She’s someone’s mother now, but we don’t think she’ll ever be the mother in How I Met Your Mother, either. Didn’t ever guess she was Canadian. Born in Vancouver. Now we know, and now you know.
4. Sandra Oh
The doctor who isn’t Dr. Grey but did date that one doctor and moved in with him, until everything went awry, and then he left and she started, Oh Canada already. Her parents immigrated from Korea to Canada, and she was born and grew up in Ontario, outside of Ottawa. She even spent the first part of her acting career wowing audiences up north before getting a break in Hollywood.
3. Anna Paquin
Sookie!? Yes. America’s favorite vampire-lover on pay cable (not to be confused with all of those twee Twilighters, who are probably all Canadian if we did any digging to find out), with the horrible Southern accent and all of the nudity, is from Canada. Even though her breakthrough Oscar performance as a child came in New Zealand, Paquin didn’t move there until she was four. She was born in Winnipeg.
2. Tricia Helfer
Our favorite Cylon is Canadian. Does that surprise you? Born and raised on the family farm in rural Alberta, her Cylon number is 6. We can think of several other numbers for her. The only reason she’s not #1 on this list is because, well…this guy?
1. Tommy Chong
No way, dude. Way. Way out there. He was born in Edmonton, grew up in Calgary, moved back to Edmonton, then back to Calgary, joined a soul band and went to Vancouver, where Cheech met Chong. They got high. And we all laughed at them.
Who’s laughing now, Canada? Who’s laughing now?
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