Sandi Ross – Actor, director, activist

Sandi Ross was born in St.Paul, Minnesota and came to Toronto in 1978, and is now a dual citizen. She studied theatre at the University of Minnesota for a BFA Degree, and has been a professional actor for the past 31 years both in the U.S.A and in Canada.

In 1986, she became involved in arts organizations and Unions, specifically in the area of promoting cultural and visible minorities, audible minorities or disabled performers. In 1993 she received a New Pioneers Award from Skills for Change for her work on this project. In 1994 Sandi became the first woman and the first person of colour to be elected President of ACTRA – Toronto Performers Branch. During this time she was on at least eleven different committees dealing with diversity in the performing arts. She has also sat on arts juries for the Canada Council, the Ontario Arts Council, The Toronto Arts Council, The Laidlaw Performing Arts Committee, and The Racial Equity Committee of the Canada Council.

Throughout all of this Sandi has maintained a dynamic career as an actor. She has many film and TV credits and has performed in three seasons at the Stratford Festival and appeared on most of Toronto’s stages.

The Award of Distinction is bestowed at the discretion of the jury and honours a distinguished industry leader. The leader is committed to the industry and dedicated to building a vibrant, diverse and active community of storytellers.