Montreal, QC (March 8, 2020) — To mark International Women’s Day on March 8th, the Montreal branch of ACTRA is proud to recognize the achievements of Brittany LeBorgne, naming her the 2020 ACTRA Montreal Woman of the Year.
Brittany is from the Mohawk community of Kahnawake, and knew from a young age she wanted a career in the performing arts: it runs in her family. Her first acting experience was with Kahnawake’s community theatre program when she was nine years old, and she has been a member ever since. Brittany attended John Abbott College’s Theatre Workshop program, and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism from Concordia University.
She is best known for her role as Zoe on the award-winning APTN series, Mohawk Girls, for which she received a nomination for Best Actress in a Comedy Series at the 2016 Canadian Screen Awards. She has also appeared on The Bold Type (Freeform), Street Legal (CBC), Transplant (CTV), independent feature Rustic Oracle, and upcoming features This Place, and Beans. Brittany is also a host for events like APTN’s Indigenous Day Live, and has been a guest presenter at Just For Laughs, the Canadian Screen Awards, and the Dreamcatcher Awards.
When she’s not in front of the camera, Brittany is behind the scenes as a director, for APTN documentary series’ Dream Big and Working It Out Together (Season 3), co-director for CBC’s digital documentary series, Thunderblanket, and most recently, as a writer for That’s AWSM! (Season 2), a youth series for APTN.
Brittany has given back to the community through such groups as Youth Fusion – an organization which aims to lower school dropout rates for at-risk youth – speaking about her experiences as a director, production coordinator, writer, and actor. Through these initiatives, as both a mentor and motivational speaker, Brittany has encouraged Indigenous youth to follow their aspirations and see that a variety of career paths, be they in film or other areas, are attainable.
“Brittany is a natural choice for Woman of the Year. She has seemingly unlimited energy as an artist both in front of and behind the camera, and she uses her platform to promote Indigenous stories too often overlooked by mainstream media. Her talent and drive are inspiring.” – Elizabeth Neale, ACTRA Montreal Women’s Committee Chair.
The mandate of the ACTRA Montreal Women’s Committee includes exploring the concerns of female ACTRA members and supporting women within ACTRA and in the audiovisual industry as a whole. Brittany joins past recipients of ACTRA Montreal’s Woman of the Year Eramelinda Boquer, Erika Rosenbaum, Lucinda Davis, Joanna Noyes, Jeannie Walker, Jacqueline McClintock, Danette Mackay, Felicia Shulman, and Dawn Ford.