Celebrity Nooz: Megan Follows

Megan Follows (Actress) - Anne of Green Gables

Updated: 3/3/11

Name: Megan Follows

Birth Name: Megan Elizabeth Laura Diana Follows

Born: March 14, 1968, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Claim To Fame: She is best known for her portrayal of Anne Shirley in the Canadian television miniseries Anne of Green Gables (1985).

Family Life: She was married to Christopher Porter from 1991-1996, and they have two children together: Lyla Anne (b. 1991) and Russell (b. 1995). She currently lives with actor Stuart Hughes and her two children.

Info: Follows comes from a showbiz family. Her father Ted Follows, mother Dawn Greenhalgh, and sister Samantha Follows are all actors; her other sister, Edwina Follows, is a producer and writer; and her brother Laurence Follows is a producer. She had her first acting job at the age of nine, in a commercial for Bell Canada. Soon after, she began appearing in some television series, and in the 1983 short film Boys and Girls.

Her breakthrough occurred when she was cast as Anne Shirley in the miniseries Anne of Green Gables, and subsequently appeared in the two sequels that followed. This role earned her a fan following as well as subsequent television and film appearances. Some of these include a role in the TV movie Sin of Innocence in 1986, and as the French wife of Hugh Grant in the Champagne Charlie series in 1987. In 1993-94, she was part of the ensemble in a short-lived CBS television series Second Chances. In 2004, she appeared in the Hallmark movie Plainsong.

The success of Anne led her to a role in the film Termini Station, which reunited her with Anne of Green Gables co-star Colleen Dewhurst. She also played the role of Clara in the movie The Nutcracker Prince starring Kiefer Sutherland, in which she also sings. Other films include Reluctant Angel, Christmas Child, A Foreign Affair (2003) released on DVD as Two Brothers and a Bride, and a cameo in Laurie Lynd's Breakfast with Scot starring Tom Cavanagh.

Trivia: Met future ex-husband Christopher Porter of Chester, Nova Scotia, on the set of Deep Sleep (1990), where he worked as a a gaffer.

Only had three weeks to prepare for her role in the TV movie Under the Piano (1996).

Aunt of Mckayla and Rowan O'Bryan.

Sister-in-law of Sean O'Bryan.

Has dual Canadian/American citizenship.

Became a U.S. citizen.

Is the youngest of four children.

Has served as a spokesperson for the relief organization World Vision Canada.

Participated in the 2005 benefit concert Canada for Asia held to support the relief efforts for Asia after the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.

Won two Gemini awards for her performances in "Anne Of Green Gables" and "Anne Of Avonlea."

Traveled to Cambodia in 2007 with friend and director Heather Connell to film a documentary called Small Voices: Stories of Cambodia's Children.

Where Are They Now: In 2009, she guest-starred on several TV series, including Brothers and Sisters, Lie to Me, Raising the Bar, and Heartland. She will appear in the 2011 film I Am Number Four as the supermarket cashier.

Most recently, she has been appearing with the Soulpepper Theatre Company in Canada in such productions as Fool for Love, The Real Thing, Top Girls, 'night Mother, and Cloud 9.

Write To Megan Follows:
Michael Greene and Associates
7080 Hollywood Blvd., Suite 1017
Hollywood, CA 90028

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