Amanda Tapping
Amanda Tapping is a British-born Canadian actress and director. She is best known for portraying Samantha Carter in the Canadian–American military science fiction television series Stargate SG-1, ''Stargate Atlantis, and Stargate Universe. She starred as Dr. Helen Magnus in the science fiction-fantasy television series Sanctuary'', which she also produced.
Early life
Born in Rochford, Essex, England, Tapping moved with her family to Ontario, Canada, when she was one year old. She attended North Toronto Collegiate Institute, where she excelled in environmental science and drama. When she finished in 1984, she decided to focus her attention on drama, graduating from the University of Windsor School of Dramatic Arts in Windsor, Ontario.Career
After graduation, Tapping continued to study theatrical arts while performing in several stage productions. She appeared in several television commercials and played a variety of roles in television and film productions, such as episodes of The Outer Limits and The X-Files. She also formed a comedy troupe, the "Random Acts", with collaborators Katherine Jackson and Anne Marie Kerr, in Toronto in the early 1990s.Tapping is best known for her portrayal of Samantha Carter in the science fiction television series Stargate SG-1, which debuted in 1997. She appeared in a main role in all ten seasons of the series. After SG-1 concluded, Tapping reprised the role of Samantha Carter on Stargate Atlantis in the fourth season. In season 5, Tapping's role on the show was reduced to that of "special guest-star" with only occasional appearances. Tapping chose to focus her attention on the development of a new series called Sanctuary. The show debuted as an original series of eight webisodes released on the internet in 2007, and was later picked up by Syfy as a television series. The bulk of the scenery and characters were entirely green screen and CGI creations. Tapping served as both star and executive producer of the show.
In 2007, she won a Canadian Comedy Award for Best Actress for her role in the short film Breakdown.
On 18 September 2012, she was cast as an angel named Naomi on season 8 of the TV series Supernatural. She was a recurring character who appeared in seven episodes. She reprised the role in season 13's "Funeralia", nearly five years after the character's apparent death.
She was also named as ACTRA's 2015 Woman of the Year.
Directing
Tapping's directing debut was during the seventh season of Stargate SG-1 in an episode titled "Resurrection", written by co-star Michael Shanks. She also directed the Sanctuary season two episode "Veritas". She has directed three episodes of Primeval: New World, three episodes of Continuum, and four episodes of Olympus and more recently episodes of Dark Matter, Van Helsing, The Magicians, and Supernatural, as well as the historical drama X Company. She directed five episodes of the Netflix series Travelers and the season finale of the 2017 series Anne with an E. In 2022, Tapping also directed two episodes of the television series Motherland: Fort Salem.Personal life
Tapping is married to Allan Kovacs and they live together in Vancouver, British Columbia. Tapping has one daughter with Kovacs. Tapping has openly shared the difficult experiences she has undergone through eight miscarriages during her marriage in hope that her story would help other miscarrying women feel less isolated.Tapping has three brothers, one of whom suffered from epilepsy, often had uncontrollable seizures, and died in December 2006 of causes unreleased by the Tapping family.
Theatre
- The Wizard of Oz
- The Lion in Winter as "Alais Capet"
- Steel Magnolias – West End Theater
- Look Back in Anger as "Alison"
- Children of a Lesser God as "Sarah"
- The Taming of the Shrew as "Bianca"
- Noises Off
- ''The Shadow Walkers''
Awards and nominations
Tapping has won six awards, out of thirteen nominations.| Year | Award | Category | For | Result |
| 2000 | Leo Award | Best Performance by a Female in a Dramatic Series | Stargate SG-1: "Point of View" | rowspan=4 Nomitated |
| 2000 | Saturn Award | Best Supporting Actress on Television | – | - |
| 2001 | Gemini Award | Best Performance by an Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role | Stargate SG-1: "2010" | - |
| 2001 | Saturn Award | Best Supporting Actress on Television | – | - |
| 2002 | Leo Award | Dramatic Series: Best Lead Performance – Female | Stargate SG-1: "Ascension" | Won |
| 2002 | Saturn Award | Best Supporting Actress on Television | – | rowspan=2 Nomitated |
| 2004 | Leo Award | Dramatic Series: Best Direction | Stargate SG-1: "Resurrection" | - |
| 2004 | Leo Award | Dramatic Series: Best Lead Performance by a Female | Stargate SG-1: "Grace" | rowspan=4 Won |
| 2004 | Saturn Award | Best Supporting Actress on Television | – | - |
| 2005 | Leo Award | Dramatic Series: Best Lead Performance by a Female | Stargate SG-1: "Threads" | - |
| 2007 | Canadian Comedy Award | Best Actress | Breakdown | - |
| 2009 | Constellation Award | Best Female Performance in a 2008 Science Fiction Film, TV Movie, or Mini-Series | Stargate: Continuum | rowspan=4 Nomitated |
| 2009 | Constellation Award | Best Female Performance in a 2008 Science Fiction Television Episode | Sanctuary: "Requiem" | - |
| 2009 | Constellation Award | Outstanding Canadian Contribution to Science Fiction Film or Television in 2008 | – | - |
| 2009 | Leo Award | Lead Performance by a Female in a Feature Length Drama | Stargate: Continuum | - |
| 2009 | Leo Award | Dramatic Series: Best Lead Performance by a Female | Sanctuary: "Requiem" | Won |
| 2009 | Gemini Award | Best Performance by an Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role | Sanctuary | Nomitated |
| 2010 | Women of Distinction Awards | Connecting the Community | Sanctuary for Kids | Received |
| 2012 | Leo Award | Dramatic Series: Best Lead Performance by a Female | Sanctuary: "Tempus" | Nomitated |
| 2012 | Jules Verne Award | Excellence exploration, environmental and cinematic achievements | Stargate SG-1 | Received |