
Sarah Polley
Biography
Sarah Ellen Polley OC (born January 8, 1979) is a Canadian filmmaker, political activist and retired actress. She first garnered attention as a child actress for her role as Ramona Quimby in the television series Ramona, based on Beverly Cleary's books. This subsequently led to her role as Sara Stanley in the Canadian television series Road to Avonlea (1990–1996). She has starred in many feature films, including The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988), Exotica (1994), The Sweet Hereafter (1997), Guinevere (1999), Go (1999), The Weight of Water (2000), No Such Thing (2001), My Life Without Me (2003), Dawn of the Dead (2004), Splice (2009), and Mr. Nobody (2009). Polley made her feature film directorial debut with Away from Her (2006), for which she won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Director and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. Polley's second film, Take This Waltz (2011), premiered at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival, followed by her first documentary film, Stories We Tell (2012). She also wrote the miniseries Alias Grace, based on the 1996 novel of the same name by Margaret Atwood. In 2022, Polley wrote and directed the film Women Talking, based on the 2018 novel of the same name by Miriam Toews, for which she won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. Description above from the Wikipedia article Sarah Polley, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For
Prominent works featuring Sarah Polley
Filmography & Credits
Complete career catalog (97 titles)
| Poster | Title | Character / Role | Type | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | & Sons | Screenplay | Movie | 2026 |
![]() | The Studio | Sarah Polley | TV Series | 2025 |
![]() | Seven Veils | Thanks | Movie | 2025 |
![]() | Beethoven's Nine: Ode to Humanity | Executive Producer | Movie | 2024 |
![]() | Women Talking | Screenplay | Movie | 2022 |
![]() | Women Talking | Director | Movie | 2022 |
![]() | Directors on Directors | Self | TV Series | 2021 |
![]() | Hey Lady! | Executive Producer | TV Series | 2020 |
![]() | Hey Lady! | Director | TV Series | 2020 |
![]() | Margaret Atwood: A Word After a Word After a Word Is Power | Self - Filmmaker | Movie | 2019 |
![]() | Alias Grace | Producer | TV Series | 2017 |
![]() | Alias Grace | Executive Producer | TV Series | 2017 |
![]() | Alias Grace | Teleplay | TV Series | 2017 |
![]() | Alias Grace | Writer | TV Series | 2017 |
![]() | Alias Grace | Creator | TV Series | 2017 |
| The Secret Path | Executive Producer | Movie | 2016 | |
![]() | The Late Show with Stephen Colbert | Self | TV Series | 2015 |
![]() | Reel Herstory: The Real Story of Reel Women | Self | Movie | 2014 |
![]() | Stories We Tell | Self (uncredited) | Movie | 2012 |
![]() | Stories We Tell | Director | Movie | 2012 |
![]() | Stories We Tell | Writer | Movie | 2012 |
![]() | Take This Waltz | Director | Movie | 2011 |
![]() | Take This Waltz | Writer | Movie | 2011 |
![]() | Take This Waltz | Producer | Movie | 2011 |
![]() | Trigger | Hillary | Movie | 2010 |
![]() | Splice | Elsa | Movie | 2010 |
![]() | Mr. Nobody | Adult Elise | Movie | 2009 |
![]() | The Madness and Misadventures of Munchausen | Self - 'Sally Salt' | Movie | 2008 |
![]() | John Adams | Abigail Adams Smith | TV Series | 2008 |
![]() | Wrath of Gods | Self | Movie | 2007 |
![]() | Away from Her | Director | Movie | 2007 |
![]() | Away from Her | Writer | Movie | 2007 |
![]() | The Secret Life of Words | Hanna | Movie | 2005 |
![]() | Beowulf & Grendel | Selma | Movie | 2005 |
![]() | Don't Come Knocking | Sky | Movie | 2005 |
![]() | Siblings | Tabby | Movie | 2004 |
![]() | Sugar | Pregnant Girl | Movie | 2004 |
![]() | Luck | Margaret | Movie | 2004 |
![]() | The I Inside | Clair | Movie | 2004 |
![]() | Dawn of the Dead | Ana | Movie | 2004 |
![]() | Slings & Arrows | Sophie | TV Series | 2003 |
![]() | My Life Without Me | Ann | Movie | 2003 |
| Dermott's Quest | Gwen | Movie | 2003 | |
![]() | The Event | Dana Shapiro | Movie | 2003 |
![]() | No Such Thing | Beatrice | Movie | 2002 |
![]() | I Shout Love | Writer | Movie | 2002 |
![]() | I Shout Love | Director | Movie | 2002 |
![]() | The Weight of Water | Maren Hontvedt | Movie | 2001 |
![]() | The Claim | Hope Burn | Movie | 2000 |
![]() | Preludes | Self / Appearance | Movie | 2000 |
![]() | The Law of Enclosures | Beatty 'Beatrice' | Movie | 2000 |
![]() | This Might Be Good | Self / Appearance | Movie | 2000 |
![]() | Love Come Down | Sister Sarah | Movie | 2000 |
| Don't Think Twice | Producer | Movie | 1999 | |
| Don't Think Twice | Director | Movie | 1999 | |
| Don't Think Twice | Writer | Movie | 1999 | |
![]() | The Life Before This | Connie | Movie | 1999 |
![]() | Guinevere | Harper Sloane | Movie | 1999 |
![]() | Teen Choice Awards | Self | TV Series | 1999 |
![]() | eXistenZ | Merle | Movie | 1999 |
![]() | Go | Ronna Martin | Movie | 1999 |
![]() | The Best Day of My Life | Screenplay | Movie | 1999 |
![]() | The Best Day of My Life | Director | Movie | 1999 |
![]() | Jerry and Tom | Deb | Movie | 1998 |
![]() | Last Night | Jennifer Wheeler | Movie | 1998 |
![]() | White Lies | Catherine | Movie | 1998 |
![]() | The Sweet Hereafter | Nicole Burnell | Movie | 1997 |
![]() | The Planet of Junior Brown | Butter | Movie | 1997 |
![]() | The Hanging Garden | Teen Rosemary | Movie | 1997 |
![]() | Joe's So Mean to Josephine | Josephine | Movie | 1997 |
| Children First! | Host | Movie | 1996 | |
![]() | Exotica | Tracey | Movie | 1994 |
![]() | Johann's Gift to Christmas | The Angel | Movie | 1992 |
![]() | The Hidden Room | Alice | TV Series | 1991 |
![]() | Road to Avonlea | Sara Stanley | TV Series | 1990 |
![]() | Road to Avonlea: The Movie | Self / Appearance | Movie | 1990 |
![]() | Lantern Hill | Jody Turner | Movie | 1989 |
![]() | Babar: The Movie | Young Celeste | Movie | 1989 |
![]() | The Adventures of Baron Munchausen | Sally Salt | Movie | 1988 |
![]() | Ramona | Ramona | TV Series | 1988 |
![]() | Friday the 13th: The Series | Mary | TV Series | 1987 |
![]() | Blue Monkey | Ellen | Movie | 1987 |
![]() | The Big Town | Christy Donaldson | Movie | 1987 |
![]() | Hands of a Stranger | Suzie Hearn | Movie | 1987 |
![]() | Pretty Kill | Karla | Movie | 1987 |
![]() | Heaven On Earth | Becky Hawthorne | Movie | 1987 |
![]() | The Incredible Time-Travels of Henry Osgood | Self / Appearance | Movie | 1986 |
![]() | Confidential | Emma (child) | Movie | 1986 |
![]() | One Magic Christmas | Molly Monaghan | Movie | 1985 |
![]() | Screen Two | Becky Hawthorne | TV Series | 1985 |
![]() | The Oscars | Self | TV Series | 1953 |
![]() | Golden Globe Awards | Self - Nominee | TV Series | 1944 |
| The Best Kind of People | Director | Movie | — | |
| The Best Kind of People | Producer | Movie | — | |
| The Best Kind of People | Screenplay | Movie | — | |
| The Bell Jar | Director | Movie | — | |
| The Bell Jar | Screenplay | Movie | — |


















































































