This actress, singer, film director and screenwriter is the youngest of five children of actress Diane Elizabeth and English actor and casting director Michael Polley, who studied acting with Albert Finney in England before moving to Canada. Sarah he lost his mother at the age of 11, a victim of cancer.
Polley She attended Subway Academy II, and later Earl Haig Secondary School, however, despite being an excellent student, she dropped out of school to pursue acting.
He began acting at the age of four, debuting in the feature film “One Magic Christmas“(1985); during the next three years he worked on three films and three television productions, including”Ramona“(1988), for which he earned his first Gemini Award nomination, followed by a starring role in Terry Gilliam’s film,”The Adventures of Baron Munchausen“(1988). His performance was very well received by the public and critics; and after lending his voice for one of the characters in the animated film”Babar in the jungle“, her opportunity came when she was selected to play Sara stanley in the famous CBC television series “Road to Avonlea“.
While working on “Road to Avonlea“, Polley She had other television jobs, winning a 1992 Gemini Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as an orphan in the television movie “Lantern Hill“.
Politically progressive from an early age, in 1994, Polley he rebelled against what he felt was the Americanization of “Road to Avonlea“, after Disney Channel took it over for distribution in the United States. He asked to withdraw from production and his character only made one last appearance in the final episode in 1996.
Her relationship with Disney ended during the Gulf War, when the studio invited her to the Children’s Awards show in Washington DC; for the occasion, Sarah He wore a shirt with the symbol of peace, ignoring the producers who advised him to change. Disney has since put her on its “blacklist.”
Polley, which won a second Gemini Award for her performance in the series “Straight up“(1996), he dropped out of acting and high school to turn his attention to politics, aligning himself with the New Democratic Party of Canada. In 1997 however, he returned to acting with the film”The sweet future“(1997). His interpretation of Nicole, a teenage girl injured in a school bus accident caught the attention of critics in the US and, in Canada, the role was praised by critics as it marked her step into adult roles.
The talented actress has worked in some 40 feature films, standing out in both leading and supporting roles. Among his most remembered titles can be mentioned “My life without me“(2003),”Living without limits” (1999), “The awakening“(2004),”The secret Life of the words“(2005),”The Possible Lives of Mr. Nobody“(2009) or”Splice: Deadly Experiment“(2009).
After filming several short films, Sarah debuted as a director of a feature film with the film “Away from her“(2006), based on Alicia Munro’s story“ The Bear Came Over the Mountain ”. The film, with Sarah and Julie Christie as leads, was released at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 11, 2006. The film was nominated for two Oscars, including Best Adapted Screenplay for Polley, in addition to winning other awards and obtaining multiple nominations.
His next work, which he directed and wrote, was the film “Take this waltz“(2011), starring Michelle Williams, Seth Rogen and Sarah Silverman, for which Sarah It was nominated in the Best Direction category at the San Sebastián International Film Festival.
In his personal life, Polley in 2003 she married Canadian film editor David Wharnsby, her partner of seven years. In 2008 they divorced. Three years later, on August 23, 2011, she married David Sandomierski, with whom she had her first child in 2012.