Watson starred in four seasons of La Femme Nikita, along with a return appearance in its fifth season, and earned a Gemini nomination for season two. The role was turned down by several actresses such as Susan Sarandon, Jessica Lange and others. This page was last edited on 15 January 2023, at 21:52. Comments are welcome while open. Watson then appeared in several notable projects, including the early Angelina Jolie vehicle Hackers (1995) and the Golden Globe-nominated, Emmy-winning TV movie Gotti (1996), playing the wife of infamous New York mobster John Gotti. - YouTube 0:00 / 1:49 Video unavailable This video contains content from Adrev Affiliate, who has blocked it in your country. To encourage thoughtful and respectful conversations, first and last names will appear with each submission to CBC/Radio-Canada's online communities (except in children and youth-oriented communities). Oh! We reserve the right to close comments at any time. Deeply saddened to hear the wonderful @Alberta_Watson has died. Her husband Ken was at her side. In 1998 Watson was diagnosed with lymphoma. . She began performing with a local Toronto theatre group, T.H.O.G. Updates? Alberta Watson, well known to television audiences for her Gemini Incredible char and actor. Watsons final credits included such Canadian and independent films as Some Things That Stay (2004), Citizen Duane (2006), A Lobster Tale (2006), and Sarah Polleys Genie-winning Away from Her (2006) opposite Gordon Pinsent, with whom she performed in Chris Landreths Genie-nominated animated short The Spine (2009). .more .more Comments 405 Add a. Watson re-teamed with La Femme Nikita co-creator Joel Surnow for season four of his hit action-drama 24. She was a deeply disturbed woman with a roller coaster of emotions. Colorectal cancer cases rising among younger adults in Canada and U.S. Ex-husband of Edmonton soldier who tried to kill their children plans to sue Canadian military, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle evicted from their U.K. home by King Charles, Angry parents speak out on their daughter who froze to death on N.S. Corrections? She was 60. Watson's first name inspired the character Alberta Green in the first season of 24. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Watson was diagnosed with lymphoma in 1998. Watsons list of credits includes 24, The Newsroom and The Border as well as movies like Away from Her and The Sweet Hereafter. A decade later, she had a recurring role as a different character (with the same first name) on the seriesNikita. In a nod to her La Femme Nikita role, Alberta played a recurring character Madeline Pierce in Nikita, the CW's 2010-2013 reboot of the film and TV series. Renowned for her consistency and reliability, Watson was perhaps best known for the TV series La Femme Nikita (19972001) and 24 (200405), but she also gave memorable performances in David O. Russells Spanking the Monkey (1994), Atom Egoyans The Sweet Hereafter (1997), and John Cameron Mitchells Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001). Audience Relations, CBC P.O. Want to discuss? street, Chinese Canadian parliamentarians among greater targets for interference: Trudeau, Markham caregiver plans to travel, possibly buy new home after $60M lottery win, RCMP believe Slave Lake toddler Jeffrey Dupres, missing for 43 years, is still alive, Survivor of B.C. Although the film received mostly negative reviews, Watsons performance led to appearances on such American television series as Hill Street Blues, The Equalizer, and Law & Order and a continuing role on the short-lived ABC drama Buck James. In 2008, Alberta Watson received a Career Achievement Award from the Boston-based Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film. After living in the New YorkNew Jersey area for eight years, she returned to Canada and starred in Shoemaker (1996), an early production for the Canadian Film Centres Feature Film Project, which earned her a Genie Award nomination. Pseudonyms will no longer be permitted. Besides her turn as the operative Madeline Pierce on La Femme Nikita,Watson became known to TV audiences through roles on 24,The Newsroom,Heartlandand The Border. Many of Watsonspeers and fans took to Twitter to remember her. TV Actresses. Her first major credit was in Robert Lantos and Claude Hrouxs In Praise of Older Women (1978). Watson found additional strong TV work playing Detective Denise McGoohan in Chasing Cain (2001) and Chasing Cain: Face (2002). All Rights Reserved. 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It didn't scare me at all. Watson later expressed disappointment with her early television work, but these roles inevitably shaped her career, pushing her to pursue strong, complex characters in projects that challenged her. [2] Watson said:[7].mw-parser-output .templatequote{overflow:hidden;margin:1em 0;padding:0 40px}.mw-parser-output .templatequote .templatequotecite{line-height:1.5em;text-align:left;padding-left:1.6em;margin-top:0}. Comments on this story are moderated according to our Submission Guidelines. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. Watson gambled by playing the seductive mother in David O. Russells incest-tinged first feature, Spanking the Monkey (1994). A year later she received the Best Actress award at the Yorkton Film Festival for "Exposure". Her son visits for the summer and she's laid up in a cast with a broken leg and things get out of hand. geoff ewart (@geoffewart) March 23, 2015. Born in Toronto, Watson began performing in theatre and on television while still in her teens. 2023 The Hollywood Reporter, LLC. By submitting a comment, you accept that CBC has the right to reproduce and publish that comment in whole or in part, in any manner CBC chooses. "A Conversation with Alberta Watson". Her film credits include Atom Egoyan's The Sweet Hereafter,Sarah Polley's Away from Her,David O. Russell's Spanking the Monkeyand George Kaczender's In Praise of Older Women. heartland actor dies alberta watson. The offbeat black comedy proved to be a defining moment in her career; the film won the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival and drew largely positive reviews. Courtesy of Everett Collection. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Her Gary Goddard Agency . Omissions? In her final performance, Watson played Senator Madeline Pierce when La Femme Nikita was rebooted as Nikita in 2010. She moved south and worked for many years in New York and Los Angeles. Box 500 Station A Toronto, ON Canada, M5W 1E6. Canadian actor, director, writer, and producer. She was 60. During 2007 and 2008, Watson played a supporting role in the Canadian television series The Border as the Minister of Public Safety. When search suggestions are available use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. The Tony Award-nominated Broadway actor, 41, died in a hospital in Los Angeles after suffering severe medical complications after contracting the coronavirus. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. She was 60. Renowned for her consistency and reliability, Watson was perhaps best known for the TV series La Femme Nikita (1997-2001) and 24 (2004-05), but she also gave memorable performances in David O . Congrats, Alberta!! I seized the character and made her something. She followed La Femme Nikita with a string of notable independent films, including The Art of Woo (2001), John Cameron Mitchells Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001), Thom Fitzgeralds The Wild Dogs, (2002) and Jeremy Podeswas TV movie, After the Harvest (2001), which brought her another Gemini nomination. She was nominated for Genie Awards for her work in 1978s In Praise of Older Women and 1996s Shoemaker. [4], Watson took a workshop for the Hair musical. It didn't scare me at all. The Canadian actress, who also had roles in the 'La Femme Nikita' and 'Nikita' TV series, passed away after a long battle with cancer. [2] She grew up in Toronto with her mother Grace, a factory worker, and her brother. To read more: http://cbc.ca/1.5638577\r\r Subscribe to CBC News to watch more videos: http://bit.ly/1RreYWS\r\rConnect with CBC News Online:\r\rFor breaking news, video, audio and in-depth coverage: http://bit.ly/1Z0m6iX\rFind CBC News on Facebook: http://bit.ly/1WjG36m\rFollow CBC News on Twitter: http://bit.ly/1sA5P9H\rFor breaking news on Twitter: http://bit.ly/1WjDyks\rFollow CBC News on Instagram: http://bit.ly/1Z0iE7O\r\rDownload the CBC News app for iOS: http://apple.co/25mpsUz\rDownload the CBC News app for Android: http://bit.ly/1XxuozZ\r\r\rFor more than 75 years, CBC News has been the source Canadians turn to, to keep them informed about their communities, their country and their world. The Hollywood Reporter is a part of Penske Media Corporation. Alberta Watson, congrats on your Gemini win 2011, for Heartland! Watson died at Torontos Kensington Hospice with her husband Ken at her side. She was a deeply disturbed woman with a roller coaster of emotions. Died (60) Add to list Awards 3 wins & 6 nominations Photos 28 Known for Hedwig and the Angry Inch 7.7 In a nod to her La Femme Nikita role, Alberta played a recurring character Madeline Pierce in Nikita, the CW's 20102013 reboot of the film and TV series. [4], Among her well-known film roles are the bed-ridden mother Susan Aibelli in the 1994 American independent film Spanking the Monkey, Lauren Murphy (the mother of Jonny Lee Miller's character Dade, also called "Crash Override"/"Zero Cool") in the 1995 cult film Hackers, and Risa in the 1997 Academy Award-nominated Canadian film The Sweet Hereafter, directed by Atom Egoyan. Alberta Watson, a Canadian actress who had roles in the 24 and Nikita dramas over a four-decade movie and TV career, has died. Alberta Watson, in full Faith Susan Alberta Watson, (born March 6, 1955, Toronto, Canadadied March 21, 2015, Toronto), Canadian film and television actress whose career spanned four decades. She balanced her work in La Femme Nikita with roles in Canadian films including The Life Before This (1999), Desire (2000), and Deeply (2000). https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alberta-Watson, The Canadian Encyclopedia - Biography of Alberta Watson. She amassed some devoted fans and engaged with them frequently on fan sites. It is a priority for CBC to create products that are accessible to all in Canada including people with visual, hearing, motor and cognitive challenges. Her final film role was in the Vancouver-shot Helen (2009), starring Ashley Judd. The provocative film was controversial when it premiered at the Toronto Festival of Festivals (now the Toronto International Film Festival), but it earned 10 Canadian Film Award nominations, including one for Watson for Best Supporting Actress. She briefly lived on a communal farm outside the city with other actors before returning to Toronto to act professionally, landing her first role in the CBC TV movie Honour Thy Father (1974). Handout TORONTO Canadian actress Alberta Watson passed away Saturday after a battle with cancer. She was 60. The Tony Award-nominated Broadway actor, 41, died in a hospital in Los Angeles after suffering severe medical complications after contracting the coronavirus. After a long battle with cancer, Watson died at the age of 60 from complications of the disease. Several high-profile actresses declined the role, including Susan Sarandon, Faye Dunaway, Jessica Lange, and Isabella Rossellini, but Watson relished it, later calling it her best performance and her favourite role. I think Im still in shock about @Alberta_Watsons death. RIP Alberta Watson. After performing the lead role of Madelaine on the Canadian-made La Femme Nikita series between 1997 and 2001, Watson later played the recurring role of Senator Madeline Pierce on the CWs follow-up Nikita series, also shot in Toronto. Watson died on March 21, 2015 due to complications from cancer at Kensington Hospice in Toronto; she was 60 years old. Patrick Mullen is a writer, blogger, film critic, film festival programmer, and social media coordinator. She was 60. WARNING: Major spoilers for the Season 14 premiere of Heartland are ahead!. Alberta Watson, well known to television audiences for her Gemini award-nominated role as Madeline on La Femme Nikita (1997), enjoys a long and diverse career in television and film. No details are available on a memorial service for Watson. Please note that CBC does not endorse the opinions expressed in comments. She was 60. zh. I have such wonderful memories, and I cant believe shes gone. #cdntv, Denis McGrath (@DMcWriterboy) March 23, 2015, I had the pleasure of working with @albertawatson on my first film #alobstertale rent the movie on iTunes to see Albertas great performance, Adam Massey (@lee_adam_massey) March 23, 2015. Faith Susan Alberta Watson (March 6, 1955 March 21, 2015), better known as Alberta Watson, was a Canadian film and television actress. Through regional and national programming on multiple platforms, including CBC Television, CBC News Network, CBC Radio, CBCNews.ca, mobile and on-demand, CBC News and its internationally recognized team of award-winning journalists deliver the breaking stories, the issues, the analyses and the personalities that matter to Canadians. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. She won a Gemini Award in 2010. She played Dr. Rebecca Myer in the 1980s Buck James TV series, and Erin Driscoll, the head of a counter-terrorist unit, in 24. The Canadian Encyclopedia RIP #AlbertaWatson. [7] She then returned to Toronto and focused on finding roles in independent films. Watson played Erin Driscoll, head of the fictional intelligence agency that employs operative Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland). Best as Madeline in La Femme Nikita/Nikita. She also appeared in The Lookout (2007) with Joseph Gordon-Levitt, as well as in the TV series Angelas Eyes (2006), The Border (2008), and Heartland (2010), for which she won a Gemini Award. Watson eventually returned to Canada and landed a leading role in La Femme Nikita, which ran from 1997 to 2001. [About her portrayal of the mother in, Choice: The Henry Morgentaler Story (2005). I had the pleasure of working with her. [citation needed] In 2005, Watson joined the cast of 24, playing CTU Director Erin Driscoll for 12 episodes of the show's fourth season. Her Gary Goddard Agency rep, Pam Winter, confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that Watson passed away on Saturday at Torontos Kensington Hospice after a long battle with cancer.