Amanda Tapping Biography

Amanda Tapping (born 28 August 1965) is an English-born Canadian actress, producer and director. She is best known for portraying Samantha Carter in the Canadian-American military science fiction television series Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis. She also starred as Helen Magnus in the Syfy Channel series Sanctuary.

Early life and education

Born in Rochford, Essex, England, she moved with her family to Ontario, Canada when she was three years old. She attended North Toronto Collegiate Institute where she excelled in environmental science and drama. However, when she finished in 1984, she decided to focus her attention on drama, attending the University of Windsor School of Dramatic Arts in Windsor, Ontario.

Acting 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 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. After SG-1 aired its final episode, Tapping reprised the role of Samantha Carter on Stargate Atlantis as the new commander of the Atlantis expedition. In season five however, Tapping's role on the show was reduced to that of "special guest-star" with only occasional appearances due to her choosing to focus attention on the development of a new series for Syfy called Sanctuary. The show expanded on an original series of eight webisodes released on the internet in 2007. 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.

Tapping is also working with William Shatner on a 2011 animated webisode series "The Zenoids", written by Alan Dean Foster. Tapping and Shatner voice characters and Tapping is executive producer.

In 2007, she won a Canadian Comedy Award for Best Actress for her role in the short film Breakdown.

On September 18, 2012, she was cast as an angel named Naomi on the TV series Supernatural. She has appeared in 7 episodes so far.

Directing experience

Tapping's first directing experience was during the seventh season of Stargate SG-1 on an episode titled "Resurrection", written by co-star Michael Shanks. She directed the seventh episode of Sanctuary season two titled "Veritas". She has directed three episodes (6, 8 and 10) of Primeval: New World and one episode (2.12) of Continuum.

Personal life

As of 2004, Tapping lives with her husband, Alan Kovacs, in Vancouver, British Columbia. She has one daughter, Olivia, born on 22 March 2005. Tapping has two living brothers, Richard and Christopher. Chris is her fraternal twin, who works in Toronto as a database administrator. A third brother, Steven, died in December 2006.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1996	What Kind of Mother Are You?	Ingrid Elstad
1997	'	Cassie
1997	Booty Call	Dr. Moore
2001	'	Prof. Eva Soderstrom
2002	Stuck	Liz
2002	Life or Something Like It	Carrie Maddox
2006	Breakdown	Mary Johnson	Short film
2008	Stargate: The Ark of Truth	Lieutenant Colonel Samantha Carter
2008	Stargate: Continuum	Colonel Samantha Carter
2009	Dancing Trees	Josephina Rooney
2012	Space Milkshake	Valentina	Post-production
2012	Random Acts of Romance	Dianne
2012	Taken Back: Finding Haley	Susan

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1994	GooseBumps	Mrs. MERTON	TV film
1995	Rent-A-Kid	Mrs. Nicely	TV film
1995	Net Worth	Colleen Howe	TV film
1995	'	Gina/Angel	TV film
1995	Degree of Guilt	Marcy	TV film
1996	Remembrance	Linda	TV film
1996	Golden Will: The Silken Laumann Story	Kathryn Laumann	TV film
1994	Forever Knight	Dr. Naomi Ross	Episode: "Near Death"
1996	Flash Forward	Miss Yansouni	6 episodes
1996	Due South	Audrey McKenna	Episode: "Starman"
1996	'	Carina Sayles	Episode: "Avatar"
1997"2007	Stargate SG-1	Captain/Major/Lt. Col. Samantha Carter	211 episodes
1998	Millennium	Dr. Cantor	Episode: "Borrowed Time"
1998	'	Cmdr. Kate Girard	Episode: "The Joining"
2000	Blacktop	Waitress	TV film
2004	Legend of Earthsea	Lady Elfarren	TV film
2004	Traffic	Home owner's wife	Miniseries
2004"2005	Proof Positive	Host	10 episodes
2005"2009	Stargate Atlantis	Colonel Samantha Carter	25 episodes
2006	Engaged to Kill	Detective Burns
2007	Sanctuary	Helen Magnus	8 episodes
2008"2011	Sanctuary	Helen Magnus	59 episodes
2008	Ghost Hunters	Herself
2009"2010	Stargate Universe	Colonel Samantha Carter
2010	Canadian Comedy Shorts	Mary Johnson	Episode: "Holy War Dance Party"
2012-2013	Supernatural	Naomi	Episodes: "A Little Slice of Kevin" "Hunteri Heroici" "Torn and Frayed" "Goodbye Stranger" "Taxi Driver" "The Great Escapist" "Sacrifice"
2013	Motive	Dr. Kate Robbins	Episode: "The One Who Got Away"

Theatre

• The Wizard of Oz
• The Lion in Winter as "Alais Capet"
• Steel Magnolias " West End Theater
• Look Back in Anger as "Alison" (1986)
• Children of a Lesser God as "Sarah" (1987)
• The Taming of the Shrew as "Bianca" (1988)
• Noises Off
• The Shadow Walkers

Awards and nominations

Tapping has won 6 awards, out of 13 nominations.

Year	Award	Category	For	Result
2000	Leo Award	Best Performance by a Female in a Dramatic Series	Stargate SG-1: "Point of View"
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"
2002	Saturn Award	Best Supporting Actress on Television	"
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"
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 (Film)	Breakdown
2009	Constellation Award	Best Female Performance in a 2008 Science Fiction Film, TV Movie, or Mini-Series	Stargate: Continuum
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"
2009	Gemini Award	Best Performance by an Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role	Sanctuary
2010	Women of Distinction Awards	Excellence exploration, environmental and cinematic achievements	Sanctuary for Kids	Received
2012	Leo Award	Dramatic Series: Best Lead Performance by a Female	Sanctuary: "Tempus"
2012	Jules Verne Award	Excellence exploration, environmental and cinematic achievements	Sanctuary for Kids	Received