Sarah McVie
Canadian actress
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sarah McVie (born March 21, 1978) is a Canadian actress and playwright.[1] She is most noted for her regular role as Valerie Szalinsky in Workin' Moms, for which she received three Canadian Screen Award nominations, for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series at the 9th Canadian Screen Awards in 2021,[2] and Best Supporting Performance in a Comedy Series at both the 11th Canadian Screen Awards in 2023[3] and the 12th Canadian Screen Awards in 2024.[4]
Early career
Born and raised in Ottawa, Ontario, she attended Canterbury High School, later studying theatre at George Brown College in Toronto.[5] She joined the Stratford Festival company in 2001, becoming noted for her performances as Cordelia in the 2002 production of King Lear,[6] and Drina in its production of Peter Hinton's Swanne.[7] She won Stratford's John Hirsch Award for emerging young actors in 2002.[5] Her later roles at Stratford included the Bawd in Pericles, Prince of Tyre,[8] Maria in Love's Labour's Lost,[9] Lady Macduff in Macbeth,[10] and Vee Talbott in Orpheus Descending.[11]
Her later stage roles with other theatre companies included productions of Ann-Marie MacDonald's Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) in 2008,[12] Willy Russell's Educating Rita in 2010.[13] and Evelyne de la Chenelière's Strawberries in January in 2011.[14] She received a Rideau Award nomination for Outstanding Performance, Female in 2011, for Educating Rita.[15]
The Public Servant
In 2015, McVie, Jennifer Brewin, Haley McGee and Amy Rutherford premiered The Public Servant, a comedic play about a young woman joining the Canadian civil service, at the Great Canadian Theatre Company.[16] McVie appeared in the play as Lois, an officious and by-the-book middle manager.
The play later received a Toronto production at the Berkeley Street Theatre in 2016.[17]
Film and television
Through her career she also appeared in supporting and guest roles in film and television, until being cast as Val in Workin' Moms in 2017, appearing as a series regular until its conclusion in 2023.[18]
During her time on Workin' Moms, she also had smaller supporting roles in Detention Adventure and The Handmaid's Tale.[19]
In 2026 she returned to the stage in Coal Mine Theatre's production of Jonathan Spector's Eureka Day.[20]
Political activity
In 2021 McVie moved to Toronto's flood-prone Rockcliffe–Smythe neighbourhood, becoming known as an activist and organizer with the Black Creek Flood Coalition after her own home was repeatedly flooded.[21]
In May 2026, she announced her candidacy in the 2026 Toronto mayoral election.[22]