Shauna MacDonald (born October 6, 1970) is a Canadian television and film actress and radio announcer best known for her roles in Trailer Park Boys, Undercover Brother, and the Saw franchise.
She played Tara Abbott in Saw VI and Saw 3D.
Early Life[]
Shauna MacDonald was born in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. She graduated from Dr. John Hugh Gillis Regional High School in Antigonish and later attended McGill University in Montreal, where she earned a degree in Russian and Slavic Studies.
Career[]
MacDonald has appeared in various Canadian TV series, including Trailer Park Boys as Officer Erica Miller, These Arms of Mine as Claire Monroe, and This Hour Has 22 Minutes as a substitute newsreader. In 2003, she starred in the two-part miniseries Shattered City: The Halifax Explosion. MacDonald also played the role of Tara Abbott in Saw VI and reprised the role for a brief appearance in Saw 3D. In 2013, MacDonald and Kate Johnston co-wrote and co-directed the film Tru Love, in which MacDonald also starred.
However, she is likely best known as the former national continuity announcer for CBC Radio One, a role she held from the start of Radio One's 2004 summer season. With MacDonald's identity kept secret, the voice was quickly dubbed Promo Girl. MacDonald was ultimately outed by The Globe and Mail in early 2005. Her distinctive voice and the quirky sense of humor in the promotional items she read made her a polarizing figure among long-time Radio One listeners, particularly in the context of several other changes to the network's programming intended to attract a younger audience. Eventually, Steve Fletcher took over the promo spots in May 2007.
In the summer of 2005, Radio One ran a series of weekly "comedy-mysteries" titled The Mystery of..., starring MacDonald and other Radio One personalities. Short segments designed to highlight various CBC Radio programs and the upcoming fall season were repeated several times per day, with prizes going to listeners who correctly solved the clues and mysteries. The series was not completed due to a lockout of CBC employees that began in the late summer.
Filmography[]
Films[]
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | The Restlessness of Water | Kate |
| 1997 | Someone to Love | Ex-Girlfriend |
| 1998 | Jack & Jill | Jill |
| Apocalypse | Kerry | |
| 2002 | Time of the Wolf | Anna McKenzie |
| Undercover Brother | Wendy Marshall - TV Anchor | |
| 2004 | Saint Ralph | Emma Walker |
| The Porcelain Pussy | Velma | |
| 2005 | Undo | |
| Love Is Work | Celia | |
| 2007 | The Mad | Monica Tepper |
| Breakfast with Scot | Joan | |
| 2008 | Production Office | Jane |
| Loving Loretta | Lily | |
| Toronto Stories | Lowry | |
| 2009 | At Home by Myself... with You | Erin |
| Saw VI | Tara Abbott | |
| Doppelganger | Lenny 'The Weasel' | |
| 2010 | Ninety-one | Simone |
| Love Letter from an Open Grave | Mona | |
| Saw 3D | Tara Abbott | |
| 2012 | Seven Years | Sandra |
| Moving Day | Brenda | |
| Attachments | Davina | |
| 2013 | Tru Love | Tru |
| 2014 | Siren | Impatient Woman |
| 2017 | Unplugged | Mom |
| 2018 | Backstabbing for Beginners | Reporter |
| 2019 | Polaroid | Bird's Mother |
| Ring Ring | Carol | |
| Business Ethics | Fräulein Stumpf | |
| 2020 | Road Kill Renegade | Woman Driver |
| 2021 | Absence | Drea |
| 2024 | Longing | Emma |
Television Series[]
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Earth: Final Conflict | Katya Petrenko |
| 1999 | Mythic Warriors: Guardians of the Legend | Lachesis |
| Tales from the Cryptkeeper | Mom | |
| 1997-2000 | Diabolik | Naomi |
| 1999-2001 | These Arms of Mine | Claire Monroe |
| 2003 | The Newsroom | Yvonne |
| Shattered City: The Halifax Explosion | Dr. Barbara Paxton | |
| 2003-2004 | Trailer Park Boys | Officer Erica Miller |
| The Blobheads | Kiki Barnes | |
| 2004 | Kevin Hill | Dana Goyer |
| 2005 | This Is Wonderland | Jen Brookes |
| This Hour Has 22 Minutes | Newsreader | |
| 2006 | ReGenesis | Heather Michelle |
| Puppets Who Kill | Ophelia McCoy | |
| Angela's Eyes | Erika Bell | |
| Sons of Butcher | Vegan Activist / Tammi | |
| Runaway | Reporter | |
| 2006-2007 | Jeff Ltd. | Dorota |
| 2007 | Friends and Heroes | Jezebel / Lydia / Naomi |
| The Best Years | Mary Hawke | |
| 2008 | Life with Derek | Olga |
| Flashpoint | Ruth Skellar | |
| Paradise Falls | Grace Coleman | |
| Less Than Kind | Cougar | |
| Testees | Amy | |
| 2009 | The Listener | Margaret |
| Aaron Stone | Amanda Landers | |
| 2010 | Republic of Doyle | Charlotte |
| Warehouse 13 | Sutton Harris | |
| Lost Girl | Dean Peretti | |
| The Dating Guy | Nautica 5000 | |
| 2009-2010 | Being Erica | Majorie |
| 2009-2011 | Majority Rules! | Alana Richards |
| 2011 | The Kennedys | Janet Auchincloss |
| Combat Hospital | Mrs. Marks | |
| Covert Affairs | Emma | |
| 2012 | Murdoch Mysteries | Mrs. Billings |
| 2013 | Cracked | Dr. Vanessa Currie |
| Saving Hope | Sheila Birk | |
| Hard Rock Medical | Pippa | |
| Rookie Blue | Audrey Harding | |
| Kid's Town | Sue Redshaw | |
| 2014 | Remedy | Detective Parker |
| Reign | Hortenza de' Medici | |
| Hemlock Grove | Dr. Galina Zheleznova-Burdukovskaya | |
| The Divide | Karen Woods | |
| 2012-2014 | Degrassi: The Next Generation | Mrs. Novak |
| 2015 | Bitten | Lily Bevelaqua |
| The Plateaus | Young Nun #1 | |
| 2016 | 11.22.63 | Jeanne De Mohrenschildt |
| Rogue | AUSA Samantha Polley | |
| 2017 | Ransom | Alexis Duspleis |
| The Girlfriend Experience | ||
| 2018-2019 | Little Dog | Tammy Mackey |
| 2019 | Carter | Lorraine |
| 2020 | Spinning Out | Tatiana |
| The Comey Rule | Natalia Veselnitskaya | |
| 2022 | Workin' Moms | Tina |
| Five Days at Memorial | Audrey Adams | |
| Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities | Kathy |
Television Films[]
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Spinning Boris | Lisa |
| 2004 | While I Was Gone | Detective Geary |
| 2005 | Riding the Bus with My Sister | Nona |
| Terry | Truck-Stop Waitress | |
| 2010 | Turn the Beat Around | Cynthia |
| Harriet the Spy: Blog Wars | Violetta | |
| 2011 | Salem Falls | Carol |
| 2013 | The Twelve Trees of Christmas | Better Greven |
| 2014 | Midnight Masquerade | Helen |
| 2015 | Lead with Your Heart | Catherine |
| 2016 | Group Home | Nancy |
| A Nutcracker Christmas | Sharon | |
| 2020 | I Do, or Die: A Killer Arrangement | Mona |
| 2021 | A Wedding Ring | Patricia Long |
| 2022 | The Perfect Pairing | Eleanor Parks |
| 2023 | Christmas by Candlelight | Hilda Holstein |
Video Games[]
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | World of Warcraft: Legion |
Gallery[]
External Links[]
Shauna MacDonald on Wikipedia
Shauna MacDonald at the Internet Movie Database
Shauna MacDonald on Twitter