Tanja Jacobs
{{short description|Belgian-born Canadian actress and director}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Tanja Jacobs
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| birth_place = Belgium
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| nationality = Canadian
| education = York University (MFA)
| occupation = Actor and director
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}}
Tanja Jacobs is a Belgian-born Canadian actress and theatre director. She originated the role of Constance Ledbelly in Anne-Marie MacDonald's Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet).
Early life
Jacobs was born in Belgium to German parents. Her mother, Katia Jacobs, was a visual artist. At age 5, following the collapse of her parents' marriage, she, her mother, and older brother relocated to Canada. Katia Jacobs would later remarry Bill Kennedy, who Tanja considers to be her father.{{Cite journal |last=Herst |first=Beth |date=2003 |title=Second Skin: The Theatrical Passion of Tanja Jacobs |journal=PAJ: A Journal of Performance & Art |volume=25 |issue=75 |pages=75–84 |doi=10.1162/152028103322491700 |s2cid=57569906 |via=EBSCO Host}} Jacobs says she knew she wanted to be an actress at age 9.{{Cite news |last=Crew |first=Bob |date=2001-10-11 |title=Thriving on emotional expression; Tanja Jacobs embraces new role as love letter collector |pages=G08 |work=Toronto Star |id={{ProQuest | }}}} At age 16, Jacobs left high school. She began taking acting classes at age 18.
Career
At age 22, Jacobs landed her first notable role playing Dr. Chebutykin in an all-female production of Chekhov's Three Sisters.
In the 1980s, Jacobs was a member of the Toronto theatre company, Autumn Angel.{{Cite web |last=Kaplan |first=Jon |author-link=Jon Kaplan (theatre critic) |date=2001-10-11 |title=More than Skin Deep |url=https://nowtoronto.com/culture/stage/more-than-skin-deep |access-date=2022-08-28 |website=NOW Magazine |language=en-US}} Other company members were Richard Rose, Thom Sokoloski, Maggie Huculak, Stewart Arnott, Kim Renders, Bruce Vavrina and Mark Christmann.{{Cite web |last=Kaplan |first=Jon |date=2001-02-15 |title=Looking for Richard |url=https://nowtoronto.com/culture/stage/looking-for-richard |access-date=2022-08-28 |website=NOW Magazine |language=en-US}}
In 1987, landed the role of Skinner in Howard Baker's The Castle. The production marked a turning point in Jacobs' career; after that performance, she worked almost constantly.
Jacobs originated the role of Constance Ledbelly in Ann-Marie MacDonald's Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) in 1988.{{cite book |last=MacDonald |first=Ann-Marie |url= |title=Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) |date=1998 |publisher=Grove Press |isbn=9780802135773 |edition=First Grove Press |location=New York |pages=xi–xvii |contribution=Introduction |lccn=98-8447 |oclc=39235556 |author-link=Ann-Marie MacDonald |orig-date=1990 |contributor-first=Baņuta |contributor-last=Rubess |contributor-link=Baņuta Rubess}} Jacobs was nominated for a Dora Mavor Moore Award for her performance.
Personal life
Jacobs has a daughter, Nina, who was born in 1998. Following Nina's birth, Jacobs took a break from her career to be a stay-at-home mother. In 2018, Jacobs completed her MFA in Stage Direction at York University.
Filmography
Television
| class="wikitable"
|+ !Year !Title !Role !Notes !Ref. |
| 2005
|Witch #2 |3 episodes | |
| 1999
|SM3 Reagan Sexsmith |6 episodes |
| 1997
|The New Ghostwriter Mysteries |Mrs. Shepherd |Episode: "Disappearing Act" | |
| 1995
|A Taste of Shakespeare |Gertrude / Laertes / Gravedigger |Episode: "Hamlet" | |
| 1995
|Madame Futuro |Episode: "Crossing the Line" | |
| 1995
|Lola |Episode: "Sixth Sense" | |
| 1990
|Miss Gholston |Episode: "The Pied Piper" | |
| 1988
|Marjorie |Episode: "Animal Lovers" | |
| 1987
|Lady Theresa |Episode: "Here's Looking at You" | |
| 1987
|Jill |6 episodes |
| 1985
|The Suicide Murders |Martha Tracy |TV movie | |
Film
| class="wikitable"
|+ !Year !Title !Role !Notes !Ref. |
| 1999
| |Short film | |
Theatre credits
As director:
| class="wikitable"
|+ !Year !Production !Company !Notes !Ref. |
| 2022
|Orphans For The Czar |Crow's Theatre | |
| 2021
| |
| 2019
| |
| 2018
|Shakespeare in High Park (Canadian Stage) | |
| 2018
|La Bete | |
| 2018
|Canadian Stage |Co-directed with Alistair Newton |
| 2017
|Shakespeare in High Park (Canadian Stage) | |
| 2016
|The Model Apartment | |
| 2010
|The Eleventh David |Theatre Passe Muraille (Backstage Buzz) | |
| 2002
|1002 Nights |Shed Co. | |
| 2000
|Goddess |Theatre of the Repressed and Sansregret Productions |At Toronto Fringe |
As actor:
| class="wikitable"
|+ !Year !Production !Company/Theatre !Role !Notes !Ref. |
| 2019
|Shaw Festival |Le Bret | |
| 2018
|The Assembly: episode 1 |Porte Parole and Crow's Theatre |Valerie | |
| 2015
|The Watershed |Panamania (Pan Am/Parapan Am Games) | | |
| 2014
|Bloody Family | |
| 2012
|Grannie Didn't Go To Florida |SNAP Productions and Theatre Hetaerae (Cooking Fire Theatre Festival) |Grannie | |
| 2012
|Seeds |Crow's Theatre and Porte Parole | | |
| 2011
|Tout Comme Elle |Necessary Angel (Luminato Festival) | | |
| 2010
|Winnie | |{{Cite web |last=Kaplan |first=Jon |date=2010-05-17 |title=Happy Days |url=https://nowtoronto.com/culture/theatre/happy-days |access-date=2022-08-28 |website=NOW Magazine |language=en-US}}{{Cite news |last=Ouzounian |first=Richard |date=2010-05-13 |title=Let loose, a wild actor is hideously excessive Theatre review |pages=25 |work=Toronto Star}} |
| 2010
|Mother Courage and Her Children |Mother Courage | |
| 2008
|Soulpepper and National Arts Centre |Lady Wishfort | |
| 2006
|The Innocent Eye Test | | |
| 2006
|Great Peace |Actors Repertory Company | |Staged reading |
| 2005
| | |
| 2004
|The Swanne: Queen Victoria (The Seduction of Nemesis) | | |
| 2003
|Orchidelirium |Pea Green Theatre and Theatre Voce | | |
| 2003
|Soulpepper | | |
| 2002
|Far Horizons Hotel |Playwrights' Workshop Montreal and Factory Theatre | |Staged reading |
| 2002
| | |
| 2001
|Elisa's Skin |Tarragon Theatre |Elisa | |
| 2001
|Soulpepper Theatre at the Premiere Dance Theatre | | |
| 2001
|TempestThe production used simply, Tempest, rather than the more typical title, The Tempest. | |Ariel | |
| 2001
|Theatre Direct | |Touring school production |
| 2000
|The Wild Stage: An Evening Of German Cabaret |Alt.COMedy Lounge | | |
| 1993
|Abundance |Macon | |
| 1991
|Writing With Our Feet | |Sophie, Alphonsinette, Zenaide, Lucy, Father Rocky, and Raymond Loewy | |
| 1989
|The Man I Love |Tarragon Theatre |Max | |
| 1989
|The Possibilities |Necessary Angel |Multiple roles | |
| 1988
|Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) |Constance Ledbelly | |
| 1987
|The Castle |Necessary Angel |Skinner | |
| 1984
|Under the Skin | | | | |
| |Three Sisters
| |Dr. Chebutykin | |
Awards
| class="wikitable"
|+ !Year !Award !Category !Work !Role !Result !Ref. |
| 2018
|Gina Wilkinson Prize for an Emerging Female Director |N/A |N/A |N/A |{{won}} |
| 2010
| rowspan="6" |Dora Mavor Moore Awards |Outstanding Performance by a Female in a Principal Role |Happy Days | |{{nom}} |
| 2003
|Performance in a Feature Role in a Play or Musical |Girl in the Goldfish Bowl | |{{won}} |
| 2002
| rowspan="4" | Outstanding Performance by a Female in a Featured Role |Elisa's Skin |Elisa |{{nom}} | |
| 1994
|Abundance | |{{nom}} | |
| 1990
|Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) |Constance Ledbelly |{{nom}} |{{Cite news |last=Conlogue |first=Ray |date=May 15, 1990 |title=Dora nominations harvested from sparse crop of new plays |page=A19 |work=The Globe and Mail}} |
| 1984
|Under the Skin | |{{won}} |
Notes
{{reflist|group=note}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|nm0414657}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jacobs, Tanja}}
Category:Canadian stage actresses
Category:Canadian theatre directors
Category:Canadian television actresses
Category:York University alumni
Category:Canadian women theatre directors
Category:Canadian people of German descent
Category:Belgian emigrants to Canada
Category:Date of birth missing (living people)
Category:21st-century Canadian actresses
Category:20th-century Canadian actresses