Vannicola came out as non-binary in their 2019 memoir All We Knew But Couldn't Say.[2]
Background
Born in Montreal, Quebec,[3] Vannicola began their career as a child, and moved to Toronto, Ontario in their teens to attend the Toronto School for the Performing Arts.[4]
Career
Vannicola had their first prominent role in the teen drama series 9B, for which they received a Gemini Award nomination for Best Actress in a Continuing Dramatic Role in 1989.[5] In 1991, they won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Performance in a Children's Special in Maggie's Secret,[6] and in 1994 they received a Genie Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for the film Love and Human Remains.[7]
Joanne received an ACTRA Award nomination for Best Voice Performance in 2009.[9]
They wrote and directed their first short film, SNIP, in 2017.[10]
In 2019, Vannicola published their memoir, All We Knew But Couldn't Say, with Dundurn Press.[2]
Personal life
Vannicola founded a non-profit organization to raise awareness about child abuse, Youth Out Loud, in 2004.[11] An out lesbian prior to coming out as non-binary, Vannicola was a prominent campaigner for same-sex marriage in Canada[12] and is the current chair of outACTRAto, ACTRA's advocacy and support committee for LGBTQ performers.[2]
Vannicola holds a certificate from the creative writing program at University of Toronto, and was selected for the Diaspora Dialogues program in Toronto in 2013.[13]
^ ab"Montreal native keeps her seat in Derby movie". Ottawa Citizen, 15 June 1995.
^"Joanne Vannicola is a winner: The Montreal-born actress, who stars in ABC-TV's Derby, has more than 30 roles to her credit and that ultimate TV calling card, an Emmy Award". The Globe and Mail, 17 June 1995.
