- Born
- Height5′ 1″ (1.55 m)
- Mia Kirshner was born in Toronto, Ontario, to Etti, a teacher, and Sheldon Kirshner, a journalist. Her father is of Polish Jewish descent and her mother is a Bulgarian Jewish immigrant. Mia had a middle class upbringing and graduated from McGill University with a degree in English Literature. She had a love for acting from her school days at the Jarvis Institute, and her parents helped find her a talent agent at the age of 12, then began acting in several Canadian television series.
By the age of 14, Mia was acting professionally and made her film debut in 1993 in Denys Arcand's Love and Human Remains (1993). Kirshner won a Genie nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a supporting role for her part in the film. Mia's performance also brought her to the attention of Atom Egoyan, who cast her as the female lead in the 1994 film Exotica (1994). Mia's depiction of a sexy stripper in the film, won her critical acclaim, and by 1996 she established herself with an equally inspiring performance in The Crow: City of Angels (1996).
Having established herself in Hollywood as a leading and versatile performer, Mia also appeared in the first three episodes of 24 (2001) as the assassin Mandy in 2001. She would later reprise the role for the second season's finale and in the latter half of the show's fourth season. Also in 2001, Kirshner played Catherine Wyler, The Cruelest Girl in School, in Not Another Teen Movie (2001). The character is primarily a spoof of Kathryn Merteuil (played by Sarah Michelle Gellar) in Cruel Intentions (1999), and was partially based on Mackenzie Siler (played by Anna Paquin) from She's All That (1999). In the music video for Marilyn Manson: Tainted Love (2001), which was featured on the movie's soundtrack, she made a cameo appearance as her character Catherine Wyler.
In 2004, Kirshner was cast as author Jenny Schecter, a main character in the drama series The L Word (2004). She remained with the show for all of the show's six seasons through 2009. She won several awards for her role as Jenny Schecter, and a world-wide fan base which followed her character throughout the seasons of the L Word.
In 2006, Mia starred in Brian De Palma's The Black Dahlia (2006) in which she plays the young aspiring actress, Elizabeth Short, who was mysteriously mutilated and murdered in 1947. While the film itself was critically panned, many reviews singled out her performance for acclaim. In 2010, Kirshner co-starred in the film 30 Days of Night: Dark Days (2010) which began filming in the fall of 2009. In 2010, she was cast as Isobel Fleming, a guest role on The Vampire Diaries (2009).
In 2011, she voiced the title character in Bear 71 (2012), a National Film Board of Canada web documentary that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.
On April 20, 2012, it was announced that Kirshner would join the new Syfy series Defiance (2013).
Kirshner was ranked #43 on the Maxim Hot 100 Women of 2002. She and Beverly Polcyn were nominated for Best Kiss at the 2002 MTV Movie Awards (2002) for Not Another Teen Movie (2001). In 2012 it was announced that Kirshner would be the face of Monica Rich Kosann's jewelry collection.
Already established as Canada's most decorated female performer, Mia is also a decorated writer, winning acclaim for her 2007 book I Live Here.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Hollywood
- ParentsEtti KirshnerSheldon Kirshner
- RelativesLauren Kirshner(Sibling)
- She is known for being a prankster. She played practical jokes on the set of The L Word (2004) and Defiance (2013).
- Fluent in French.
- Has written a book called 'I Live Here'. "I Live Here is a paper documentary - an intimate journey to humanitarian crises in four corners of the world: war in Chechnya, ethnic cleansing in Burma, globalization in Mexico, and AIDS in Malawi.".
- She is a granddaughter of Holocaust survivors. Her father, Sheldon, a journalist for The Canadian Jewish News, was born in a displaced person camp in Germany in 1946, to Polish Jewish parents. He met her mother, Etti, a Bulgarian Jewish refugee, in Israel. Kirshner has a younger sister.
- Was roommates with Leisha Hailey and Kate Moennig while filming The L Word (2004). Kirshner, Hailey, and Moenning lived down the street from Jennifer Beals' house.
- [on sex scenes with another woman] It's nothing to be ashamed of. I genuinely enjoy doing them, and I think that women are lovely and generous. There's an intangible feeling and a comfort level that is beautiful.
- I don't care if people think I'm gay. Gender is of no consequence to me. It's a person's brain that counts.
- What I know is true is that there is no shame in being gay. Love does not understand gender.
- I think, as an actor, the challenge is to choose wisely. And, you know, say "no" more than you say "yes."
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content