Cara Gee

Cara Gee
Cara Gee at the 2018 CFC Annual Gala & Auction
Gee at CFC Annual Gala in 2018
Born (1983-07-18) July 18, 1983 (age 41)
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
OccupationActress
Years active2011–present
Spouse
​
(m. 2019)​
[1]

Cara Gee (born July 18, 1983[2][3]) is a Canadian film, television, and stage actress. She is known for her roles in the television series Strange Empire and The Expanse. She is described by Forbes as "one of the most prominent indigenous women in the entertainment industry".[4]

Career

Gee is primarily known as a stage actress in Toronto, Ontario, where her acting credits have included productions of Margaret Atwood's The Penelopiad,[5] Daniel MacIvor's Arigato, Tokyo,[6] Tomson Highway's The Rez Sisters[5] Cliff Cardinal's Stitch,[7] Birdtown and Swanville's 36 Little Plays About Hopeless Girls[7] and Louise Dupré's Tout comme elle.[7]

She made her feature film debut in Empire of Dirt for which she was nominated for a Canadian Screen Award.[6] For this role, she also won a Special Jury award at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival as well as an award for Best Actress at the American Indian Film Festival. In 2013, at TIFF, Gee was named one of the festival's annual Rising Stars.[3]

Gee began work on television playing guest roles in the television series King and Republic of Doyle. In 2014, she starred as one of the lead characters in the Western drama series Strange Empire on CBC Television, for one season until it was cancelled in 2015.[8][9] As of 2016, Gee stars in the 33-episode web series Inhuman Condition, which airs on the KindaTV YouTube channel.[10][11]

From 2017 to 2022 she played the role of Camina Drummer on the Syfy/Amazon television series The Expanse.[12] Her indigenous origin has attracted media attention repeatedly around matters of representation of minorities,[13][14] especially with narratives in The Expanse regarding cultural assimilation.[15][16] Gee's portrayal of Camina Drummer has been strongly praised.[17][18][19][20][21]

Personal life

Gee in 2018

Gee is Ojibwe, one of the largest indigenous populations in Canada.[7][22] She was born in Calgary, Alberta, and raised in Aurora, Ontario.[6][23] She married Richard de Klerk in 2019.[1] Gee was eight months pregnant while filming the fifth season of The Expanse.[24]

Filmography

Films

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2010 Gingerlip Kids Sharon Taylor Short film [25]
2013 The Cycle of Broken Grace Prostitute
Empire of Dirt Lena Mahikan
2015 We Think it Belongs In The Sea Lynne Ann Short film
2016 Anne Darling Charlie
2017 Sundowners Jenny
The Carmilla Movie Emily Brontë
We Forgot to Break Up Isis Wong Short film
2018 Birdland Hazel James
Trouble in the Garden Raven
Pippa
Red Rover Phoebe
Wynter Coyote TV film
2019 Home in Time Skylar Short film
Bitter Smoke Opichi
EXT Aegis Minamoto
It's Nothing The Girl
2020 Alone Wolf Town Monroe
The Call of the Wild Françoise
2022 Bones of Crows Percy Whallach

Television series

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2012 King Alicia Pratta Episode: "Alicia Pratta" (no. 18) [25]
2013 Republic of Doyle Sydney Morrison Episode: "Brothers in Arms" (no. 61)
2014 Darknet Gemma Episode: "Darknet 4" (no. 4)
2014–2015 Strange Empire Kat Loving Leading role; 13 episodes
2016 Inhuman Condition Tamar Main role; web series; 11 episodes
2017 The Neddeaus of Duqesne Island Web series; episode: "The Mainland" (no. 10)
Letterkenny Shyla Episode: "Way to a Man's Heart" (no. 23)
2017–2022 The Expanse Camina Drummer Recurring role (seasons 2–3); main role (seasons 4–6); 42 episodes
2021 The Expanse: One Ship Episode: "Ankawala" (no. 1)
2023 Extrapolations Freda Episode: "2037: A Raven Story" (no. 1)
2024 Sweet Tooth Siana Main role

Video games

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2023 The Expanse: A Telltale Series Camina Drummer Voice [25]

Awards and nominations

Gee garnered a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Actress at the 2nd Canadian Screen Awards for her performance in Empire of Dirt.[6][26] For this role, she also won a Special Jury Award at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival as well as an award for Best Actress at the American Indian Film Festival.

References

  1. ^ a b Cara Gee [@CaraGeeeee] (April 3, 2019). "I married my sweet love Richard de Klerk..." (Tweet). Retrieved 2020-01-11 – via Twitter.
  2. ^ Cara Gee [@CaraGeeeee] (July 14, 2017). "July 18th happens to be my birthday so this is just perfect 💙 #TheExpanse" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 2020-09-02. Retrieved 2022-06-29 – via Twitter.
  3. ^ a b Marsha Lederman (September 5, 2014). "Actress Cara Gee: Making it big and keeping it real". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 2017-04-20. Retrieved 2016-08-25.
  4. ^ Rob Salkowitz (December 31, 2021). "The Expanse's Cara Gee Adds A Unique Perspective To The Show's Diverse Cast". Forbes. Retrieved 2022-01-16.
  5. ^ a b "People to Watch in 2012". Torontoist. January 3, 2012. Archived from the original on 2014-01-15.
  6. ^ a b c d Linda Barnard (December 30, 2012). "People to watch: Cara Gee". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on 2019-05-08. Retrieved 2022-06-29.
  7. ^ a b c d Glenn Sumi (September 5, 2013). "Golly Gee – Stage star Cara Gee burns bright in big-screen debut". NOW. Archived from the original on 2014-10-20. Retrieved 2014-01-14.
  8. ^ Etan Vlessing (August 4, 2014). "DRG to Sell Dark Canadian Drama 'Strange Empire' at MIPCOM". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 2019-05-08.
  9. ^ Duncan McCue (October 3, 2014). "Q&A: Cara Gee plays "dream role" as gun-toting Métis cowgirl". CBC News. Archived from the original on 2016-04-15. Retrieved 2016-08-25.
  10. ^ "Inhuman Condition Is a Step Forward for the Medium". Bloody Disgusting. July 5, 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-08-11. Retrieved 2016-08-25.
  11. ^ "Shaftesbury | Inhuman Condition". Shaftesbury. Archived from the original on 2016-10-13. Retrieved 2016-08-25.
  12. ^ Mia Galuppo (November 7, 2018). "Expanse Actress Cara Gee Joins Call of the Wild at Fox". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 2020-06-18. Retrieved 2019-07-02.
  13. ^ Victoria Ahearn (February 19, 2020). "Calgary-born actress talks Indigenous pride and her digital dog co-star in The Call of the Wild". CBC News. Retrieved 2022-01-16.
  14. ^ Dino-Ray Ramos (November 16, 2020). "'The Expanse's Cara Gee And 'Falling Skies' Actor Mpho Koaho Join Sci-Fi Thriller 'Levels'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 2022-01-16.
  15. ^ "The Expanse's Focus On Cultural Assimilation Hits Close To Home For Cara Gee". ScreenRant. December 6, 2019. Retrieved 2022-01-16.
  16. ^ "The Expanse's Cara Gee Talks Indigenous Representation". Den of Geek. November 16, 2019. Retrieved 2022-01-16.
  17. ^ "In Praise of The Expanse's Camina Drummer". Gizmodo. 2021-01-25. Retrieved 2024-06-07.
  18. ^ Hannemann, Emily (January 18, 2021). "'The Expanse': 7 Reasons Why We Love (& Fear) Camina Drummer". tvinsider.
  19. ^ Elvy, Craig (2022-01-04). "How Camina Drummer Became The True Hero Of The Expanse Season 6". ScreenRant. Retrieved 2024-06-07.
  20. ^ Jeff Spry (2020-12-15). "Beltalowda! Cara Gee opens up about Drummer's emotional odyssey in 'The Expanse' season 5". Space.com. Retrieved 2024-06-07.
  21. ^ Vinney, Cynthia (2021-01-08). "INTERVIEW: The Expanse's Cara Gee On Showing Drummer's Softer Side & Facing Off With Marco". CBR. Retrieved 2024-06-07.
  22. ^ Jeff Spry (December 15, 2020). "Beltalowda! Cara Gee opens up about Drummer's emotional odyssey in 'The Expanse' season 5". Space.com. Archived from the original on 2021-01-29. Retrieved 2022-06-29.
  23. ^ Victoria Ahearn (February 19, 2020). "Calgary-born actress talks Indigenous pride and her digital dog co-star in The Call of the Wild". CBC News. Archived from the original on 2020-02-25. Retrieved 2022-06-29.
  24. ^ "The Expanse Drummer Actor Filmed Emotional Scenes 8 Months Pregnant". ScreenRant. January 26, 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-02-13.
  25. ^ a b c "Cara Gee". imdb.com.
  26. ^ "Canadian Screen Awards: Orphan Black, Less Than Kind, Enemy nominated". CBC News. January 13, 2014. Archived from the original on 2018-03-31. Retrieved 2014-01-14.