Sheila McCarthy

Known for: Acting

Born: 1956-01-01 (age 70)

From: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Sheila McCarthy (born January 1, 1956) is a Canadian stage, film and television actress, singer and dancer, best known for playing Polly Vandersma in the feature film I've Heard the Mermaids Singing, as well as supporting character Sarah Hamoudi (Cunningham) in the television series Little Mosque on the Prairie. She's a graduate in Theatre and Art History from the University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. In her career, she's won 2 Genie Awards (film), 2 Gemini Awards (television), and 2 Dora Awards (theater), along with multiple nominations.

Filmography (110)

MOVIE★ 5.8
The Voices of Our Mother
2026
as Harriet
TV★ 7.4
The Miniature Wife
2026
MOVIE★ 5.5
Surfacing
2026
as Dawn
MOVIE★ 4.0
The Well
2026
as Gabriel
MOVIE★ 5.7
Love Is the Monster
2025
as Margaret
MOVIE
Dancing on the Elephant
2025
as Nora
MOVIE★ 4.8
All the Lost Ones
2025
as Dawn
MOVIE★ 6.8
Women Talking
2022
as Greta
MOVIE★ 5.5
Christmas in Rockwell
2022
as Juniper
MOVIE★ 7.3
Z-O-M-B-I-E-S 3
2022
as Hologram Alien Scout
MOVIE★ 6.1
The Middle Man
2021
as Mrs. Stout
MOVIE
Stroke of Fate
2021
as Shirley
MOVIE★ 7.4
Like a House on Fire
2021
as Katherine
MOVIE★ 5.0
Happy Place
2020
as Joyce
MOVIE★ 7.1
The Broken Hearts Gallery
2020
as Cheryl Gulliver
MOVIE★ 6.7
Anything for Jackson
2020
as Audrey Walsh
TV★ 7.3
Nurses
2020
as Phillis Bruner
MOVIE★ 6.3
The Christmas Club
2019
as Miss Maggie
MOVIE★ 6.7
Christmas 9 to 5
2019
as Rose Stark
MOVIE
An Assortment of Christmas Tales in No Particular Order
2019
as Ellen
MOVIE★ 5.1
Isabelle
2019
as Ann Pelway
TV★ 8.5
The Umbrella Academy
2019
as Agnes
TV★ 6.4
The Detail
2018
as Helen Mailer
MOVIE★ 6.7
Level 16
2018
as Mrs. Denison
MOVIE★ 5.8
Still/Born
2018
as Sheila
MOVIE★ 6.5
Considering Love and Other Magic
2017
as Veronica
TV★ 8.5
The Good Doctor
2017
as Rose Babcock
TV★ 7.0
Star Trek: Discovery
2017
as All-Mother
MOVIE★ 5.8
Cardinals
2017
as Valerie Walker
TV★ 6.8
Conviction
2016
as Dr. Jane Soto
MOVIE★ 5.2
Milton's Secret
2016
as Luz
TV★ 7.3
Private Eyes
2016
as Shirl Glinski
MOVIE★ 5.5
Brace for Impact
2016
as Faradee Gilchrist
MOVIE★ 6.7
Ice Girls
2016
as Aunt Ginger
TV
Whatever, Linda
2015
as Sheila Hardy
MOVIE★ 5.5
A Fighting Man
2014
as Rose O'Connor
MOVIE★ 7.0
Algonquin
2014
as Rita
MOVIE★ 6.8
Dear Viola
2014
as Peggy
TV★ 7.8
Orphan Black
2013
as Connie Hendrix
MOVIE★ 6.0
Antiviral
2012
as Dev Harvey
TV★ 7.0
Saving Hope
2012
as Violet Devonshire
TV★ 7.7
Rookie Blue
2010
as Leigh Senett
MOVIE★ 4.8
Year of the Carnivore
2009
as Mrs. Smalls
MOVIE★ 6.2
Breakfast with Scot
2007
as Miss Patterson (uncredited)
MOVIE★ 5.4
The Stone Angel
2007
as Doris
TV★ 6.6
Little Mosque on the Prairie
2007
as Sarah Hamoudi
MOVIE★ 5.5
Cow Belles
2006
as Fran Walker
MOVIE★ 5.9
Bailey's Billion$
2005
as Peggy Delaney
MOVIE★ 3.3
Geraldine's Fortune
2004
as Tina Larose
MOVIE★ 6.4
Being Julia
2004
as Grace Dexter
MOVIE★ 6.6
The Day After Tomorrow
2004
as Judith
MOVIE★ 5.7
Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen
2004
as Mrs. Gerard
TV★ 8.0
This Is Wonderland
2004
MOVIE★ 6.0
Weird Sex and Snowshoes: A Trek Through the Canadian Cinematic Psyche
2004
as Polly Vandersma (archive footage)
MOVIE★ 5.7
Full-Court Miracle
2003
as Mrs. Klein
TV★ 6.6
Puppets Who Kill
2002
MOVIE★ 5.4
The Rats
2002
as Miss Paige
MOVIE★ 6.0
Lathe of Heaven
2002
as Penny
MOVIE★ 6.8
Duct Tape Forever
2002
as Easterbrook (uncredited)
MOVIE★ 9.0
I Was a Rat
2001
as Mrs. Tapscrew
MOVIE★ 5.3
Rare Birds
2001
as Claire
MOVIE★ 6.8
Haven
2001
as Eva
TV
Haven
2001
as Eva
TV★ 7.0
Super Rupert
2001
as Aunt Rhonda
TV★ 7.3
Marvin the Tap-Dancing Horse
2000
as Elizabeth the Emotional Pig (voice)
MOVIE★ 5.4
Custody of the Heart
2000
as Alice
MOVIE★ 6.0
Virtual Mom
2000
as Holly
MOVIE★ 4.8
You Know My Name
1999
as Mrs. Lynn
TV★ 5.5
Too Rich: The Secret Life of Doris Duke
1999
as Tammy
MOVIE★ 5.2
Dead Husbands
1998
as Jane Armitage
TV★ 7.0
Bad Dog
1998
as (voice)
TV★ 7.3
More Tales of the City
1998
as Mildred
TV★ 8.8
Emily of New Moon
1998
as Laura Murray
MOVIE★ 5.8
Shadow Zone: My Teacher Ate My Homework
1997
as Jesse's Mom
MOVIE★ 9.0
The Care and Handling of Roses
1996
as Carol Doster
MOVIE★ 5.3
House Arrest
1996
as Gwenna Krupp
MOVIE★ 4.8
The Awakening
1995
as Nancy
MOVIE★ 5.4
The Possession of Michael D.
1995
as Jenny
TV★ 10.0
A Woman of Independent Means
1995
as Totsie
MOVIE★ 6.3
Menendez: A Killing in Beverly Hills
1994
as Jill Lansing
MOVIE
The Biggest Little Ticket
1994
as The Troll
MOVIE★ 8.5
The Lotus Eaters
1993
as Diana Kingswood
MOVIE★ 8.0
Journey to the Planets
1993
as Oracle (voice)
MOVIE★ 7.3
Liza Minnelli - Live from Radio City Music Hall
1992
as Self
MOVIE★ 7.3
Beethoven Lives Upstairs
1992
as Sophie
TV★ 7.5
Picket Fences
1992
as Sue Walsh
MOVIE★ 5.5
A Private Matter
1992
as Diane Callaghan
MOVIE★ 5.0
Montreal Stories
1991
as Ann Stuart
MOVIE★ 5.9
Stepping Out
1991
as Andy
MOVIE★ 6.2
Paradise
1991
as Sally Pike
TV★ 6.0
The Hidden Room
1991
MOVIE★ 6.0
The Soulmates in the Gift of Light
1991
as (voice)
MOVIE★ 10.0
Back to the Beanstalk
1990
as Garbanza
MOVIE★ 4.9
Bright Angel
1990
as Nina
MOVIE★ 6.3
Pacific Heights
1990
as Liz Hamilton
MOVIE★ 5.7
White Room
1990
as Zelda
MOVIE★ 7.0
Die Hard 2
1990
as Samantha 'Sam' Coleman
MOVIE★ 5.0
Beautiful Dreamers
1990
as Molly Jessop
MOVIE★ 3.0
Friends, Lovers, & Lunatics
1989
as Kathy
MOVIE★ 7.3
George's Island
1989
as Miss Birdwood
MOVIE★ 9.0
Much Ado About Nothing
1988
as Margaret
MOVIE★ 5.8
I've Heard the Mermaids Singing
1987
as Polly Vandersma
MOVIE
A Nest of Singing Birds
1987
as Anna
MOVIE★ 8.5
The Marriage Bed
1986
as Lynn Reailly
MOVIE★ 5.8
Really Weird Tales
1986
as Ellie Hutchins (segment "Cursed With Charisma")
MOVIE★ 8.0
9B
1986
as Heather
TV★ 6.3
Four on the Floor
1986
MOVIE★ 7.0
Love & Larceny
1985
as Mary Bigley
TV★ 7.2
The New Alfred Hitchcock Presents
1985
as Debra (Sarah) Hollister
TV★ 6.9
The Ray Bradbury Theater
1985
as Francine