Sheila McCarthy
Biography
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
A Woman of Independent Means
1995 · 10.0
Back to the Beanstalk
1990 · 10.0
Much Ado About Nothing
1988 · 9.0
I Was a Rat
2001 · 9.0
Emily of New Moon
1998 · 8.8
The Lotus Eaters
1993 · 8.5
The Marriage Bed
1986 · 8.5
The Good Doctor
2017 · 8.5
The Umbrella Academy
2019 · 8.4
This Is Wonderland
2004 · 8.0
Journey to the Planets
1993 · 8.0
9B
1986 · 8.0
Orphan Black
2013 · 7.8
Rookie Blue
2010 · 7.7
YAGA
2026 · 7.4
Picket Fences
1992 · 7.4
Private Eyes
2016 · 7.3
Nurses
2020 · 7.3
More Tales of the City
1998 · 7.3
Beethoven Lives Upstairs
1992 · 7.3
George's Island
1989 · 7.3
Z-O-M-B-I-E-S 3
2022 · 7.3
The New Alfred Hitchcock Presents
1985 · 7.2
Marvin the Tap-Dancing Horse
2000 · 7.2
The Broken Hearts Gallery
2020 · 7.2
The Miniature Wife
2026 · 7.1
Saving Hope
2012 · 7.0
Love & Larceny
1985 · 7.0
Haven
2001 · 7.0
Super Rupert
2001 · 7.0
Algonquin
2014 · 7.0
Die Hard 2
1990 · 7.0
Star Trek: Discovery
2017 · 6.9
The Ray Bradbury Theater
1985 · 6.9
Women Talking
2022 · 6.8
Conviction
2016 · 6.8
Four on the Floor
1986 · 6.8
Dear Viola
2014 · 6.8
Level 16
2018 · 6.7
Ice Girls
2016 · 6.7
Anything for Jackson
2020 · 6.7
Christmas 9 to 5
2019 · 6.7
The Day After Tomorrow
2004 · 6.6
Little Mosque on the Prairie
2007 · 6.6
Bad Dog
1998 · 6.6
Puppets Who Kill
2002 · 6.6
Like a House on Fire
2021 · 6.6
Love Is the Monster
2025 · 6.5
Considering Love and Other Magic
2017 · 6.5
The Detail
2018 · 6.4
Being Julia
2004 · 6.4
The Voices of Our Mother
2026 · 6.4
Pacific Heights
1990 · 6.3
The Christmas Club
2019 · 6.3
Paradise
1991 · 6.2
Duct Tape Forever
2002 · 6.2
The Middle Man
2021 · 6.1
Breakfast with Scot
2007 · 6.1
The Hidden Room
1991 · 6.0
Hot Shots
1986 · 6.0
Lathe of Heaven
2002 · 6.0
Weird Sex and Snowshoes: A Trek Through the Canadian Cinematic Psyche
2004 · 6.0
The Soulmates in the Gift of Light
1991 · 6.0
Virtual Mom
2000 · 6.0
Antiviral
2012 · 5.9
Stepping Out
1991 · 5.9
Bailey's Billion$
2005 · 5.9
Still/Born
2018 · 5.8
Shadow Zone: My Teacher Ate My Homework
1997 · 5.8
Full-Court Miracle
2003 · 5.8
Really Weird Tales
1986 · 5.8
Cardinals
2017 · 5.8
Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen
2004 · 5.7
I've Heard the Mermaids Singing
1987 · 5.7
Dead Husbands
1998 · 5.7
White Room
1990 · 5.7
Too Rich: The Secret Life of Doris Duke
1999 · 5.5
Cow Belles
2006 · 5.5
A Fighting Man
2014 · 5.5
Surfacing
2026 · 5.5
Christmas in Rockwell
2022 · 5.5
A Private Matter
1992 · 5.5
The Rats
2002 · 5.4
House Arrest
1996 · 5.4
The Stone Angel
2007 · 5.4
Custody of the Heart
2000 · 5.4
The Possession of Michael D.
1995 · 5.4
Rare Birds
2001 · 5.3
Milton's Secret
2016 · 5.2
Isabelle
2019 · 5.1
Happy Place
2020 · 5.0
All the Lost Ones
2025 · 5.0
Beautiful Dreamers
1990 · 5.0
Montreal Stories
1991 · 5.0
You Know My Name
1999 · 4.8
Year of the Carnivore
2009 · 4.8
Bright Angel
1990 · 4.8
The Well
2026 · 3.6
Geraldine's Fortune
2004 · 3.3
Friends, Lovers, & Lunatics
1989 · 3.0
Whatever, Linda
2015 · 0.0
Stroke of Fate
2021 · 0.0
Dancing on the Elephant
2025 · 0.0
The Curse of Clara: A Holiday Tale
2015 · 0.0
An Assortment of Christmas Tales in No Particular Order
2019 · 0.0
The Biggest Little Ticket
1994 · 0.0