Jo Vannicola (born 1968), formerly known as Joanne Vannicola, is a Canadian actor."Vannicola says role as female jockey good for girls". Canadian Press, 14 June 1995. They are most noted for their roles as Dr. Naadiah in Being Erica, Dr. Mia Stone in PSI Factor, Jerri in Love and Human Remains, Sam in Stonewall, Renee in Slasher: Guilty Party, Amber Ciotti in Slasher: Solstice and Slasher: Flesh and Blood, as well as voice roles in Crash Canyon and My Dad the Rock Star.

Early life Vannicola was born in Montreal, Quebec, the youngest of four children to Helen Vannicola (née Trudel)."Montreal native keeps her seat in Derby movie". Ottawa Citizen, 15 June 1995. They were raised in an abusive household where their mother sexually abused them and their father physically assaulting them with their mother contributing to the violence by lying about it.

Out of pressure, Vannicola would leave home when they were 14. They would moved to Toronto, Ontario to attend the Toronto School for the Performing Arts."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.

Career Vannicola began their career at the age of 8 when they appeared on the Canadian version of Sesame Street. They 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."Going for Gemini glory". The Globe and Mail, 26 October 1989. In 1991, they won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Performance in a Children's Special in Maggie's Secret,"Daytime winners : Hughes, Bergman are winners Lucci loses again". Waterloo Region Record, 28 June 1991. and in 1994 they received a Genie Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for the film Love and Human Remains."Exotica dominates Genie nominations". Montreal Gazette, 20 October 1994.

Vannicola has also appeared in films and television series such as Common Ground, Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce, Rookie Blue, Slasher, Degrassi, Stardom,"Actor's 15 Moments with Arcand not up". Toronto Star, 25 June 1999. Betrayal of Silence, The Ultimate Betrayal, Relic Hunter, Mutant X, Kung Fu: The Legend Continues, Night Heat and Derby. In 2019, they appeared in the Street Legal reboot as Sam, a non-binary supporting character who was planned to have a more prominent storyline in the second season, although the reboot was cancelled after six episodes.

Vannicola received an ACTRA Award nomination for Best Voice Performance in 2009."ACTRA unveils nominees for performance awards". The Globe and Mail, 28 January 2009.

They wrote and directed their first short film, SNIP, in 2017."SNIP: A disturbing and empowering short film on the topic of sexual assault!". The Buzz, August 2017.

In 2019, Vannicola published their memoir, All We Knew But Couldn't Say, with Dundurn Press.

Personal life Vannicola founded a non-profit organization to raise awareness about child abuse, Youth Out Loud, in 2004."Walk is answer to stigma of abuse". Toronto Star, 24 May 2008. An out lesbian prior to coming out as non-binary, Vannicola was a prominent campaigner for same-sex marriage in Canada"Same sex marriage demonstration at Liberal Party convention". Canada NewsWire, 13 November 2003. and is the current chair of outACTRAto, ACTRA's advocacy and support committee for LGBTQ performers.

They hold a certificate from the creative writing program at University of Toronto, and was selected for the Diaspora Dialogues program in Toronto in 2013."Emerging Author of the Month: Joanne Vannicola" . Diaspora Dialogues, 6 January 2014.

Vannicola came out as non-binary in their 2019 memoir All We Knew But Couldn't Say.Norman Wilner, "Joanne Vannicola wants to push Canadian film beyond gender binaries" . Now, 18 June 2019.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes1982Hard FeelingsClaudia Hergruder1986Toby McTeagueParker1993Love and Human RemainsJerri1995Iron Eagle on the AttackWheeler1997HysteriaBlair2000StardomRosie2013Morag2015StonewallSam

Television Year Title Role Notes1976Sesame StreetJoanneRecurring role19869BMary NeissbrkorTV film1987Taking Care of TerrificEnid / CynthiaTV film1987Street LegalMrs. FlaniganEpisode: "Mr. Nice Guy"1988Night HeatEllaEpisode: "Forgive Me Father"1988No BlameLauraTV film1988Betrayal of SilenceKarenTV film1988T. and T.BettyEpisode: "And Baby Makes Nine"1988Street LegalJoanieEpisode: "Cat and Mouse"1989MenKimberlyEpisode: "Cupid Ms...Takes"1989–90My Secret IdentityCassie MartinEpisode: "Secret Code", "Long Shot", "White Lies"1990T. and T.MartinaEpisode: "Cry Wolf"1990CBS Schoolbreak SpecialMaggie KingstonEpisode: "Maggie's Secret"1991Katts and DogMarianaEpisode: "Desperate Hours"1991TarzánNikki RobinsonEpisode: "Tarzan and the Killer Lion"1992–93Street LegalBarbara JacobsonEpisode: "Affairs of the Heart", "Hasta La Vista"1994Ultimate BetrayalKarlaTV film1994To Save the ChildrenMelanie YoungTV film1995DerbyKatie WoodsTV film1996Kung Fu: The Legend ContinuesClaireEpisode: "Phoenix"1999–2000Psi FactorDr. Mia StoneMain role (season 4)2000Common GroundMaxTV film2000TabithaTV film2001Mieka KilbournTV film2001What Makes a FamilyMelissaTV film2002Relic HunterZanda WilkesEpisode: "Warlock of the Nu Theta Phi"2002Mutant XMaddie ConlanEpisode: "Double Vision"2003Train 48SueEpisode: "1.13", "1.40"2003In the DarkSadie SpellerTV film2003ThoughtcrimesTerri MerriweatherTV film2009–11Being EricaDr. NaadiahRecurring role2014Degrassi: The Next GenerationChef KazEpisode: "How Bizarre", "My Hero"2015Rookie BlueJasmineEpisode: "Ninety Degrees"2015Girlfriends' Guide to DivorceEpisode: "Don't Blow the Bubble"2016Slasher: The ExecutionerDebbieEpisode: "Ill-Gotten Gains"2017Sea ChangeNick ColleyTV film2017Slasher: Guilty PartyRenéeMain role 2019 Slasher: Solstice Amber CiottiMain role 2019 Street Legal Sam 2021–22 The Expanse Nico Sanjrani Recurring role (season 6) 2023 Slasher: Ripper Enid JenkinsMain role

Voice work Year Title Role Notes1999MedabotsKoji KarakuchiTV series2000–01Timothy Goes to SchoolClaudeRecurring role2000–03Seven Little MonstersOneTV series2001–03BeybladeVariousTV series2003–04My Dad the Rock StarWilliam "Willy" ZillaMain role2005Gerald McBoing-BoingJacobMain role2006Bigfoot Presents: Meteor and the Mighty Monster TrucksHook"Race Relations"2006AsakTV film2007Bakugan Battle BrawlersMaruchoTV series2007–10Busytown Mysteries (Hurray for Huckle!)HuckleMain role2008–09Toot & PuddleTootMain role2009Stephanie Stephanie"Captain Petard"2010–12 The Adventures of Chuck & FriendsBiggsTV series2011–13Crash CanyonJake Wendell / Emily ButaneMain role2011–16Super Why!WoofsterMain role (seasons 2–3)

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