Michelle Thrush (born February 6, 1967) is a Canadian actress and First Nations activist for Indigenous peoples in Canada and the other Indigenous peoples of the Americas. She is best known for her leading role as Gail Stoney in Blackstone, for which she won the Gemini Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role in 2011,"Cree Actress Michelle Thrush Wins Gemini Award for Rez Drama ‘Blackstone’" . Indian Country Today, September 15, 2011. and her recurring roles as Sylvie LeBret in North of 60 and Deanna Martin in Arctic Air.

Thrush starred in the Palme d'Or and César award-nominated film Jimmy P: Psychotherapy of a Plains Indian.

Early life Thrush, who is Cree, was born and raised in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, by parents who were chronic alcoholics. She recalls being called "Squaw" at Bowness High School and bullied because of her parents' illness. In grade nine, she changed schools and attended Calgary's Plains Indian Cultural Survival School, where she felt accepted for the first time. Commenting on her experience at that school, she stated: "There were other Native students there, and I learned so many wonderful things about myself, about my culture, about my language, about drumming and singing. They filled in a lot of the voids that my soul was just begging for."

Her childhood hardships affected her profoundly. Though she acted in her first film at 17, it did not occur to her it could be a career. She planned to become a social worker and help children. She met Gordon Tootoosis, a First Nations actor, who told her: "If [acting] is what your heart wants, you need to follow it and be true." At this point, her parents were sober. With no other ties to Calgary, at age 20 she moved to Vancouver and found an agent.

Career Thrush has had a prolific career since its beginning in the 1980s. She began her acting career in film while attending high school. She got her first theatre job when she moved to Vancouver at age 20. She had a small part in the play The Ecstasy of Rita Joe. She portrayed numerous recurring and guest roles in the television series Madison, Northern Exposure, North of 60, Highlander, Forever Knight, Nothing Too Good for a Cowboy, Moccasin Flats and Mixed Blessings.

She has starred in many notable films throughout her career, particularly in films that deal with issues about indigenous peoples of the Americas, ranging from Canadian Aboriginals to Native Americans/American Indians (U.S.). These include Isaac Littlefeathers, Unnatural & Accidental, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, Skins, Dead Man, Dreamkeeper and Jimmy P: Psychotherapy of a Plains Indian.

In 2011, Thrush wrote the one-woman play Find Your Own Inner Elder. She has performed the show, most often under the title Inner Elder, across Canada. It premiered at One Yellow Rabbit's High Performance Rodeo in Calgary in 2018 and has since been performed with Nightwood Theatre and Native Earth Performing Arts in Toronto (2019). Inner Elder is a structured monologue which recounts Thrush's personal life and experiences.

Her daughter, Imajyn Cardinal, is also an actress.Eric Volmers, "Calgary teen, Imajyn Cardinal, strives for independence in Montreal-shot drama, The Saver". Calgary Herald, September 26, 2015.

Filmography Television Year Title Role Notes1993MadisonCharleneRecurring Role: 4 episodes1993–1997North of 60Sylvie LeBretRecurring role: 10 episodes1994Northern ExposurePilotEpisode: "Shofar, So Good"1994HighlanderSara Lightfoot/Little DeerRecurring: 2 episodes, two separate roles1995Children of the DustRainbow womanTV miniseries1995Forever KnightMarian BlackwingEpisode: "Blackwing"1997Unwed FatherHollyMade-for-TV movie1997ViperGrey HawkEpisode: "Wilderness Run"1998EbenezerGhost of Christmas PastMade-for-TV movie1998 The Crow: Stairway to HeavenJane CogoEpisode: "Before I Wake"1999Nothing Too Good for a CowboyEsther's SisterEpisode: "Sex Lies and Narrow Escapes"2000North of 60:Trial by FireSylvia LeBretMade-for-TV movie2003DreamkeeperMorning HouseMade-for-TV movie2003–2005Moccasin FlatsLauraRecurring role: 14 episodes2007Bury My Heart at Wounded KneeFour RobesHBO Made-for-TV movie2008–2010Mixed BlessingsKateRecurring role: 15 episodes2011–2015BlackstoneGail StoneeMain cast2012 The Horses of McBrideRhondaMade-for-TV movie2012–2014Arctic AirDeanna MartinRecurring role: 8 episodes2014FargoSue Roundtree1 episode2017-2019Tin StarJaclyn LetendreRecurring role2018This BlowsDriver2019Molly of DenaliShyatsoo/Aunt Merna (voice)2020TribalJackie Woodburn2023Little BirdTV series2025Meadowlarks2025Do Us Part

Film Year Title Role Notes1984Isaac LittlefeathersSally LittlefeathersFirst media role1986 The WakeN/A1991 The Dark WindShirley Topaha1991 The Legend of Kootenai BrownOlivia D'Lonais 1995Dead ManNobody's GirlfriendFirst major film role2002SkinsStella2005Fugitives RunN/A2006Unnatural & AccidentalPink Girl2007PathfinderIndian Mother2013Jimmy P: Psychotherapy of a Plains IndianGayle Picard2016Lost FaceInterpreter2019Red SnowBig Fran 2022 PreyAruka 2022Bones of CrowsJanuary Spears 2024 The Birds Who Fear DeathMarilyn

Theatre

Year Title Role Notes2018 Inner Elder Herself One-woman play

Awards and nominations Year Award Category Work Result 2011Gemini AwardBest Actress in a Drama seriesBlackstone "Why APTN’s Blackstone is connecting with Canadians" by Etan Vlessing at playbackonline.ca2011Leo AwardsBest Lead Performance by a Female in a Dramatic SeriesBlackstone Past Nominees & Winners 2011 at www.leoawards.com2013Leo AwardsBest Guest Performance by a Female in a Dramatic SeriesArctic Air 2014Canadian Screen AwardShaw Media Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic RoleBlackstone "Locally shot series nationally recognized; Two shows up for Canadian Screen Awards" by Liz Nicholls, Edmonton Journal (15 Jan, 2015) Retrieved from

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