Bio
Megan Follows is a Canadian actress best known to international audiences for her role as Anne Shirley in the acclaimed 1985 Canadian television miniseries Anne of Green Gables, as well as its two sequels.
She is also known for her starring role as Maud in the television miniseries World Without End, in 2012.
Follows was the last child born to parents Ted Follows and Dawn Greenhalgh in Ontario, Canada. Her parents were part of the founding members of Canada's summer theatre culture and Megan began acting as a toddler with her siblings Edwina Follows, Laurence Follows and Samantha Follows.
After her parents' divorce at the age of 11, Megan moved to Los Angeles to attend school and act. She got a break on the hit television show, The Facts of Life and quickly became recognised after her performance in the internationally renowned Anne of Green Gables, for which she won the 1986 Gemini Award for best actress.
After working on some other feature films for television, Megan returned once again to portray Anne Shirley in Anne of Avonlea, for which she won the 1987 Ace award for best actress and the 1988 Gemini Award for best actress.
She took a break from the spotlight and decided to focus on studying theatre. She first debuted on stage in 1988 in a production of The Effects of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds also starring her mother Dawn and sister Samantha.
During the 90s Megan focused on Shakespeare and raising a family. In 1991, she married Christopher Porter whom she had met on the set of Deep Sleep (1990). In 1992, news spread across Canada celebrating the birth of her first child, Lyla Anne.
While Lyla was still an infant, Megan got the role of a lifetime to star as Juliet in Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet (1993) at Canada's Stratford Festival. After the birth of their second child, Russel, Megan and Christopher divorced.
Megan's portrayal of an autistic savant in Under the Piano (1996) gained her more recognition and respect in the acting world; although she never received a nomination for her work.
In 2000, Megan returned to the third instalment of the Anne series to once again portrays Anne Shirley, only this time she became Anne Shirley Blythe in Anne of Green Gables: The Continuing Story.
The film took a turn from the original books on which it was based. Fans across the world and even Megan had mixed emotions about the storyline of the film. However her return to the character earned her a nomination for the 2000 Gemini Award for best actress.
Follows is also a cast member on Reign, an historical drama TV series based on the early life of Mary, Queen of Scots which was commissioned in May 2013 for broadcast on The CW in the 2013-2014 season.