Andrea Martin

Andrea Martin, born Andrea Louise Martin on January 15, 1947, in Portland, Maine, is an American and Canadian actress, comedian, and singer. Her early life was influenced by her Armenian-American heritage; her paternal grandparents were survivors of the Armenian Genocide from Van, Turkey, and her maternal grandparents helped establish the Armenian School at the Chestnut Street Church in Portland. Her father, John Papazian Martin, owned the grocery store chain Martin’s Foods. She cultivated an early interest in the arts, taking piano lessons and participating in dramatic clubs, ultimately graduating from Deering High School in 1965 as “Miss Deering High.” After graduating from Emerson College, she secured a role in a touring production of “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.” She moved to Toronto in 1970, quickly finding consistent work in the entertainment industry.

Martin’s career gained significant momentum in 1972 when she played Robin in a Toronto production of “Godspell,” sharing the stage with future collaborators like Gilda Radner, Martin Short, and Eugene Levy. This led to her joining the cast of the Canadian sketch comedy series “SCTV” in 1976. On “SCTV,” she became renowned for characters such as Edith Prickley, Pirini Scleroso, Edna Boil, and Mrs. Falbo. Her work on “SCTV” earned her two Emmy Awards for writing in 1982 and 1983, along with an Emmy nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Variety Series. Her versatility extended to film, appearing in early horror titles “Cannibal Girls” (1973) and “Black Christmas” (1974), for which she received the Sitges Film Festival Award for Best Actress for “Cannibal Girls.” Later film roles include “Wag the Dog” (1997), “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” (2001), and the “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” series, where she played Aunt Voula.

Martin has achieved extensive recognition in theatre, debuting on Broadway in 1992 in “My Favorite Year,” which earned her a Tony Award, Drama Desk Award, and Theatre World Award. She has since garnered five Tony Award nominations for Best Featured Actress in a Musical, a record in that category, for performances in productions such as “Candide” (1997), “Oklahoma!” (2002), “Young Frankenstein” (2007), and “Pippin” (2013), winning for the latter. Her stage work also includes “Noises Off” (2016), which earned her a Tony nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Play. In television, she has appeared in “Modern Family,” “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” “30 Rock,” “The Good Fight,” “Harlem,” “Only Murders in the Building,” and “Evil,” receiving a Critics Choice Award nomination for “Evil.” In 2018, she was inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame, and her memoir, “Lady Parts,” was released by Harper Collins.