Who is Shirley Douglas?
Shirley Douglas was a Canadian television, film, stage actress and activist active between 1950 and 2015. He is also known for being the mother of Emmy-award winning actor Kiefer Sutherland.
Douglas was greatly recognizable in the Canadian film, television, and national politics due to her acting career and also a family name.
Douglas schooled at Central Collegiate Institute (now closed) in Regina for her high school education. She later attended the Banff School of Fine Arts.
Douglas later began her acting career in 1950 with a role in the Regina Little Theatre entry at the Dominion Drama Festival. For that role, she won the best actress award. She later graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London in 1952. Douglas stayed in England for several years, performing for theatre and television, before returning to Canada in 1957.
She later resumed acting and she has several memorable roles in her birth country Canada, United Kingdom, and also the United States. She has portrayed prominent roles such as feminist Nellie McClung, family matriarch and businesswoman May Bailey in the television series Wind at My Back, Hagar Shipley in Margaret Laurence’s The Stone Angel, and even characters in popular science fiction series like The Silver Surfer and Flash Gordon. Shirley appeared on stage with her son Kiefer at the Royal Alexandra Theatre and at the National Arts Centre in The Glass Menagerie.
In June 2000, Douglas protested a Summit of the Americas meeting in Windsor, Ontario. In Spring 2004, she received her own star on Canada’s Walk of Fame in Toronto, Ontario
Douglas was also awarded the OC (Officer of the Order of Canada) on 10 October 2002 for her services to the Performing Arts in Canada.
How Old is Shirley Douglas?
Douglas was 86 years old at the time of her death on April 5, 2020. She was born Shirley Jean Douglas on April 2, 1934, in Weyburn, Saskatchewan, Canada.
Shirley Douglas Family
Douglas was born to Irma May (née Dempsey; 1911–95) and Tommy Douglas (1904–86). Her father was a Scottish-born Canadian statesman, Premier of Saskatchewan and also the first leader of the federal New Democratic Party.
Shirley’s father moved with his family in Canada in 1910 settling in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Her mother was born in Ottawa, Ontario, and bore English, Scottish, and Irish ancestry.
Shirley Douglas Husband
Douglas was first married to Canadian prairie brewery heir Timothy Emil Sicks with whom he has one son. She then got married to fellow Canadian actor Donald Sutherland in 1966. Douglas and Sutherland have two children together.
Shirley Douglas Children
Douglas has a son Thomas Emil Sicks from his first marriage to Timothy. She also has two other children who are twins Rachel and Kiefer Sutherland. They are a result of her second marriage to Donald Sutherland.
Kiefer is a celebrated and also an Emmy award winner for his work in acting while Rachel is a post-production producer and a post-production supervisor.
Shirley Douglas Cause of Death
She died on April 5, 2020, after suffering complications from pneumonia. By the year 2009, she had been in a wheelchair due to degenerative spine condition that caused her severe pain.
Her death was announced by her son Kiefer. “My mother was an extraordinary woman who led an extraordinary life. Sadly she had been battling for her health for quite some time and we, as a family, knew this day was coming.” ‘To any families who have lost loved ones unexpectedly to the coronavirus, my heart breaks for you. Please stay safe.”
Shirley Douglas Net Worth
Douglas has earned greatly through her long-time career in acting and activism. However, her net worth is not yet disclosed to the public.
Shirley Douglas Movies and TV Shows
Movies
- 2000 – Woman Wanted as Peg
- The Law of Enclosures as Myra
- Franklin and the Green Knight as Narrator
- 1998 – Barney’s Great Adventure as Grandma
- 1994 – Mesmer as Duchess DuBarry
- 1992 – Passage of the Heart as Katherine Ward
- The Shower as Marie
- 1988 – Dead Ringers as Laura
- Shadow Dancing as Nicole
- 1983 – The Wars as Mrs. Lawson
- 1962 – Lolita as Mrs. Starch
- 1955 – Joe MacBeth as Patsy
Television Shows
- 2008 – Degrassi: The Next Generation as Professor Dunwoody
- 2006 – The Path to 9/11 as Madeleine Albright
- 2005 – Robson Arms as Pauline Dubois
- Corner Gas as Peg
- 2002 – The Christmas Shoes as Ellen Layton
- 2001 – Made in Canada as Cybill Thornbush
- 2000 – A House Divided as Elizabeth Dickson
- 1999 – Shadow Lake as Margaret Richards
- 1998 – Silver Surfer as Infectia (voice)
- 1998–2000 – Franklin as Narrator
- 1996–1997 – Flash Gordon as Additional Voices
- 1996–2001 – Wind at My Back as May Bailey
- 1995 – Redwood Curtain as Schyler Noyes
- Johnny’s Girl as Mrs. Hardwick
- 1993 – Shattered Trust: The Shari Karney Story as Vivian Karney
- 1992 – Road to Avonlea as Miss Cavendish
- 1992 – The Hat Squad
- 1990–1991 – Street Legal as Mayor Riley
- 1989 – Alfred Hitchcock Presents as Monica Logan
- 1987 – Really Weird Tales as Edna Besley
- 1986 – Loose Ends asElder Seth’s Wife
- 1985 -Turning to Stone as Lena
- 1982 – Hangin’ In as Mrs. Ricardo
- 1978 – Nellie McClung as Nellie McClung
- 1955 – Rheingold Theatre as Molly Gaines
