Dawn Greenhalgh, the Canadian actor who voiced Queen Celeste in Babar and its sequel, died November 6 at her home in Toronto, The Hollywood Reporter said, citing her family’s announcement. She was 93. Source
Greenhalgh voiced Celeste in the 1989 animated series and returned for the 2010 follow-up, Babar and the Adventures of Badou. The original series, based on Jean de Brunhoff’s books, aired on CBC in Canada and HBO in the United States. Source Source
In the 1985 miniseries Anne of Green Gables, she played Mrs. Cadbury alongside her daughter Megan Follows, who starred as Anne Shirley. Her film credits included The Virgin Suicides (1999) and Maps to the Stars (2014), in which she played the agent representing Julianne Moore’s character. Source Source
She also appeared in the soap opera Strange Paradise in 1969–70. Source Decades later, she had a recurring role in Five Days at Memorial in 2022, according to TV Insider. Source
Greenhalgh was born in Shanghai in 1933. She and her family were held in a prisoner-of-war camp during the Japanese occupation, according to THR. She came to Canada at 14 and attended Montreal High School. Source
At 19, she joined the Stratford Festival’s inaugural acting company in 1953, according to a festival tribute reproduced by TV Insider. The festival said she performed there over eight seasons and was also a founding company member of Halifax’s Neptune Theatre and Toronto’s Theatre Plus. Her stage career took her to New York and London’s West End. Source
“Dawn Greenhalgh was a powerhouse, a dynamic, brilliant actress,” Stratford artistic director Antoni Cimolino said in the statement. “As an extraordinary artist she could be both charming and unsettling.” Source
Greenhalgh is survived by her daughters Megan, Samantha and Edwina Follows; her son, Laurence Follows; and six grandchildren, according to THR. The outlet reported on November 13 that a celebration of life was being planned. Source
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