Canning Sara life and biography

Sara Canning (born July 14, 1987) is a Canadian actress. She co-stars on The CW television series The Vampire Diaries as Jenna Sommers.

Born in Gander, Newfoundland, Canada, Canning was raised in Sherwood Park, near Edmonton, Alberta. She became interested in theatre as a student at F.R. Haythorne Junior High, and starred in several stage productions while attending Bev Facey Community High School. She acted in shows at her hometown stage, Festival Place, and appeared in George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four at the Citadel Theatre in Edmonton at the age of 18. She then began studying general arts at the University of Alberta, but still interested in performing, Canning left university and moved to Vancouver. She graduated from a year-long acting program at the Vancouver Film School.

Canning found an agent and began acting in television series and in TV films produced in Vancouver. Her first role was playing Nicky Hilton in Paparazzi Princess: The Paris Hilton Story in 2008. She guest starred on Smallville that year, and on Kyle XY in 2009. Also in 2009, Canning played Anne Sluti, the lead character in Taken in Broad Daylight, a based-on-real-events TV movie.

Canning co-stars on The CW television series The Vampire Diaries. She plays Jenna Sommers, the aunt and guardian of Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev) and her younger brother Jeremy (Steven R. McQueen). Canning is the same age, or younger, than her fellow cast members who play high school students Canning stated to the Los Angeles Times that, "the makeup artists and the wardrobe team do a great job of making me look older than I typically do". Canning also downplays her Canadian accent for the role. Her characters love interest, Alaric, is played by Matthew Davis.

Canning was arrested for disorderly conduct along with photographer Tyler Shields and cast members Nina Dobrev, Candice Accola, and Kayla Ewell for loitering on a bridge during a photo shoot in Georgia. The charges were later dismissed. Canning had relocated to Atlanta, Georgia to film the series. She stated in Parade magazine that she found the Southern U.S. to have "a much different culture than the west coast of Canada", but it "has become like my second home".

Canning stars in the feature film Black Field, a period piece set in the 19th Century, shot in Tyndall, Manitoba, Canada. She plays Maggie McGregor, the older of two Scottish sisters struggling take make their way on the Canadian Prairies. The film premiered at the Vancouver International Film Festival in 2009.

Filmography

2008 Paparazzi Princess: The Paris Hilton Story
Smallville
Slap Shot 3: The Junior League
2009 Black Rain
Taken in Broad Daylight
Kyle XY
Come Dance at My Wedding
Black Field
2009–Present The Vampire Diaries

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