Natasha Negovanlis

Natasha Negovanlis (born April 3, 1990) is a Canadian actress, writer, and singer. She achieved international recognition for playing Carmilla Karnstein in the web series Carmilla (2014–2016) and in the 2017 feature film based on the series.[1]

Natasha Negovanlis
Negovanlis in 2017
Born (1990-04-03) April 3, 1990
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
NationalityCanadian
EducationMcGill University
OccupationActress, writer, singer
Years active2011–present
Known forCarmilla
WebsiteOfficial website of Natasha Negovanlis

Career

Before acting professionally, Negovanlis studied musical theatre and film at the Wexford Collegiate School for the Arts in Toronto.[2] She also majored in voice performance at the Schulich School of Music at McGill University in Montreal before leaving in her third year to pursue acting. She was cast in her first professional musical just four days after dropping out in December 2011.

In 2014, Negovanlis was cast as the title role in the Canadian Screen Award winning web series Carmilla. In the series, which is based on the 1871-1872 gothic novella of the same name, Negovanlis portrays the vampire Carmilla Karnstein, who appears after her roommate's previous roommate vanishes. The series premiered on Vervegirl (rebranded as KindaTV as of February 2016) channel on August 19, 2014 and has achieved worldwide recognition and praise for its near all-female cast and positive representation of various LGBT characters.[3]

In 2015, she also starred with her Carmilla co-star Elise Bauman in the feature film Almost Adults, which screened at several film festivals in 2016 before premiering on Netflix.[4] Also that year, she appeared as herself in an episode of the Canadian anthology horror television series Slasher, and ranked 5th on AfterEllen's annual Hot 100 List.[5]

At the 5th Canadian Screen Awards, Negovanlis won the Fan's Choice Award, with over two million votes, for her work on Carmilla.[6] Her acceptance speech, in which she discussed the importance of queer representation, attracted media attention from various publications, including BuzzFeed and the Toronto Star.[7][8]

In 2017, Negovanlis guest-starred in an episode of Murdoch Mysteries and reprised her role of Carmilla Karnstein in The Carmilla Movie, a spin-off feature film based on the series.[9]

Later that year, alongside her Carmilla co-star Annie M. Briggs, Negovanlis successfully funded a digital series called CLAIREvoyant through an Independent Production Fund grant as well as an Indiegogo campaign that raised over $25,000 USD. [10] The comedy was co-created, co-written, and co-produced by Negovanlis and Briggs, and it premiered on the KindaTV YouTube channel on May 16, 2018 and won an award at the New York Web Fest later that year.[11][12]

In 2017, Negovanlis co-starred in her first American feature film, Freelancers Anonymous, which premiered at the historic Castro Theatre in San Francisco on June 15, 2018.[13]

Personal life

Negovanlis identifies as both Macedonian and Greek on her paternal side and her mother is of mixed Irish, French, and Indigenous heritage.[14]

She has had relationships with both men and women and identifies as queer, pansexual, or bisexual.[15][16][17]

Negovanlis has an adopted rescue dog named Charlie Bucket.[18]

Filmography
Year Title Role Notes
2014 The Way We Are Sophie Short film; lead role
Carmilla Mircalla "Carmilla" Karnstein Web series; title role
Canadian Star Herself Documentary
2015 March Family Letters Sallie Web series; 2 episodes
Slasher Natasha 1 episode
2016 Almost Adults Cassie Feature film; lead role
Haunted or Hoax Ellia Henderson Web series; 27 episodes
2017 The Carmilla Movie Mircalla "Carmilla" Karnstein Feature film based on the series; title role
Murdoch Mysteries Mildred Preston 1 episode
Seraphim Sarah 2 episodes
Darken Victoria Feature film; supporting role
Haunters: The Musical Penny Web series; supporting role
Barbelle Ghost of girlfriends' past Web series; 1 episode
2018 Freelancers Anonymous[19] Gayle Lead role; feature film
CLAIREvoyant Claire Ganski Web series; lead role; co-creator, writer, producer

Accolades
Year Association Category Nominated work Result
2012 Broadway World Awards[20] Best Performance by a Female in a Feature Role/Ensemble (Musical) Off-Broadway on stage Nominated
2015 Shorty Awards Favorite Actress Carmilla Nominated
Streamy Awards Best Actress Nominated
2016 Canadian Screen Awards Fan's Choice, Top 3 Carmilla Nominated
NYC Web Fest Best Ensemble Cast, along with Isabel Kanaan and Sydney Kondruss Haunted or Hoax Nominated
2017 Canadian Screen Awards Fan's Choice Carmilla Won
Streamy Awards Best Acting in a Drama Carmilla Nominated
Los Angeles Web Series Festival Best Ensemble Cast, along with Isabel Kanaan and Sydney Kondruss Haunted or Hoax Nominated
2018 British LGBT Awards Online Influencer Self Nominated
Diva Awards Social Media Influencer Self Nominated
Toronto Web Fest Awards Best Ensemble Performance Haunters: The Musical Won
NYC Web Fest Best Dynamic Duo, along with Annie M. Briggs CLAIREvoyant Won

References
  1. Spangler, Todd (September 27, 2017). "'The Carmilla Movie' Sets Streaming, Theatrical Premiere Dates". Variety. Retrieved September 28, 2017.
  2. Suguayani. "Wexford Collegiate School for the Arts". Music Info. Retrieved October 14, 2019.
  3. "8 Reasons Why You Should Watch "Carmilla" Now!" AfterEllen.com, October 8, 2014.
  4. "We Found Out Which of the Women Of 'Almost Adults' Is Most Likely To Have A Tumblr Girlfriend". BuzzFeed. Retrieved August 21, 2017.
  5. "In Bed with Natasha Negovanlis – AfterEllen". AfterEllen. September 24, 2015. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
  6. "Meet Natasha Negovanlis, Canadian Web series superstar". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
  7. "A star system is born at Canadian Screen Awards | Toronto Star". Toronto Star. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
  8. "This Actress Gave A Speech Reminding Everyone Why Queer Representation Matters". BuzzFeed. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
  9. "'The Carmilla Movie' Set To Debut in Theaters October 26, Then on Fullscreen". Tubefilter. October 6, 2017. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
  10. "CLAIREvoyant Season 1".
  11. "'Carmilla' Stars, Producer Prepare To Get 'Clairevoyant' In Upcoming Series – Tubefilter". Tubefilter. May 10, 2018. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
  12. "Creators of 'Carmilla' releasing supernatural-comedy web series | The Star". Toronto Star. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
  13. "Freelancers Anonymous".
  14. Let The Right One in with Natasha Negovanlis, retrieved February 9, 2018
  15. Cooper, Julia (March 17, 2017). "Meet Natasha Negovanlis, Canadian Web series superstar". Retrieved August 1, 2017.
  16. "In Bed with Natasha Negovanlis – AfterEllen". AfterEllen. September 24, 2015. Retrieved August 1, 2017.
  17. Rodriguez, Etienne (September 23, 2016). "Don't Forget About Pansexuality". Affinity Magazine. Retrieved August 1, 2017.
  18. url=https://www.theroxyproject.com/charlie/%7Ctitle=Charlie%7Caccess-date=14 July 2018
  19. Rawles, Timothy (June 7, 2018). "Your San Diego FilmOut LGBT Film Festival guide 2018". San Diego Gay and Lesbian News. Retrieved June 19, 2018.
  20. "2012 Broadway World Awards". broadwayworld.com. 2012. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
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