Hollywood is actually home to many Canadian singers, comedians, directors, actors and actresses. Sometimes it is hard to identify who the Canadians in Hollywood are because they give up their Canadian citizenship to live in the United States. We have collected 25 celebrities who were born in Canada. Some of them might not surprise you, but some of them definitely will! Were you aware that these celebrities were from Canada?
25. Ryan Reynolds
Known for his roles in The Proposal and The Amityville Horror, Ryan Reynolds is certainly less known for being Canadian. In fact, he was born and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, and his family is still there! Reynolds even married his first wife Scarlet Johansson in Tofino, British Columbia.
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24. Rachel McAdams
Rachel McAdams was born in London, Ontario, and raised in St. Thomas, Ontario. She attended York University in Toronto, Ontario, and studied Drama. McAdams, when she isn’t working, still lives in Toronto and can be seen riding her bicycle or using public transit around the city.
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23. Ryan Gosling
Like his former lover Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling was also born in London, Ontario, but was raised in Cornwall, Ontario, and Burlington, Ontario. After starring on The All New Mickey Mouse Club, he got work on Canadian shows such as Are You Afraid of the Dark? and Goosebumps before he made it big with 2004’s The Notebook.
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22. Joshua Jackson
Joshua Jackson was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, but was raised in California and Seattle. Jackson came back to Vancouver for high school, but it didn’t end up working out. “The Jon Stewart Show played, at least where I grew up, at 1:30 in the morning, so I would stay up at night to watch Jon Stewart, but then I’d be too tired — or too lazy — to go to school in the morning. So I’d just take the first couple of classes off, ’cause I wanted to be fresh when I got there,” Jackson said.
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21. Martin Short
Martin Short was born and raised in Hamilton, Ontario, and graduated from McMaster University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Work. In 2014, Short headed back to his homeland to host Canadian Screen Awards. “I’m thrilled to be back hosting the Canadian Screen Awards. Actually it’s more than a thrill, it’s a contractual obligation,” Short said in a statement.
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20. Neve Campbell
Neve Campbell, from Party of Five, was born and raised in Guelph, Ontario, but she has spent a lot of time living in the United States and England. “I left Toronto when I was 20 and lived in Los Angeles for 11 years until moving to London, where I’ve been for the last six years, but I don’t have memories of street corners unless I’m in Toronto. I love coming home,” Campbell said.
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19. Anna Paquin
Anna Paquin was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba and, when she was four, her family moved to New Zealand. Paquin completed her high school education in Los Angeles and briefly attended Columbia University in New York City. Living in the United States for all of these years has pretty much eliminated her Kiwi accent!
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18. Hayden Christensen
Hayden Christensen was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, and raised in Thornhill, Ontario. Christensen launched his menswear collection with the Canadian retailer RW&Co. Christensen is still dating Rachel Bilson from The O.C. Over the years, the two have been spotted in various locations in Canada, including Vancouver.
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17. Michael J. Fox
Michael J. Fox rose to fame in the Back to the Future movies. Unbeknownst to some, he is Canadian. He was born in Edmonton, Alberta, and moved to Burnaby, British Columbia, once his father had retired.
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16. Justin Bieber
You’d have to be living in a dark hole not to know that Justin Bieber is from Canada! Bieber was born in London, Ontario, and raised in Stratford, Ontario. Bieber has a tattoo showing his love for the U.S. Sounds like he might not consider himself Canadian anymore!
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15. Avril Lavigne
Singer Avril Lavigne was born in Belleville, Ontario, and raised in Napanee, Ontario. Lavigne seems to have a preference for Canadian men! Her first husband Deryck Whibley was from Ajax, Ontario, and her current husband Chad Kroeger is from Hanna, Alberta.
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14. Michael Cera
Michael Cera is best known for his role in Arrested Development and Juno. Turns out Cera is actually Canadian! He was born and raised in Brampton, Ontario, and got his start on the Canadian television series I was a Sixth Grade Alien.
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13. Dan Akroyd
Dan Akroyd, who gained fame in Ghost Busters and as a cast member of Saturday Night Live, is actually a Canuck! Turns out he was born and raised in Ottawa, Ontario. He even attended Carleton University briefly and worked at various clubs in Toronto for several years.
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12. Will Arnett
Like his co-star Michael Cera from Arrested Development, Will Arnett is also Canadian. Born in Toronto, Ontario, Arnett attended high school in Lakefield, Ontario, and then attended Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec. Arnett received the Canadian Award of Distinction at the Banff 2013 Rockie Awards where he showed his famous sense of humor. “I’m very thrilled to be honored by BANFF and to be included in the list of other Eh-List Canadian artists,” said Arnett. Funny.
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11. William Shatner
William Shatner is best known for his role in Star Trek. Shatner is actually a French Canadian! He was born and raised in Montreal, Quebec, and studied at McGill University. In 2011, Shatner received the Lifetime Achievement Award from Canada’s Governor General and TheAtlantic.com readers voted him the undisputed “King of Canada.” Sounds like an honor to us!
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10. Elisha Cuthbert
Elisha Cuthbert was born in Calgary, Alberta, and was raised in Greenfield Park near Montreal Quebec. Cuthbert married Canadian NHL player Dion Phaneuf in Summerfield, Prince Edward Island, and the two live in Toronto during the hockey season and outside of New London, Prince Edward Island, during the summer. Sounds like the perfect Canadian couple to us!
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9. Cobie Smulders
Cobie Smulders, from How I Met Your Mother, was born and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia. On How I Met Your Mother, Smulders plays Robin Sparkles, a Canadian reporter who enjoys toothless hockey players, the use of the metric system and Tim Hortons.
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8. Seth Rogen
Seth Rogen, known for his roles in The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Pineapple Express, is from Vancouver, British Columbia. Rogen has admitted that he doesn’t feel quite at home in the United States. “Culturally, there are just some inherent differences that you will never get around. I’m a lot quicker to go to the doctor than others. That’s the biggest cultural divide I see on a day-to-day basis. I grew up with not a lot of wait going to the doctor,” Rogen told Macleans.
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7. Carly Rae Jepson
Carlie Rae Jepson is from Mission, British Columbia. She was a contestant on Canadian Idol back in 2007 and she came in third. Jepson is currently dating Matthew Koma, a fellow Canadian and musician, and the two live in Vancouver. Apparently they are uber polite with each other! Sounds pretty Canadian!
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6. Shenae Grimes
Shenae Grimes of 90210 was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario. Grimes’ career began with the Canadian series Degrassi: The Next Generation. She moved away from Canada when she began starring in 90210. Now that she is married to British artist Josh Beech, we’d say she is not going back anytime soon.
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5. Jessica Lowndes
Singer and actress Jessica Lowndes, who played Adrianna Tate-Duncan in 90210, was born and raised in Vancouver, Canada. Lowndes got her big break in 2005 when she had a guest spot on the series Masters of Horror, which happened to be filmed in Vancouver.
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4. Ellen Page
Ellen Page, best known for her roles in Juno and Inception, was born and raised in Halifax, Nova Scotia. When she was promoting the film The East a few years ago, Page went on The Daily Show and praised Canada. “There’s a little more maybe camaraderie of spirit, a little less fear, and we, I think, take care of each other a bit more,” Paid said.
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3. Jessica Paré
Just like her character Megan Draper on Mad Men, Jessica Paré is also from Montreal, Quebec, and she is also bilingual as she speaks both English and French. Paré left Montreal over a decade ago ago and moved to Hollywood after scoring parts in Canadian indie films Stardom and Lost and Delirious.
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2. Evangeline Lilly
Evangeline Lilly was born in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, and raised in British Columbia. She even attended the University of British Columbia where she studied International Relations. Lilly did a guest post on Desmog Canada and she described herself as a “Canadian who has been living abroad in Hawaii for the past ten years.”
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1. Emmanuelle Chriqui
Emmanuelle Chriqui, known for her roles in Entourage and The Mentalist, was born in Montreal, Quebec, but was raised in Toronto, Ontario. Chriqui always loves coming home. “There are a couple places I love to frequent, Joso’s, the fish place on Davenport Road. When I come it’ll be family intensive and then I’ll call my friends to go out — Toronto has the best nightlife, hands down. And I’ve lived in New York and L.A. and other cities.” Sounds like a strong endorsement!