Vinessa Antoine – Biography
by Ralph Lucas – Publisher
Sometimes it is clear from a very early age that a child seems destined to enjoy the warm glow of the limelight and the even warmer glow of applause. It appears as if that was the case for the young Toronto-born Vinessa Lynn Antoine who took her first steps to stardom when she began studying classical ballet at the Royal Academy of Dance when she was just four years old. Fourteen years later she had graduated from high school and began the first of three years in New York further developing her talent with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre. Somewhere in there she spent six months dancing hip hop touring with Sean John Combs, better known as Puff Daddy or P. Diddy. Also somewhere in there she shifted her focus from dance to acting.
She had had a taste of that appearing in the 1993 made-for-TV movie Annie O when she was 12. It was the first of a small number of appearances before landing a place in the cast of the popular series Being Erica, playing the role of Judith Winter. Series TV liked her and she is best known for her role as Jordan Ashford, playing the character in more than 275 episodes of the ABC soap, General Hospital. That came to an end when she was cast to play the lead in a new CBC series, Diggstown, and the producers of General Hospital thought her time away from their show would hurt the character. Despite her wish to stay with General Hospital, they decided to recast the role.
An actor’s life is one that often involves a lot of ups and downs, temporary homes and temporary roles. After Toronto, Antoine has lived in Vancouver, New York and Los Angeles. In terms of temporary roles, she has appeared on episodes of shows like NCIS, Heartland and Haven. She has been on stage in several Off-Broadway plays in New York, including the Manhattan Theatre Club’s 2001 production of Four, which was written by Christopher Shinn when he was 23.
Vinessa Antoine plays the title role of Marcie Diggs in the CBC legal drama, Diggstown, which made its debut in early March 2019. Marcie Diggs is a star corporate lawyer who reconsiders her priorities after her beloved aunt commits suicide following a malicious prosecution. Landing at a legal aid office in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Marcie is driven by one thing — to never again allow innocent lives to be destroyed by the justice system.
In some ways, from age four until now, it’s been a long road for Antoine. In other ways, it seems like she has just been putting one foot in front of the other and moving steadily ahead creating the life she has wanted from her first pirouette.
Also see: Vinessa Antoine’s filmography.
This biography is was written for Northernstars.ca by Ralph Lucas and is Copyright © 2019. It may not be reproduced without prior written permission. Click here for more about copyright.
