| Net Worth: | $2 Million |
|---|---|
| Profession: | Professional Actress |
| Date of Birth: | April 14, 1972 |
| Country: | United States of America |
| Height: | 1.62 m |
About Andrea Martin
Martin played Robin in a 1972 Toronto production of Godspell directed by Paul Shaffer and starring future stars Gilda Radner, Martin Short, Eugene Levy, and Victor Garber. The Sitges Film Festival’s Best Actress Award for 1973’s Cannibal Girls, and the 1974 Best Supporting Actress Award for her portrayal as bookworm sorority sister Phyllis in Canadian slasher film Black Christmas, were both earned in horror films.
Andrea Martin’s grandpa, who emigrated from Ottoman Turkey in the early 1900s, took the surname Papazian. This means that Andrea is of Armenian ancestry. Before moving his family to Maine, he had it legally changed from Papazian to Martin. Both sets of Andrea’s grandparents were immigrants from Armenia. Andrea Martin was born to Sybil A. (née Manoogian) and John Papazian Martin in Portland, Maine, in 1947. She is the eldest of their three children. Her great-grandmother came to the United States when she was 15 years old.
Her mother’s leg had been shattered when she was only two years old, so she would frequently read to her daughter as a means of entertainment. She and her mother would take turns reading classics like “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by Shakespeare. Shortly after earning her diploma from Emerson, Martin was cast in a traveling production of You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown. After many visits to the city, she made the move from New York to Toronto in 1970, where she quickly established a successful career in the entertainment industry.
In 1976, she joined the cast of SCTV, a Canadian sketch comedy series set at the fictional SCTV (Second City Television) in Melonville and starring then-unknowns John Candy, Dave Thomas, Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara, Harold Ramis, and Joe Flaherty. Martin’s performance in SCTV earned her an Emmy nomination in 1981 for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Variety Show.
Later in the 1970s, she joined the Toronto chapter of The Second City, the improv team responsible for producing nearly the entire cast of SCTV. As a result of her performance in the musical My Favorite Year, she was honored with the Tony Award, the Theatre World Award, and the Drama Desk Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical in 1992.
The Broadway revival of Exit the King, in which Martin starred, also starred Geoffrey Rush and Susan Sarandon. She received Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Award nominations for her portrayal of Juliette. She received the 1996 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding One Person Performance for her one-woman show Nude, Nude, Totally Nude, which she wrote and performed in Los Angeles and New York City.
It was in 1982 and 1983 when Martin earned her Emmy for Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program. The Simpsons (as Apu’s mother), Recess (as Lunchlady Harriet), the 1999 version of The Woody Woodpecker Show, Earthworm Jim, Kim Possible, The Buzz On Maggie, SpongeBob SquarePants, and Brother Bear 2 are just some of the animated films and TV shows in which she has provided her voice. She was also included in the 1993 TV movie adaption of Gypsy, which starred Bette Midler.
Martin featured in the TV show Life… and Stuff back in 1997.
They remade “Black Christmas” in 2006, and she had a starring part in it. In the critically acclaimed indie film Breaking Upwards from 2009, she portrayed the role of Helaine. She played a patient in the emergency room on an episode of Nurse Jackie called “Pupil” on Showtime.
Martin travels back and forth between the two cities, splitting her time. In an appearance on The Marilyn Denis Show on December 8th, 2017, Martin revealed that she has finally become a Canadian citizen after 47 years in the country.
As of early 2019, George C. Wolfe’s production of Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus by Taylor Mac was scheduled to open on Broadway with Martin starring opposite Nathan Lane in March.
Martin’s theatrical output has been almost as impressive, with Tony Awards for the productions of My Favorite Year and the revival of Pippin in 2013. In addition to Candide and Oklahoma!, Martin has also had Broadway appearances in Fiddler on the Roof, Young Frankenstein, Exit the King, and Act One. She has more nominations than any other actress in the history of the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical with five. In 2016, for the Noises Off revival, she was nominated for her first Tony Award as Best Featured Actress in a Play. This year, 2018, saw the induction of Martin onto Canada’s Walk of Fame alongside fellow countrymen Seth Rogen and Leonard Cohen.
