Manila-born and a former Montrealer, Toronto-based performing artist Carolyn Fe is an award-winning actor and singer, as well as a songwriter and mature emerging playwright. A multi-talented performer (and fountain pen enthusiast!) born into a family of entrepreneurs, she transitioned from being a dancer and dance school owner/instructor, to a professional blues singer and actor. The kids in your life may know her as “Lola”, “Josh’s” grandmother on the TV show Blue’s Clues and You!.

Winner of 2018 Toronto Theatre Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress; 2020 WIFT (Women in Film & TV) Toronto Award at the Reel Asian International Film Festival; 2014 Blues411 Jimi Award for International Release of the Year in the USA; and 2012 Lys Blues Award for Best Blues & Associated Styles Album of the Year.

An age-defying outlier and innovative visionary, Fe pushes boundaries, constantly reinventing herself as a performer, questioning the status quo and promoting the idea that representation matters. Turning her creative talents to playwriting, she made waves in Teesri Duniya Theatre’s 2022 Fireworks Playwrights Mentorship Showcase with her play Go Fish!. Originally written as part of Tarragon Theatre’s educational program, she wrote the play to bring a realistic representation of older women of colour to the stage and, in doing so, raise the voices of a demographic that’s continually pushed aside.

(Photo credits: Dahlia Katz, except for the introductory image on the Start Exploring page, which is by Litratista.com.)

What we like about this performing artist

We love how Carolyn Fe defies assumptions and expectations – as an older woman of colour and a performer. Being a performing artist isn’t just a job for her, it’s a calling – and she infuses her work with thoughtful advocacy, unapologetic frankness and a sense of good-humoured warmth.

We deeply appreciate how she wears many hats as an artist and continues to grow and evolve, most recently as a later-in-life emerging playwright. And her dedication to championing the representation of performing artists of colour and older artists is not only laudable, it’s vital. Don’t ever tell her she can’t do something. She’s sure to prove you wrong! (Written by C.M.)

Accessibility information: Please refer to the venue she’s performing in.

Ideas for where you can go from here:

• Get to know actress Carolyn Fe, for example by watching her acting demo reel.
• Check out her journey through the music industry.
• Listen to and buy her music.

We love performing artists because they inspire you to go along on a journey with them. Going along on a journey with them allows you to imagine other lives, worlds and experiences. Imagining other lives, worlds and experiences is part of the flourishing offline life Young W helps you discover: by exploring PERFORMANCE and the other 8 pillars of Arts & Letters, including those you may be hesitant to try.

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