Michelle Scarabelli
Michele Scarabelli has
established herself over 20 years in the film and television
industry, in Canada, Europe and in the U.S..
A Montreal native, she attended
French schools as a child until she was twelve.
She entered Dawson College at fifteen and tried her hand at
acting, “but I was such a shy kid that I could barely stand in front
of the class without turning scarlet”.
Acting would have to wait.
She went on to McGill University, receiving a degree in
Psychology and Languages.
But the acting bug must have
resurfaced, and having a few years of on camera modeling under her
belt dispelled any remaining shyness.
Ms. Scarabelli decided to gain more experience by studying
comedy at the Second City workshop in Toronto.
It was not long before she was cast as the female lead in the
CBC film Labor of Love, and her career quickly took off.
In barely two years she appeared in over a dozen film and
television projects, including Hotel New Hampshire
with Matthew Modine; Showtime’s The Dave Thomas Special
with Martin Short; NBC’s The Ruling Passion with
Richard Crenna; and lead roles in two Night Heat episodes for
CBS, one of which garnered her an ACTRA best actress nomination.
The following year she came to international attention as the
female lead in Airwolf II series, for
the USA network. There
was no place to go but south.
Moving to Los Angeles in 1987, she
landed the recurring part of a disturbed stalker on the long running
series, Dallas.
She returned to Canada the same year to play nurse to Hume
Cronyn and Vince Gardenia in the Showtime special, Age-Old
Friends, which garnered an Ace Award. From there she went on
to star as “Susan Francisco”, the lead female on FOX’s critically
acclaimed Sci Fi series, Alien Nation.
With twenty-two episodes and five MOW’s playing around
the world, and fan clubs both here and in Europe, Alien Nation
is still considered one of the best Sci Fi series ever produced.
Following Alien Nation, Ms
Scarabelli traveled to Africa to star in the FX family adventure,
Okavango, filming fifty-two episodes in a remote
area north of Johannesburg.
Okavango became the FX channel’s 2nd
highest rated show, and has aired in over fifty countries worldwide.
In the series she stars as a young mother who gives up her
life in Los Angeles when she inherits a wild life refuge.
The show gave her the opportunity to explore issues close to
her heart in real life.
Much like her character, Ms Scarabelli’s personal commitment to
environmental issues has led her to direct, hands-on involvement:
immediately after the Exxon Valdez oil spill, she journeyed to
Alaska to spend four weeks removing oil sludge from the fur of
otters and seal pups.
She has planted trees in the middle of lower east side Los Angeles
with Tree People, and continues her commitment as a board member of
ECO, the Earth Communications Office.
While shooting Okavango, she
also had a chance to work behind the scenes, with the intent of
learning as much about producing, directing, and editing as she
could. The experience was invaluable, giving her a taste of what it
takes to produce a live action series, complete with kids and
animals, from a location as remote as the wilds of Africa.
Sci-Fi fans will also remember Ms
Scarabelli as Data’s optimistic girlfriend in Star Trek – Next
Generation’s much-aired episode, In Theory –
Patrick Stewart’s directorial debut.
Her more recent credits include The Last Chapter/Le
Dernier Chapitre for CBC/Radio Canada, The Agency,
and Dawson’s Creek, as well as the films
I Don’t Buy Kisses Anymore with Jason Alexander;
Loss of Faith opposite John Ritter; Pressure Point,
starring Michael Madsen and the Leslie Neilsen comedy 2001: A
Space Travesty.
She has just completed taping 64 episodes of the
voice of Monster
#6, the klutzy ballerina with a diva personality in
Seven Little Monsters, Maurice Sendak’s acclaimed
children’s animated series for PBS.
While Ms. Scarabelli has a solid
acting career both in Los Angeles, and in her native Canada, she is
presently developing several television and film projects.
