Amanda Brugel

Pointe Claire resides in a uninhabited area of Montreal Island known as West Island. It is the West Island, to those who are unfamiliar with it, is an extensive area that extends from Lachine to the west. Many times, it is credited as being the place of birth for Amanda Brugel but while that is the case, her time there was not long. Brugel was raised in Courtice located just outside of Oshawa. The first goal she had was to dance however a rapid growth rate resulted in her outgrowing the dancers she was with. In an interview with the Toronto Star, she confessed that "In heels, I'm 6 feet and 1 inch." When I outgrew my male friends, I quit. There are many dancers who make the move to acting. For the Brugel family, it was their drama teacher who encouraged her in that direction. A teacher suggested that she try out for a school production. The audition was successful and she was chosen as Anne of Green Gables. The Fine Arts Talent Scholarship led her to York University, where she studied Theatre and received an undergraduate degree in Fine Arts in the year 2000. Brugel's career spans over 20 years and she's been in over 60 productions, both on big screens and on smaller ones. Her most notable role was that of Rita (pictured in the below photo) on The Handmaid's Tale. Brugel was the sole Canadian cast member in the season 1 of the series, and only appeared on occasion.