Amanda Brugel

Pointe Claire, a quiet community in the West Island of Montreal is something you could call a "sleepy" place. It is a bit of a mystery as the West Island can be confusing to people unfamiliar to its significance. They often believe it's an island to the that lies west of Montreal however it is actually a part of the city. West Island encompasses everything between the cities of Lachine as well as West. Many times, it is credited as the location of birth of Amanda Brugel but while that may be true, her time in the city was brief. Brugel was raised in Courtice near Oshawa the city of Ontario. She was determined to be professional, however due to an explosive increase in her height, she outgrew the dance partners she had. She admitted in an article published by the Toronto Star that she is 6'1" tall and wears heels. When I outgrew my male partners I stopped. Dancers who have been in the past often switch to acting and in the case of Brugel, it was an urging from her high school drama teacher. Her teacher suggested she audition to play the character of Anne in the school's annual production. She auditioned and ended up playing the lead of Anne of Green Gables. A Fine Arts Talent Scholarship led her to York University, where she completed her studies in Theatre and graduated with an undergraduate degree in Fine Arts in the year 2000. In the past 20 years, her work has been featured on both the large and small screen. The most notable was her recognition when she landed her character of Rita in the acclaimed television show The Handmaid's Tale. Brugel was the only Canadian part of the cast for the season 1 of the series, and not seen much.