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The story of Jennifer Dale is the tale of a natural
born performer whose life has been a series of events,
experiences and lucky breaks, perfectly tailored to the
making of a star.
Dale portrays the sensual heroine of Suzanne, an
innocent girl of French and English Canadian parents who
blossoms into womanhood. "A girl who is very passionate, who
loves to dance, who is so like me," said Dale.
After completing her role in Suzanne, she has gone on to
star with Richard Harris, Jeanne Moreau and George Peppard in
the film of Romain Gary's novel, Your Ticket is No Longer Valid.
Determined to pursue a career in the performing arts, Dale
set out early in life to realize her goals. At the age of
five she began to dance and has never stopped. Her professional
stage debut was at the age of nine as Baby June in a production
of Gypsy at the Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto. A blonde was meant
for her part, but since the Company was faced with a group of
stage-frightened towheads, it turned a cheek and cast the
brown-eyed brunette. Jennifer, bursting with enthusiasm to
dance and act, knew thereon that acting was her destiny.
Born and raised in Toronto, Dale travelled across Canada
gathering a variety of training experiences. She studied
acting at the National Theatre School in Montreal, with
Josephine Barrington in Toronto, classical ballet at the
National Ballet School in Toronto and musical theatre and
dance at the Banff School of Fine Arts.
Upon leaving high school, Dale landed another role at
the Royal Alex. The acclaimed illusionist Doug Henning chose
her as his assistant in Spellbound, a musical magic show
which received rave reviews.
Dale entered the National Theatre School at 18, where
she studied and performed in numerous plays for three years.
Yet before finishing her last year, she was asked to join the
most prestigious theatre company in the country, the Stratford
Sheakespearean Festival Theatre, working and performing with
esteemed actresses such as Maggie Smith and Martha Henry.
Under the direction of Robin Phillips, Dale performed
in Richard III (1977), understudied and performed Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, directed by David Williams (1977), and
played Anne Page in The Merry Wives of Windsor, directed by
Peter Moss (1978). At the National Arts Centre, she performed
in Troilus and Cressida as Cressida, directed by John
Wood (1978).
While at Stratford, Dale received numerous calls from
casting directors and agents eager to have her take some
screen tests. She soon decided to try her luck outside theatre
and embarked on the audition circuit. Dale worked on numerous
TV shows such as The Wonder of it All and Flappers for CBS, Salty for Twentieth Century-Fox and Police Surgeon for Sterno
Productions.
Her movie debut came in 1978 when she was cast as a stripper
in the Canadian thriller Stone Cold Dead. So impressed was
Director George Mendeluk with Dale's hip-swiveling dance
renditions, that he wrote in a new part for her.
Many months ago, Dale auditioned for RSL's producer
Robert Lantos for a part in his feature Agency. Though she
was too young for that role, Dale left a remarkable impression
on Lantos. Much in the tradition of a real-life Hollywood
script, Dale, an unknown ingenue, was soon.cast as the star of Suzanne. Dale has those special qualities essential to
the character of Suzanne -- the ability to dance
convincingly from 17 to 27, to speak perfect English and to
have the dazzling looks of a Celtic-Latin beauty.
Go to Jennifer Dale's filmography.
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