Birthname: Ellen Philpotts-Page
Birthplace: Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Birth Date: 21 February 1987

theOscarSite Bio: With such diverse roles in both the disturbing indie film HARD CANDY (2005)and the more mainstream summer blockbuster X-MEN: THE LAST STAND (2006), young actress Ellen Page was set to make a major splash in 2006. The buzz surrounding the young Canadian actress was validated a year later when Page turned in a startling performance in the indie comedy, JUNO, for which she was awarded the actress' breakthrough award by the National Board of Review and nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Actress.

Page developed an early interest in performing. She attended the Neptune Theater School, performing in a stage version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in the fifth grade. By age 10, she had landed an agent. Page landed her first role as Maggie MacLean in the popular Canadian family television movie, "Pit Pony" (1997), as well as a part in the 1999 spin-off television series of the same name. Just 10 years old, her performance garnered her a Young Artist Award nomination, as well as a Gemini^® (the Canadian equivalent of an Emmy^®) nomination.

2002 was a busy year for Page. She appeared in the Canadian TV series, "Trailer Park Boys," which received a Gemini nomination for best ensemble cast, and "Rideau Hall," as well as the Canadian feature films MARION BRIDGE and THE WET SEASON. The following year, after appearing in TOUCH & GO and the Canadian TV movie "Mrs. Ashboro's Cat," she made her US television debut on the Lifetime Network's "Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story." Another TV movie, "Going for Broke" followed, as well as the part of Suzanna in the 2003 feature LOVE THAT BOY.

She was featured in another made-for-TV movie "I Downloaded a Ghost" in 2004. For her performance as Emily Anderson in the 2004 film WILBY WONDERFUL, Page won a best actress award at the Atlantic Film Festival. She also appeared as a regular that year in the popular Canadian sci-fi series, "ReGenesis" (2004).

Page's next film brought the young actress her first major American publicity - HARD CANDY, a provocative film in which she portrays a strong-willed 14-year-old who is targeted by an internet predator, but who turns the tables, exacting revenge on her would-be attacker. this was followed by MOUTH TO MOUTH (also 2005).

Her searing performance in HARD CANDY caught the eye of Brett Ratner, the director of X-MEN: THE LAST STAND, who called her up to offer her the part of Kitty Pryde, a.k.a. Shadowcat. Reluctant at first, Page accepted the role of the beloved mutant who has the uncanny ability to walk through walls and "phase" through solid objects. The character had appeared briefly in the previous two "X-Men" films, but was played by two different actresses.

Following the "X-Men" publicity juggernaut, Page was signed to star in the independent films AN AMERICAN CRIME (2007), in which she played Sylvia Likens, a girl kept locked in the basement of an Indiana home in the 1960s, and in Bruce McDonald's THE TRACEY FRAGMENTS (2007), in which she played Tracey Berkowitz, who begins to go over the deep end mentally, after her younger brother disappears.

However, her most critically acclaimed performance to-date came as the title character in Jason Reitman's JUNO (2007). Faced with an unplanned pregnancy, an offbeat young woman makes an unusual decision regarding her unborn child - she decides to have it and find the perfect family to raise it. Where else to find them but in the Penny Saver? Page navigates the pitfalls of quirkiness and cuteness and delivers a textured performance that earned her an Academy Award^® nomination for Best Actress.

Page's subsequent film credits include THE STONE ANGEL (2007), and SMART PEOPLE and LIGHT-HOUSE and JACK AND DIANE (both scheduled for 2008).

· Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role 2007: JUNO