Canadian Female Media Personalities

Renee Paquette is a Canadian television personality and host. She is best known for appearing in WWE, where she worked as an interviewer, presenter, and commentator from 2012 to 2020. In 2013, Renee Paquette received the Slammy Award for her work in The JBL and Cole Show. In 2020, she started hosting Oral Sessions, her own podcast.

Samantha Bee is a Canadian-American political commentator, television host, comedienne, producer, and writer. Bee achieved international recognition for her 12-year tenure as a correspondent on the late-night talk and satirical news program The Daily Show. In 2017, she was named in Time magazine's 100 most influential people in the world list. In 2017, she also won a Primetime Emmy Award.

American-Canadian journalist Jane Jacobs is best known for her book The Death and Life of Great American Cities. A specialist in urban culture and its issues, she was one of the few women who excelled in a male-dominated field. The Vincent Scully Prize winner was initially scorned at as a housewife.

Political activist and YouTuber Lauren Southern is also a prominent white nationalist. Initially an employee of The Rebel Media, she later also worked for Sky News Australia. She and two of her fellow anti-Muslim activists were refused entry at the Luton airport in the UK and even detained in 2018.

British journalist, documentary filmmaker, and newsreader Emily Maitlis is currently the lead anchor of BBC Two's news and current affairs program Newsnight. An alumnus of the Queens' College, Cambridge, she began her career as a documentary filmmaker before moving to broadcast journalism. She built a successful career, becoming one of the highest-paid BBC news and current affairs staff.

Jennifer Mulhern Granholm is a politician, lawyer, educator, and author. She is currently serving as the 16th United States Secretary of Energy, in office since February 2021. Previously, she was the 47th governor of Michigan, the first woman to serve in this position. She was made a Commander of the Royal Order of the Polar Star in 2010. 

Brett Somers was a Canadian-American actress, game-show personality, and singer. She is remembered for her appearance in the television panel game show, Match Game. Her popularity led Robin Quivers to impersonate her on The Howard Stern Show. Her popularity also earned her roles in such TV series as The Odd Couple, where she appeared alongside her real-life husband Jack Klugman.

Ashleigh Banfield is a Canadian-American journalist best known for hosting the popular television news program Banfield. A well-known journalist, Banfield has also hosted shows like Early Start and Legal View with Ashleigh Banfield on CNN. In 1994, she was honored at the NATPE Iris Awards with two awards under the Best of Festival and Best News Documentary categories.

Born to Iraqi immigrants to Canada, Anita Sarkeesian later moved to the U.S. and soared to fame as a feminist media critic and YouTuber. Her site Feminist Frequency explores the treatment of women in socio-cultural scenarios. Her Tropes vs Women project invited serious sexist and racist attacks online.

Lyse Doucet is a Canadian journalist who works with the popular broadcaster British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). She is BBC's current Chief International correspondent. One of the most respected and decorated Canadian journalists of all time Lyse Doucet has received several prestigious awards, such as the Royal Television Society Award, Peabody Award, David Bloom Award, and a Silver Sony Award. 

CBS News journalist Catherine Herridge has won multiple awards, such as the Tex McCracy Award, for investigative journalism and covered many international events such as the 9/11 attacks. She has also worked with FOX News and penned the book The Next Wave, which spoke about homegrown terrorism.

Denise Ho is a singer and actress best known for advocating LGBT rights in Asia. In 2012, she became the first popular female singer from Hong Kong to come out as a lesbian. Also a human rights activist, Denise Ho took part in the 2014 Umbrella Movement for which she was blacklisted by the Chinese government.

The first North American Black woman to publish a newspaper, USA-born Mary Ann Shadd was the founder of the Canadian newspaper, The Provincial Freeman. Concurrently serving as its anonymous editor and contributor, she also became one of the first women to pursue journalism in Canada. She was also one of the first Black women to earn a degree in law.

Bonnie McFarlane is a Canadian-American writer and comedian best known for her participation in a reality TV talent competition show called Last Comic Standing, where she was the first comedian to be eliminated. McFarlane has appeared in popular TV shows like The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn, and Late Show with David Letterman. 

After graduating in human kinetics, Jeanette Jenkins started her own fitness brand, Hollywood Trainer, and now has a client list that consists of the who’s who of Hollywood, such as Alicia Keys, Pink, Queen Latifah, and Mindy Kaling. Her fitness programs include bikini bootcamps and power yoga.

Canadian journalist and author Christie Blatchford had created history as her country’s first sports columnist. Also known for her award-winning book Fifteen Days, which was based on her experiences in Afghanistan, she was associated with publications such as National Post. She unfortunately died of lung cancer at age 68.

Apart from being a popular TV host and journalist, Kara Scott is also a celebrated poker player. Audiences have loved her as a host on Poker Night Live. She has also been a columnist for poker magazines and has appeared in movies such as Sucker Punch.

Named to the Ottawa Board of Trade’s list of 40 under 40, Catherine Clark is a popular TV broadcaster and the daughter of former Canadian PM Joe Clark. She heads her own communications consultancy, Catherine Clark Communications, and has co-established the podcast The Honest Talk.

Canadian comedy star DeAnne Smith is also an LGBT icon. Apart from being part of several comedy festivals and a podcast, she also had her own Netflix comedy special. She previously taught English in Mexico and was inspired by her then-girlfriend to pursue stand-up comedy as a career.

Sci-fi author Judith Josephine Grossman, better known by her pen-name, Judith Merril, is also known for editing several anthologies. After her father’s suicide, she was raised by her mother in the Bronx. That Only A Mother remains one of her best-known short stories and has been part of many anthologies.

A pioneer of Canadian gymnastics, Elfi Schlegel was born to Swiss immigrants in Toronto. Starting training at age 7, she later earned a Pan American Games gold, 2 Commonwealth Games gold medals, and a World Cup bronze. Post-retirement, she became a successful sports commentator for channels such as NBC Sports.