Wendy Crewson is one of Canada’s leading women in the entertainment industry. Her extensive filmography has seen her act alongside ace Hollywood actors where she has mostly played the role of a wife or ex-wife. She appeared beside Harrison Ford in 1997’s Air Force One where she was the First lady of the USA. Another of her early successes came through the role of Tim Allen’s ex-wife in three The Santa Clause movies.
In recent years, Crewson has become an advocate for gender equality on TV. While fighting for what she believes in, she has also made sure to continue impressing audiences worldwide through all the roles she has taken. Her most notable recent role came in early 2018 when she began playing the character of Fiona Currie in the all-female lead series, The Detail.
Facts You May Not Have Known About Wendy Crewson
Her Cousin Inspired Her to Pursue a College Degree at Queens University
Wendy Crewson had fallen in love with acting as a kid and had her first acting experience while in 10th grade. Following her high school graduation, she chose to attend Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. Her female cousin had graduated from the school in 1924, a time when women were not really going to university. Crewson said she was inspired by her cousin’s boldness and thus decided to attend the same school.
At Queens, the aspiring actress excelled greatly. She acted in several school productions and earned the Lorne Greene Award for outstanding work in the theatre. She graduated in 1977 and subsequently relocated to London where she attended the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art.
In 2016, her alma mater invited her back to Kingston and awarded her an honorary degree.
Wendy Crewson Maintains an Equal Level of Activity Both on Film and on TV
By the early 1980s, Wendy Crewson became a frequent face in Canadian television, acting in numerous TV films. She got her first break playing the lead role in the 1991 film, The Doctor. She quickly built up her resume appearing in a number of top Hollywood films while maintaining a fair level of visibility on the small screen.
Some of the well-known films she appeared in around this time include To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday (1996), Bicentennial Man (1999) alongside Robin Williams, and The 6th Day (2000) opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger. Her extensive TV resume includes Home Fires, 24, ReGenesis, Revenge, Saving Hope, Frankie Drake Mysteries, and October Faction.
She Had Portrayed a Lesbian Long Before Coming Out as One
Many times, actors have used their movie roles as a means of coming out and though Wendy Crewson’s revelation did not come immediately, it would later prove to be a sign of what was to come.
In 2003, she played a lesbian woman named McNally ‘Mac’ Hays in the Lifetime movie titled An Unexpected Love. The movie tells the story of how a woman (Leslie Hope) separates from her husband and later falls in love with her female boss (Wendy Crewson).
The plot of the movie would later seem to have some sort of similarity to what Crewson experienced in real life as she only managed to begin to identify as gay later on in life. It is further said that it was her role in the movie that fueled her decision to come out.
More Details of Her Sexuality and Failed Marriage
While Wendy Crewson may now identify as a lesbian, she once identified as a straight woman. For two decades, she was married to American film, TV, and stage actor Michael Murphy. The pair became man and wife in 1988 and were married for exactly 21 years before divorcing in 2009.
Their marriage was blessed with two children; daughter Maggie Murphy born in 1989 and a son named Jack Murphy who was born in 1992. Like their parents, both children have taken to acting, even appearing alongside their parents in the 1998 film, Sleeping Dogs Lie.
The true reason for Crewson’s divorce from her husband is not public knowledge although many have tried to fill in the blanks. Regardless, their separation was clearly an amicable one as the ex-couple have remained friends and even continue to work together. They appeared alongside each other in the 2014 Canadian film, Fall.
In December 2014, Wendy Crewson during an appearance on a talk shows that she first came out as gay to her family before the public knew about it. This was later revealed to have been in 2004, as she said in 2016 while receiving an honorary degree from the school.
In her speech, Crewson said that she realized that she was gay at the age of 48. She was, however, unable to come out at the time as homosexuality was still largely perceived as shameful. She added that the scariest part of coming out was the fear of rejection from her kids but to her surprise, they both accepted her. Crewson was particularly surprised by her son’s reaction as he lauded his mother’s bravery telling her that he understood how scared she must have felt about coming out to him.
In recent years, Wendy Crewson has remained tight-lipped about whom she is romantically involved with. Some online sources erroneously state that she married a certain Gary Longman in 2009 but there are not enough facts to buttress this. Since coming out as a lesbian, Wendy has never revealed her lesbian partner.
