Ellen Philpotts-Page (born February 21, 1987), known professionally as Ellen Page, is a Canadian actress. Page received both Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations for Best Actress for her role as the title character in the film Juno. She won back-to-back Austin Film Critics Association Awards for Best Actress for her roles in Juno and Hard Candy.
She is also known for her starring roles in Inception, Smart People and Whip It, and as Katherine "Kitty" Pryde in X-Men: The Last Stand. In addition, Page received attention in Canada for award-winning roles in Pit Pony and Marion Bridge, as well as television shows Trailer Park Boys and ReGenesis. In 2008, Page was nominated for Time's 100 Most Influential People list and placed #86 on FHM's Sexiest Women in the World list, and moved up to #70 for 2010. In June 2008, Page was named on Entertainment Weekly's future A-List stars list.
Page was born and raised in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, the daughter of Martha Philpotts, a teacher, and Dennis Page, a graphic designer. She attended the Halifax Grammar School until grade 10, spent some time at Queen Elizabeth High School, and graduated from the Shambhala School in 2005. She also spent two years in Toronto, Ontario studying in the Interact Program at Vaughan Road Academy along with close friend and fellow Canadian actor Mark Rendall. Growing up, Page enjoyed playing with action figures and climbing trees.
Page began acting at age 4, appearing in numerous school plays. She first acted in front of the camera in 1997 at age 10 in the CBC television movie Pit Pony, which later spun off into a television series. This led to more roles in a number of small Canadian films and television series, notably playing Treena Lahey in Season 2 of Trailer Park Boys. At 16, she was cast in Mouth to Mouth, an independent film shot in Europe. Page starred in the 2005 movie Hard Candy and gained praise for "one of the most complex, disturbing and haunting performances of the year".
She also appeared in X-Men: The Last Stand as Kitty Pryde (Shadowcat), a girl who can walk through walls. In the previous X-Men movies, the part had been used in brief cameos played by other actresses, but never as a main character. As the title character in Juno, Page garnered substantial praise; A. O. Scott of the New York Times noted her as being "frighteningly talented" and Roger Ebert said, "Has there been a better performance this year than Ellen Page's creation of Juno? I do not think so". Page was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in Juno, but lost to Marion Cotillard in La Vie En Rose.
