Biography
Helen Shaver is a Canadian stage, film and television actress and director. She attended the Banff School of Fine Arts and studied Acting at the University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. She started acting at 18, collaborating with industry giants like Scorsese and Spielberg. Her performances earned awards—Theatreworld Award for "Jake’s Woman," Genies for "In Praise of Older Women" (Best Actress) and "Who Has Seen the Wind" (Best Supporting Actress). Transitioning to directing, she helme...
Known For
Complete Filmography

Happy Place
2020
Director
"Welcome to the zoo," Samira is advised as she’s admitted to an in-patient care facility in the wake of a suicide attempt. As she slowly familiarizes ...

Souls of Totality
2018
A love story set during the Great American Eclipse.

Women in Love: Helen Shaver and Patricia Charbonneau on Desert Hearts
2017
as Self
DESERT HEARTS depended on the connection between its two lead actors, Patricia Charbonneau and Helen Shaver, and on their trust in director Donna Deit...
Down River
2013
as Pearl
Down River is the emotionally stirring story of three young women teetering on the edge between creative breakthroughs and personal breakdowns, and th...

Birthday Cake
2013
as Judith Ferguson
Soap actor Steven and his husband Daniel decide to throw the ultimate first birthday party for their daughter. What Daniel doesn’t know is that Steven...

A Very Merry Daughter of the Bride
2008
as Rose
A wedding planner looks to persuade her mother not to marry a man she's only known for a brief period of time, until an unexpected development forces ...

Numb
2007
as Audrey Milbank
Hudson Milbank is a successful Hollywood screenwriter who suddenly and strangely finds himself without any emotional feelings. He tries doctor after d...

Ultra
2006
Director
Superhero Pearl Penalosa juggles the impossible combination of keeping up a social life, searching for love, and battling the forces of evil.

The Man Who Lost Himself
2005
Director
The life story of Terry Evanshen, a Canadian Football League star who fell into a coma after a fatal car accident. When he wakes up, he has no recolle...

The Keeper
2004
as Ruthie
When an apparently exemplary cop abducts and secretly imprisons a beautiful dancer, a deadly battle of wills between captor and captive ensues.

Alpha to Omega: Exposing 'The Osterman Weekend'
2004
as Self
Testimony of the cast, the producers and other participants of the shootings of "The Osterman Weekend".

D.C. Sniper: 23 Days of Fear
2003
as Sandy Moose
Based on the known events that shook the United States for 23 days in 2002. Within 24 hours six people were killed by a sniper in Maryland County. A m...

The Risen
2003
as Lynn Todd
A pregnant woman has an emergency operation to save her life but comes out of the procedure with amnesia.

Due East
2002
Producer, Director
Mary Faith Rapple, a bright high school senior, has never been part of the "in crowd." She teaches a night class, cares for her widowed father and pre...

Bear with Me
2000
as Sara Bradley
An orphaned bear cub is adopted by little Emily and her family. They name the cub Masha, raise her and release her back into the wild. Three years go ...

Summer's End
2000
Director
12-year-old boy and his older brother have just lost their dad. At their summer cottage, the younger boy befriends a black doctor who has to deal with...

Common Ground
2000
as Janet
This movie contains three short stories dealing with the theme of homosexuality. In "A Friend of Dorothy", a woman joins the Navy during the 1950's an...

We All Fall Down
1999
as Sherry
In this dark independent drama, Michael (Darcy Belsher) is an out of work actor who has been trying to pull himself out of a downward spiral of drug a...

The Wishing Tree
1999
as Wallis
When her storyteller mother (Mary Alice) dies, attorney Clara Collier (Alfre Woodard) returns to her Georgia hometown and is soon captivated by a loca...

The Sweetest Gift
1998
as Mrs. Martin
Two neighboring families in Florida, one black and one white, struggle with the problems of race, poverty, prejudice, and absent fathers, as their chi...

The Craft
1996
as Grace
A Catholic school newcomer falls in with a clique of teen witches who wield their powers against all who dare to cross them -- be they teachers, rival...

Tremors 2: Aftershocks
1996
as Kate 'White' Reilly
Earl Bassett's celebrity after defeating the Graboid attack against the town of Perfection has proved short-lived, until he's recruited by a Mexican o...
Rowing Through
1996
as Slim
Based on the real-life story of American rower Tiff Wood (Colin Ferguson), an athlete determined to realize his goal of winning gold at the 1980 Olymp...

Born to Be Wild
1995
as Margaret Heller
Rick Heller is a juvenile delinquent who keeps getting himself into trouble. To keep him out of trouble his mother puts him to work cleaning the cage ...

Falling For You
1995
as Mary
When Meg gets thrown out of her apartment window by a serial killer, she's determined to make him pay. But finding this criminal might be difficult co...

Open Season
1995
as Rachel Rowen
When the television ratings machines suddenly malfunction, public television suddenly, but mistakenly, soars to #1 in this humorous satire.
Janek: The Silent Betrayal
1994
as Monique Dessier
Police lieutenant Frank Janek is investigating a series of murders in a building owned by a famous Broadway producer.

Without Consent
1994
as Nora Fields
After being sent to an abusive psychiatric facility by her well-meaning parents, a rebellious teenager must fight for her release.

Ride with the Wind
1994
as Katherine Barnes
Frank Shelby is a motorcycle racer for whom age, personal tragedy and a love for the bottle have supplanted hopes of the big time. But when he meets K...

The Forget-Me-Not Murders
1994
as Monique
A detective tries to track down a serial killer who is thought to be targeting the policeman's god-daughter.

Bethune: The Making of a Hero
1993
as Mrs. Dowd
True story of Norman Bethune, a medical doctor who fought for justice in China during Mao's rise to power.

Morning Glory
1993
as Lula Peak
An ex-convict who is on parole is accused of murdering a loose woman in the town where he works.

Trial & Error
1993
as Katherine Woodfield
The young and ambitious district attorney Peter Hudson is convinced that the defendant Andrew Barnes in his current case is guilty, and that winning t...
Trial and Error
1993
as Katherine Woodfield
The young and ambitious district attorney Peter Hudson is convinced that the defendant Andrew Barnes in his current case is guilty, and that winning t...

Murder So Sweet
1993
as Edie Ballew
A hometown heartthrob (Harry Hamlin) marries the local beauties and then poisons them in this true story of a real lady killer. His ex-wife suspects t...

Survive The Night
1993
as Stacy
On their way home from Brooklyn, psychiatrist Vic, daughter Julie and sister Stacey run short of gas. They leave the highway to search for a petrol st...

Fatal Memories
1992
as Elaine Tipton
Fact based story about a woman who after 20 years starts having memories of her own molestation by her father and the murder of one of her childhood p...

Zebrahead
1992
as Diane
A white, hip-hop loving teen falls in love with a black girl in Detroit.

That Night
1992
as Ann O'Connor
A coming-of-age story about an eleven-year-old girl who idolizes her troubled sixteen-year-old neighbor.

Pair of Aces
1990
as Rose
A Texas Ranger has to protect his two daughters as he investigates a serial killer who is attacking cheerleaders. Meanwhile he finds himself working w...

Mothers, Daughters and Lovers
1989
as Claire Nichols
A single mother struggles to raise two teenage daughters in a small town in America.

Tree of Hands
1989
as Benet Archdale
A woman is attempting to cope with her son's tragic death when her mother arrives on an ill-timed visit with her own remedies.
No Blame
1988
as Amy
Amy Donaldson, a successful fashion editor of City Magazine, is married to Carl, an accountant, and they have one young son, Brian. Amy is pregnant an...

The Land Before Time
1988
as Littlefoot's Mother (voice)
An orphaned brontosaurus named Littlefoot sets off in search of the legendary Great Valley. A land of lush vegetation where the dinosaurs can thrive a...

Calling the Shots
1988
as Self
Documentary about women in the film industry. Numerous notable actresses and female directors share their thoughts.

Walking After Midnight
1988
as Self
Explores the past-life experiences of various celebrities.
The Grand Knockout Tournament
1987
as Self
The Grand Knockout Tournament (colloquially also known as It's a Royal Knockout) was a one-off charity event which was shown on British television on ...

The Believers
1987
as Jessica Halliday
Mourning the accidental death of his wife and having just moved to New York with his young son, laconic police psychologist Cal Jamison is reluctantly...

The Color of Money
1986
as Janelle
Former pool hustler "Fast Eddie" Felson decides he wants to return to the game by taking a pupil. He meets talented but green Vincent Lauria and propo...

Many Happy Returns
1986
as Sally Robinson
In this satire of the I.R.S., George Segal plays an Average Joe targeted for the Audit from Hell. His bank accounts are frozen, his home and business ...

The Men's Club
1986
as Sarah (uncredited)
Seven men have a group session and share their feelings on women, love, life and work.

The Park Is Mine
1986
as Valery
A Vietnam vet takes forceful control of Central Park to remember those who served and died in the Vietnam War.

Lost!
1986
Bob and his wife Linda accompany his brother Jim on a sailing cruise to Costa Rica, where Jim will start as a missionary. In a terrible storm their bo...

Desert Hearts
1985
as Vivian Bell
While waiting for her divorce papers, a repressed literature professor finds herself unexpectedly attracted by a carefree, spirited young woman named ...

The War Boy
1985
as Maria
The 12-year-old son of a freedom fighter grows up fast in World War II Yugoslavia.

Body Double
1984
as Gloria Revelle (voice) (uncredited)
After losing an acting role and his girlfriend, Jake Scully finally catches a break: he gets offered a gig house-sitting in the Hollywood Hills. While...

Countdown to Looking Glass
1984
as Dorian Waldorf
A fictional confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union over the Strait of Hormuz, the gateway to the Persian Gulf. The narrative of ...

Best Defense
1984
as Claire
An engineer fails to get the bugs out of a tank before an Army officer has to use it in Kuwait.

The Osterman Weekend
1983
as Virginia Tremayne
The host of an investigative news show is convinced by the CIA that the friends he has invited to a weekend in the country are engaged in a conspiracy...

Between Two Brothers
1982
as Susan Frazer
Bob Frazer is a prominent attorney who compulsively tries to make amends with his younger, less polished brother, Russ, who runs the family business a...

Harry Tracy, Desperado
1982
as Catherine Tuttle
By the turn of the 20th century, Butch Cassidy, the Sundance Kid, Billy the Kid and virtually all of the West's legendary outlaws are either dead or i...

Gas
1981
as Rhonda
Susan Anspach stars in this comedy as a news reporter who investigates a story about stolen milk causing milk and gas prices to rise. During the cours...

Coming Out Alive
1980
as Isobel
A woman hires a contract-killer when her ex-husband kidnaps her son.

The Amityville Horror
1979
as Carolyn
George Lutz, his wife Kathy, and their three children have just moved into a beautiful, and improbably cheap, Victorian mansion nestled in the sleepy ...

Lovey: A Circle of Children, Part II
1978
as Patty
A sequel to "A Circle of Children" (1977). A teacher of "emotionally disturbed" children takes on a new student who is considered to be "untrainable" ...

In Praise of Older Women
1978
as Ann MacDonald
Andras Vayda grows up in a turbulent, war-torn Hungary, where he procures local girls for the occupying G.I.'s during World War II. Disappointed by gi...

High-Ballin'
1978
as Pickup
When a rash of targeted hijackings threatens to derail the independent trucking business, rig driver "Iron" Duke and his visiting friend Rane put the ...

Starship Invasions
1977
as Betty Duncan
Captain Rameses and his Legion of the Winged Serpent brigade are out to claim Earth for their dying race. Out to save Earth is an alien guard patrol l...

Outrageous!
1977
as Jo
Gay hair stylist Robin Turner does a lot of work for drag queens, all the while dreaming that he'll someday find the courage to perform in drag himsel...

Who Has Seen the Wind
1977
as Ruth Thompson
The coming-of-age of adolescent Brian O'Connal in small town Depression-era Saskatchewan is told. The son of the local pharmacist Gerald O'Connal, Bri...

The Supreme Kid
1976
as Girl hitch-hiker
Two Canadian drifters (Frank Moore, Jim Henshaw) become involved in crime after meeting unsavoury characters.

Shoot
1976
as Paula
When boredom, pride and a mad second of misjudgement leaves a hunter shot dead by one of five combat veterans also hunting in the Canadian hills, it i...

The Naked Man
1976
Indian child grows up to seek revenge on the man that raped and murdered his parents.

The Overlanders
1974
as Mrs. O'Mara
The year is 1862. The settings. The Canadian northwest. The lure is gold. Nine men, two women (one of them pregnant), and a young boy begin the odysse...