Andrea Martin’s journey to stage and screen stardom on Broadway and in Hollywood came full circle Thursday when she received a tribute at The Hollywood Reporter’s Women in Entertainment Canada gala in Toronto within eyeshot of the Royal Alexander Theatre, where a quirky 1972 Toronto staging of Godspell she performed in became a life-changing experience.
“Basically this newly minted Canadian icon is a person who just got lucky,” Martin said from a stage at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Toronto, across a downtown square from the Royal Alex. Martin was honored with the Icon Award at the WIE Canada event, which recognizes Canadian cultural achievements that advanced greater representation of women in the media and entertainment industry and artistic visions that reach global audiences.
“I was cast in the Canadian company of Godspell, and found myself surrounded with a great company of actors who became my friends for life, who have always spoken the truth to me, whether I wanted to hear it or not, and have been there for me, as I have for them, for over 50 years,” Martin recalled.
American-born Martin played Robin in the Toronto run for the iconic hippie musical alongside fellow cast members Victor Garber, Martin Short, Eugene Levy, Gilda Radner, Dave Thomas and Jayne Eastwood, who helped present her award. Over a half-century later, that humble staging of the Godspell musical paved the way for Martin, a Tony Award-winning stage actress for My Favorite Year and Pippin. In 1976, Martin joined the fledgling Second City comedy troupe, and and then performed iconic sketch comedy roles on SCTV, which earned her two Emmy awards for writing.
“I landed in this country in 1970 and all my dreams came true. This country has given me endless opportunity to keep laughing, to grow, to entertain you,” Martin recalled after crossing over to Hollywood and going on to star in the My Big Fat Greek Wedding film series as Aunt Voula; stage her one-woman show Andrea Martin: Final Days, Everything Must Go!; and also appear in Wag the Dog, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Sesame Street, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and SpongeBob SquarePants. Her most recent credits include Evil, Only Murders in the Building, The Gilded Age and Overcompensating.
Also at the WIE Canada awards gala, Heated Rivalry writer Rachel Reid received a standing ovation when coming on stage at the Ritz Carlton Hotel to accept the Changemaker Award for penning the book series adapted into the popular Crave and HBO Max romance drama about gay hockey players played on TV by Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie.
She talked about why women in particular are drawn to her romance novels, and the TV adaptation that has become an improbable breakout TV hit. “To me, it’s very obvious why women would want to watch a show where the sex scenes are full of consent and caretaking and checking in and mutual pleasure,” Reid explained. “I write books about men, I wouldn’t say I write them for women specifically, but I write them knowing that women will appreciate these characters, and I write them as a way to explore the ways patriarchy toxic masculinity harm us all,” she added.
Also honored in Toronto was Malin Akerman, who received the Icon Award as she stars as manipulative socialite Margo Banks in the Netflix series adaptation of The Hunting Wives from Lionsgate and 3 Arts Entertainment, and where she was welcomed on stage by co-star Brittany Snow.
As a Toronto-raised artist with global reach, Akerman talked about being a women in Hollywood where a fixation on youth and ageism have long been a reality. “I really do believe that this industry has changed. The expiration on women has been long extended and, if anything, we’re seeing more and more incredible roles for women of a certain age,” she said. “When women believe in ourselves and empower one another, then that impacts all of us.”
Another emotional moment came when Lily Singh, a YouTube star turned late-night TV host with NBC’s A Little Late and now a part-owner of the WNBA’s expansion team, the Toronto Tempo, received the Equity in Entertainment Award. “Let’s be real. Every time people say words like equity and entertainment, someone out there a guy with a podcast mic is rolling his eyes,” Singh said once on stage.
“I want every gatekeeper and every person who dismisses this conversation to understand, this is not about billboards, it’s not about red carpets. It’s not about celebrities wanting applause for being diverse,” she continued. “I do believe everyone deserves those defining moments when they watch something and they feel an indescribable shift within them, where they feel seen, touched, healed, or empowered,” Singh added.
Midway through the awards show, Jeanie Pyun, deputy editorial director at The Hollywood Reporter, welcomed onto the stage at the 2026 Women in Entertainment Canada Power List spotlighting the executives and creatives shaping the Canadian media and entertainment industry.
“The Hollywood Reporter‘s Women in Entertainment Canada event gets bigger and better every year. It’s so gratifying to feel the community and see the growth in the industry and not the incredible honorees, with Andrea Martin doing a Hamilton routine,” Pyun said after Martin rapped a song and dance routine on stage to sum up her stellar career.
Stacey Aglok MacDonald and Alethea Arnaquq-Baril, Canadian Inuk producers of the indigenous comedy North of North now headed to season two on the CBC and Netflix, received the Breakthrough Award at the WIE Canada gala.
“There weren’t a lot of paths for Inuk filmmakers to get into this industry, we had to carve them for ourselves,” Arnaquq-Baril recalled as they had to train and inspired Indigenous actors, storytellers, clothing designers, musicians, comedians and other Canadian creatives. “Those years of hauling gear through snowstorms and trying to convince people Inuit stories weren’t too niche has finally paid off,” Aglok MacDonald added.
Also applauded was the second WIE CAN Mentorship class for 2026, with five young women – Jessica Landry, Anisha Kumar, Sarah-Nicole Bolduc, Kianah Lecuyer and Janet-Rose Nguyen – brought on stage, while in the audience their industry instructors and mentors helping them learn new skills and advance their careers were also recognized.
