Michela Luci
Michela Luci | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 19, 2006 Hamilton, Ontario, Canada |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 2014–present |
Michela Luci (born May 19, 2006) is a Canadian actress from Ancaster, Ontario, most noted as the leading role of Dino Dana.[1] She won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in a Children's, Family Viewing or Special Class Program at the 45th Daytime Emmy Awards,[2] and is a two-time Canadian Screen Award nominee for Best Performance in a Children's or Youth Program or Series at the 6th Canadian Screen Awards in 2018[3] and the 7th Canadian Screen Awards in 2019.[4] She also portrayed Tabby in the science fiction series Endlings, which premiered on January 5, 2020 on CBC Television in Canada and Hulu in the U.S.
Early life
[edit]Michela Luci was born in Hamilton, Ontario to mother Lucy Fricano.[5] She attended Immaculate Conception School.[1]
Career
[edit]Luci first gained recognition as a judge on YTV’s Cook’d and went on to book the recurring role of Agent Orchid on the Emmy award-winning TVOKids and PBS Kids series Odd Squad. The series' creator Tim McKeon said he was "so impressed with [Luci's] talent and professionalism"[5] saying he "always found her to be hard working, courteous and well-prepared".[5] Luci was nominated for Young Artist Awards twice for her work in Odd Squad, in 2015 and 2017. She and the cast of Odd Squad won a Joey Award in 2015.[6] In 2016, Luci appeared in Odd Squad: The Movie as Agent Orchid. This marked her first theatrical appearance. In the same year, she also formed the all-girl group GEN:ZED (formerly GFORCE) with a group of friends from the Greater Toronto Area.[7]
Luci and the other members of GFORCE auditioned for season 14 of America's Got Talent, singing their original song "Break the Banks". The group received four yeses from all four judges.[8] Luci also voiced the titular protagonist in the Netflix original True and the Rainbow Kingdom. She then took on a voice acting role of Princess Flug in TVOKids and the Nick Jr. Channel's Abby Hatcher. In 2018, she was nominated for two Young Entertainer Awards, a Daytime Emmy Award and a Canadian Screen Award for her work in True and the Rainbow Kingdom and Dino Dana. In 2019, season three of Dino Dana began airing. Luci was nominated for three awards for her work in Dino Dana including winning a Daytime Emmy Award and a Youth Media Alliance Award of Excellence. Luci was cast as Tabby on Hulu original Endlings. She stars in Dino Dana: The Movie, released in September 2020 on Amazon Prime Video after originally slated to be released in early 2020 but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[9][10]
Filmography
[edit]Films
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Odd Squad: The Movie | Agent Orchid | |
| 2020 | Dino Dana: The Movie | Dana Jain |
Television
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Cook'd | Herself/Judge | |
| 2014–2021 | Odd Squad | Agent Orchid | Recurring |
| 2017–20 | Dino Dana | Dana Jain | Lead role |
| 2017–19 | True and the Rainbow Kingdom | True (voice) | Lead role |
| 2018–22 | Abby Hatcher | Princess Flug (voice) | Main role |
| 2019 | America's Got Talent | Herself | Contestant (season 14) |
| 2020–21 | Endlings | Tabby | Main role |
| 2020 | True: Terrific Tales | True (voice) | Lead role |
| 2020–22 | Mighty Express | Farmer Faye (voice) | Main role |
| 2020 | Pikwik Pack | Maddy Rhino (voice) | Episode: "Hazel's Mishap/Axel's Lucky Day" |
| 2020–present | PJ Masks | Octobella (voice) | Recurring |
| 2021–present | Go, Dog, Go! | Tag Barker (voice) | Main role |
| 2023–present | Rubble & Crew | Sierra Sparkle (voice) | Recurring |
| 2023–present | Blue's Clues & You! | Pail (voice) | Main role (season 4-present) |
Awards and nominations
[edit]| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Young Artist Awards | Best Performance in a TV Series – Guest Starring Young Actress 10 and Under | Odd Squad | Nominated | [11] |
| 2017 | Young Artist Awards | Best Performance in a TV Series – Recurring Young Actress | [12] | ||
| 2018 | Canadian Screen Awards | Best Performance in a Children's or Youth Program or Series | Dino Dana | [13] | |
| Daytime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Performer in a Children's, Preschool Children's or Educational and Informational Program | [14] | |||
| Young Entertainer Awards | Best Leading Young Actress - Television Series | [15] | |||
| Best Young Actress 12 & Under - Voice Over Role | True and the Rainbow Kingdom | [15] | |||
| 2019 | Canadian Screen Awards | Best Performance in a Children's or Youth Program or Series | Dino Dana | [16] | |
| Daytime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Performer in a Children's, Family Viewing or Special Class Program | Won | [2] | ||
| Youth Media Alliance | Outstanding Youth Performer | [17] |
References
[edit]- ^ a b Downey, Debra (January 6, 2018)."Ancaster’s Michela Luci stars in new kids’ show Dino Dana". Hamilton News.
- ^ a b Thiessen, Connie (May 6, 2019)."Odd Squad among Canadian kids shows recognized at Daytime Emmys". Broadcast Dialogue.
- ^ David, Greg (January 16, 2018). "Cardinal, Letterkenny and Kim’s Convenience top 2018 Canadian Screen Award nominees". TV, eh?.
- ^ Furdyk, Brent (March 27, 2019). "The Winners: Canadian Screen Awards Presented For Creative Fiction Storytelling". ET Canada.
- ^ a b c Michaels, John (February 9, 2017). "Canadian Michela Luci Transforms "Small Role" Into Big Career". Medium. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
- ^ "Past Winners". The Joey Awards. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
- ^ "About GEN:ZED". GFORCE Dream Big. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
- ^ Anitos, Rania. "Tween Girl Group GEN:ZED Brings the Energy to 'America's Got Talent': Watch Their Audition". Billboard. Retrieved February 10, 2020.
- ^ Pinto, Jordan (June 26, 2018). "Sinking Ship roars into Dino Dana movie". Kidscreen. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
- ^ "September streaming 2020: Top new TV and movie releases". CNN. August 30, 2020. Retrieved September 12, 2020.
- ^ "36th Annual Young Artist Awards". Young Artist Awards. Archived from the original on November 19, 2016. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
- ^ "Nominees – Young Artist Awards". Young Artist Awards. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
- ^ "Michela Luci (2018)". Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television. January 11, 2018.
- ^ Montgomery, Daniel; Sheehan, Paul (March 21, 2018). "2018 Daytime Emmy nominations: Full list of nominees for 45th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards". Gold Derby. Archived from the original on March 22, 2018.
- ^ a b "2018 Nominations" (PDF). Young Entertainer Awards.
- ^ "Michela Luci (2019)". Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television. February 7, 2019.
- ^ TVO News (May 30, 2019). "TVOkids programming wins big at the Youth Media Alliance Awards of Excellence". TVO.