Frances Hyland (April 25, 1927 – July 11, 2004) was a Canadian stage, film and television actress. She earned recognition for roles on stage (including ten seasons with Stratford Festival) and screen (including her performance as Nanny Louisa on Road to Avonlea). Honoured with the Governor General's Performing Arts Award in 1994, she was called "the first lady of Canadian theatre". a small town south-west of Swift Current, to Jessie (née Worden), a teacher, and Thomas Hyland, a salesman. She lived there until her parents divorced when she was one year old. She was raised by her mother's family in Ogema, Saskatchewan. When she was seven, she moved to Regina when her parents tried, and failed, to save their marriage. She had no relationship with her father after 1937. She earned a scholarship to and graduated from the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London England
Career
After graduating from the Royal Academy, Hyland remained in London, and made her professional debut on London's West End, starring as Stella in Tennessee William's acclaimed A Streetcar Named Desire.
In 1954, Hyland was invited by the renowned theatre director Tyrone Guthrie to open his first season of Canada's Stratford Festival, playing Isabella in Shakespeare's Measure for Measure. She went on to perform at the festival through the next ten seasons. As well, Hyland directed the Stratford Festival's 1979 production of Othello.
Awards and honours
In 1970, Hyland was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada. In 1994, Hyland received the Governor General's Performing Arts Award, Canada's highest honour in the performing arts, for her lifetime contribution to Canadian theatre.
Filmography
Movies
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1963
| Drylanders
| Liza
|
|-
| 1966
| Each Day That Comes
|
| Short
|-
| 1972
| Another Smith for Paradise
| Marie Smith
|
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1980
| data-sort-value="Changeling, The" | The Changeling
| Mrs. Grey
|
|-
| data-sort-value="Hounds of Notre Dame, The" | The Hounds of Notre Dame
| Mother Therese
|
|-
| 1981
| Happy Birthday to Me
| Mrs. Patterson
|
|-
| 1983
| data-sort-value="Sight, The" | The Sight
|
| Short
|-
| 1993
| data-sort-value="Lotus Eaters, The" | The Lotus Eaters
| Flora Kingswood
|
|-
| 1995
| Never Talk to Strangers
| Mrs. Slotnick
|
|-
|}
Television
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!Year
!Title
!Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1950–54
| Sunday Night Theatre
| Megan Owen / Sonia / Penelope Blessington
| 4 episodes: Deep Are the Roots, Adam's Apple, Crime and Punishment, The Gift
|-
|rowspan="2"| 1955
| Scope
|
| 1 Episode: Prelude to Marriage
|-
| On Camera
|
| 1 Episode: The Queen's Ring
|-
| 1955–61
| Encounter
| Nellie / Shevawn Flaherty / Melissa Turner
| 6 episodes
|-
| 1957
| Twelfth Night
| Lady Olivia
| TV movie
|-
| 1957–59
| Folio
| Zuzushka / Mariana / Frances
| 3 episodes: Proud Passage, The Master of Santiago, Ivanov
|-
| 1958
| Till Death Do Us Part
|
| 1 Episode: Panic at Parth Bay
|-
| 1959
| Hudson's Bay
| Susan Murray
| 1 Episode: Bosom Friends
|-
|rowspan="2"| 1959–60
| data-sort-value="Unforeseen, The" | The Unforeseen
| Martha
| 3 episodes: The Storm, The Wreath, Desire
|-
| R.C.M.P.
| Lucy Dodds / Mrs.Phillips
| 2 episodes: The Replacement, The Hunt
|-
|rowspan="2"| 1960
| Suspense
| Ethel
| 1 Episode: Love Story
|-
| Startime
| Miss Miller / Catherine Stockmann
| 2 episodes: An Enemy of the People, An Enemy of the People
|-
| 1960–62
| Festival
| Margot / Duchess / Olga
| 5 episodes
|-
|rowspan="2"| 1962
| First Person
|
| 1 Episode: My Home Is Here
|-
| Salt of the Earth
|
| TV movie
|-
| 1961–62
| Playdate
| Ethel / Nellie Bancroft / Alice
| 3 episodes: The Salt of the Earth, The Vigilante, Love Story 1910
|-
| 1967
| data-sort-value="Mystery Maker, The" | The Mystery Maker
|
| 1 Episode
|-
| 1973–80
| data-sort-value="Beachcombers, The" | The Beachcombers
| Sadie
| 4 episodes: Sadie, Keep Your Shirt On, The Sasquatch Walks by Night, Sadie is a Lady
|-
| 1974
| data-sort-value="Naked Mind, The" | The Naked Mind
|
| 1 Episode
|-
| rowspan=2| 1978
| Catsplay
| Mousey
| TV movie
|-
| Home to Stay
| Aunt Martha
| TV movie
|-
|rowspan="2"| 1979
| data-sort-value="Albertans, The" | The Albertans
| Marjanne Hardin
| TV movie
|-
| data-sort-value="Great Detective, The" | The Great Detective
| Mrs. Eglantyne
| 1 Episode: Death Takes a Curtain Call
|-
| 1980
| Matt and Jenny
| Martha Jane
| 1 Episode: A Woman's Place
|-
|rowspan="2"| 1981
| Tales of the Haunted
| Dody
| TV movie
|-
| Titans
| Elizabeth I.
| 1 Episode: Elizabeth I.
|-
| 1983
| Pygmalion
| Mrs. Higgins
| TV movie
|-
| 1985
| data-sort-value="Hearst and Davies Affair, The" | The Hearst and Davies Affair
| Rose Duras
| TV movie
|-
| 1986
| Kay O'Brien
| Dr. Sarah McDonovan
| 1 Episode: Princess of the City
|-
| 1987
| Alfred Hitchcock Presents
| Edith Ferris
| 1 Episode: The Impatient Patient
|-
|rowspan="4"| 1988
| Liberace: Behind the Music
| Florence Bettray Kelly
| TV movie
|-
| data-sort-value="Twilight Zone, The" | The Twilight Zone
| Laura Kincaid
| 1 Episode: Dream Me a Life
|-
| Night Heat
| Marie
| 1 Episode: No Regrets
|-
| Lonely Knights
| Maggie
| TV movie
|-
| 1989
| Glory! Glory!
| Velma
| TV movie
|-
| 1990
| E.N.G.
| Thelma
| 1 Episode: Division of Labour
|-
| 1990–95
| Avonlea
| Nanny Louisa Banks
| 3 episodes: The Journey Begins, Sara's Homecoming, Comings and Goings
|-
|rowspan="2"| 1993
| Survive the Night
|
| TV movie
|-
| data-sort-value="Hidden Room, The" | The Hidden Room
| Rita
| 1 Episode: After the Crash
|-
| 1993–94
| Street Legal
| Caroline Diamond
| 3 episodes: Thicker Than Water, Forgiveness, Persons Living or Dead
|-
|rowspan="4"| 1994
| Lonesome Dove
| Clementine Coffey
| 1 Episode: Duty Bound
|-
| Broken Lullaby
| Maria
| TV movie
|-
| Tales from the Cryptkeeper
| Aunt Melva
| 2 episodes: The Avenging Phantom/Myth Conceptions, The Haunted Mine
|-
| Lives of Girls & Women
| Aunt Grace
| TV movie
|-
|rowspan="2"| 1995
| Due South
| Fraser's Grandmother
| 1 Episode: Letting Go
|-
| When the Dark Man Calls
| Dr. Martha Petrie
| TV movie
|-
|rowspan="2"| 1996
| Psi Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal
| Catherine Cartwright
| 1 Episode: Reptilian Revenge/Ghostly Voices
|-
| Moonlight Becomes You
| Nuala Moore
| TV movie
|-
|rowspan="2"| 1997
| data-sort-value="Prayer in the Dark, A" | A Prayer in the Dark
| Anna
| TV movie
|-
| I'll Be Home for Christmas
| Thelma Jenkins
| TV movie
|-
|}