Actress Megan Follows

She brought Anne Shirley to life in a 1985 television miniseries "Anne of Green Gables." Megan Follows, then 16, played the lead role in a Canadian production of Lucy Maud Montgomery's 1908 tale of a determined, lovable orphan sent to live on a farm on Prince Edward Island.

The series, which first aired in Canada and later on public TV in the United States, also became a best-selling video. It broke all records for Canadian TV, winning 10 of 12 Canadian Emmys, including best actress for Follows. It won a US Emmy for best children's movie and many other awards. It has been shown in 145 countries and may be the most successful Canadian film ever made. A sequel, "Anne of Avonlea" (1987), was well-received, too.

Follows seemed to disappear to her "Anne" fans. She has told interviewers that she has sought out roles that stretch her professionally. She has played Shakespeare onstage, as well as an autistic child and a prostitute in TV movies. She also played Becky Thatcher, Tom Sawyer's girlfriend, in a Disney Channel movie. She will appear in "Anne of Green Gables: The Continuing Story" airing in Canada and PBS later this year.

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