Biography

Vanessa Matsui is a CSA nominated actor, writer, and filmmaker based in Toronto and L.A. Selected as a Sundance / YouTube New Voices fellow in 2019, Vanessa's critically acclaimed hit web series Ghost BFF, which she wrote, directed for and starred in, has won and been nominated for multiple awards including Best Web Series at the LA Femme International Film Festival and the Austin Film Festival and has screened at festivals globally. Ghost BFF Season One originally streamed on Elizabeth Bank's Whohaha.com and both seasons can now be found on Shaftesbury's KindaTV. Vanessa also co-created Crankytown.ca (NFB), an interactive website about getting your first period, where she wrote and directed award-winning short films and received a Gemini nomination for Best Digital Non-Fiction Program. Vanessa is also an advisor with Sundance Co//ab. She attributes her love of storytelling to her extensive training in acting and improvisation; she studied the Meisner technique with the late Jaqueline McClintock, studied and performed as an improviser for 10 years in Montreal most notably at the Just For Laughs Festival with The Bitter End (a serialized, improvised sitcom). Select acting credits include roles on Letterkenny (Hulu), Shadowhunters (Freeform), Schitt's Creek (CBC), and The Handmaid's Tale (Hulu).

- IMDb mini biography by: Vanessa Matsui