Biography

Raised on a farm in British Columbia, Sayla de Goede is a Canadian actress of Dutch, Irish and Greek ancestry. She started her career in the film industry when she moved to Toronto. At five foot ten and a half, her height attracted International modeling contracts, booking her jobs in European and Asian markets. She naturally gravitated towards the film industry where her quirky comedic abilities brought opportunities in international commercials such as Hershey's Brookside Chocolate. She has a variety of skills from clowning, fire-dancing, roller-skating, aerial silks, nun chucks and contortion, where she performs a double-jointed handcuff escape in the closing scene of "Once Upon a Time at Christmas."

Sayla landed her first lead Actor role in the dark fantasy short film "Seiren" where she plays a model who transforms into a maleficent mermaid. The film won Best Director at Mostra Amazona Cinema Festival in Brazil, and received praise in the festival circuit, inspiring Sayla to further improve her craft and pursue extensive training with acting schools such as EVN Studios, Penelope Chater Character Creation, Austin Tuck Studios and Miriam Lawrence Integrated Acting. Through her exploration of the Method Acting Approach, Strasberg Technique, Meisner and the Laban Malmgren System, she fell in love with the craft of acting and was consumed with the goal of becoming a multi-dimensional actor.

She quickly went on to book a lead role as the antagonist Mrs. Claus in Lionsgate's "Once Upon a Time at Christmas" where she received a British Lion Award nomination for Best Actress in a Feature. She later reprised her role as Mrs. Clause in the sequel "The Nights Before Christmas." The films attracted a following and has since become a trilogy, with the third volume "One Night In a Toy Shop" planned to be shot in spring 2021. Sayla was featured in The Watchmen and plays a flight attendant in Lucky Day, a movie by Oscar-winning writer and director Roger Avary.

Sayla is not afraid of onscreen transformations, she embraces edgy characters, playing villain roles and monstrous creatures. She is always ready to take on opportunities to show a different side of her acting. Growing up, she was a competitive athlete taking part in Pentathlons and winning bronze in Pole Vault at the Provincial Championship - Her background in athletics allows her to play physically intensive roles.

- IMDb mini biography by: Unknown Source