Mary Walsh

Mary Walsh (born May 13, 1952) is a Canadian actress, comedian, writer and director from St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, and one of the most influential figures in Canadian comedy.

A founding force in Newfoundland’s performing-arts scene, Walsh rose to national prominence with the sketch troupe CODCO, whose CBC series ran from 1988 to 1993. In 1992 she co-created the satirical news programme This Hour Has 22 Minutes with Rick Mercer, Cathy Jones and Greg Thomey; the show became a Canadian institution and gave Walsh her most famous character, the brassy political ambusher Marg Delahunty — later “Marg, Princess Warrior” — whose confrontations with politicians repeatedly made national headlines.

Beyond sketch comedy she has had a long dramatic and film career, including roles in Republic of Doyle (2010–2014) and Little Dog, the series Hatching, Matching and Dispatching (which she co-wrote), and films such as The Grand Seduction (2013), Closet Monster (2015) and Happy Place (2020), for which she won a Canadian Screen Award. She is also a published author, with the novel Crying for the Moon (2017) and a 2026 memoir, and made her feature directorial debut with Young Triffie (2007).

A Member of the Order of Canada and a recipient of the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement, Walsh brings decades of Newfoundland storytelling to Below (2026), the Netflix limited series filmed in her home province, where she appears alongside Josh Hartnett, Willow Kean and a largely Newfoundland-connected cast.

One of the most decorated performers in Canadian television, Walsh has won numerous Gemini Awards for her work on This Hour Has 22 Minutes and CODCO, and more recently appeared in Resident Alien (2024) and the film Dancing on the Elephant (2025), for which she was honoured at the Atlantic International Film Festival. She also writes, produces and directs the series The Missus Downstairs.