Françoise Balthazar

Françoise's power and charisma as a performer make her mesmerizing to watch, whether anchoring the show as the lead or adding depth and meaning to a character role. In theatre she is known for inhabiting some of the most iconic and intensely dramatic roles, such as Richard III, Lucrezia Borgia, and the Marquise de Merteuil. Françoise has performed in many varied roles in film, TV, and theatre across Canada as well as England and the United States. Recently, Françoise reprized her iconic role of Lucrezia Borgia at the Tarragon Theatre, a role she originated in David Copelin's award-winning play 'Bella Donna'. She has also played lead feature roles as Felicity in the acclaimed Colleen Wagner genocide play 'The Living' at the Toronto Theatre Centre, and the classic Mamet role of Dave Moss from 'Glengarry Glen Ross' at Toronto's popular Indie Theatre space, The RedSandcastle - both sold-out runs. Françoise has distinguished herself in interpreting both classical and contemporary roles including Calphurnia in BRAVO TV's 'Julius Caesar'; she played the lead role in the independent short film 'The Unstrung Ear' directed by Ryan Redford which was screened at the Montreal Film Festival; the lead role of Alcandre in 'The Illusion' at the Stratford Festival Theatre; the Nurse in 'Romeo and Juliet' at the prestigious Minack Theatre in England; Cassius in 'Julius Caesar' at the RedSandcastle, and Merteuil in 'Dangerous Liaisons' at Toronto's Alumnae Theatre. Françoise was singled out by NOW Magazine as outstanding performer in the Toronto Fringe Festival for two consecutive years for playing the lead role of Lucrezia Borgia in 'Bella Donna' and the title role of Richard III in an all-female production of the play. In addition to her stage and screen talents, one of Françoise's lethal weapons is her warm and resonant voice. She has been selected as the principle voice performer for multiple national commercial campaigns including Mercedes-Benz, Tide ,Crystal Lite, Rogers,and Gaviscon.