Tamara Podemski

Biography

A multi-disciplinary artist born and raised in Toronto to an Ojibway mother and an Israeli father. She made her biggest mark with the film “Four Sheets to the Wind” when she won the Special Jury Prize for Acting at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, as well as an IFC Spirit Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress in 2008.

Though she is best known as a screen actress, Tamara’s stage career has spanned over 20 years as an actress, singer, dancer and choreographer, most notably starring on Broadway in the musical RENT. She also has an extensive recording career, having wrote and released 3 albums [2 in her Native language and 1 under her own record label, Mukwa Music], as well as licensing many of her songs to TV shows, films and documentaries.

She is a graduate of the Claude Watson School for the Performing Arts in Toronto where she studied theatre, dance and music throughout its 10-year program. She is completing a degree in Aboriginal Studies and Hebrew Literature at the University of Toronto.

Since the beginning, Tamara has worked with her actress sisters, Jennifer and Sarah, producing, writing and facilitating multi-media workshops for Native Youth. She has traveled all over the world with them, and solo, promoting education, cultural awareness and self-empowerment through the arts.