Born and raised in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, Sandra Oh started ballet at the age of four and starred in her first play "The Canada Goose" at the age of ten (she played the "The Wizard of Woe", and very well). She remained heavily involved in theatre through high school, in drama courses as well as in school productions. She also shone at the High School Improv Games, a city wide competition. Of particular note, she was noticed by the Improv Games organizers and was asked to join the student improv troupe "Skit Row High" which created and wrote original works performed at the National Arts Centre.

In 1988, after a phenomenal performance in the Improv Games, the Sir Robert Borden High School team (definitely the underdog of the games) surged ahead of competitors to take second place. Sandra, in her excitement at receiving the prize, broke the trophy as she yanked it out of the hands of the games official.
(Sandra says that she did not break the trophy, just cracked it. This story is now legend though so who are we to alter that?)

Sandra's interests extend well beyond the stage. She was an Honour Roll student and was consistently involved with the Students' Council. She was also a member of the volleyball and cross-country skiing teams. Sandra was voted "Head Girl" (co-president) of Sir Robert Borden H.S. in her senior year. That was also the year she started B.A.S.E. (Borden Active Students for the Environment).

Sandra started working professionally at the age of 15 in television, theatre and commercials. After three years at the prestigious National Theatre School of Canada, she beat out more than 1000 other hopefuls and landed the coveted title role in the CBC television film The Diary of Evelyn Lau. The film was based on the true story of a tortured poet who ran away from home at 14 and ended up a drug addict and prostitute on the streets of Vancouver. Her performance brought her a Gemini (Canada's Emmy) nomination for Best Actress and the 1994 Cannes FIPA d'Or for Best Actress.

Sandra impressed the French press and audiences after winning her award by holding her interviews in French. Yup, she's fully bilingual!

Sandra won her first Genie (Canada's Oscar) a year later for her leading role in Double Happiness, a bittersweet coming-of-age story about a young Chinese-Canadian woman -- a performance that brought her much acclaim and secured her place as one of Canada's rising young film stars.

She moved to Los Angeles in 1996 to begin the first of seven seasons as Rita Wu, the smart and sassy assistant on the HBO comedy series Arli$$, for which she won the final Cable Ace award for Best Actress in a Comedy.

On the big screen, Sandra has been seen in both comedic and dramatic roles.

Her most recent film was the critically acclaimed film Sideways. in which she played Stephanie, a wine pour girl at a California winery. The film was nominated for 5 Academy Awards and won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Despite the statements about Merlot in the film, Sandra likes the wine. In fact, she appreciates any good wine.

Other recent films include Rick, Hard Candy and Wilby Wonderful.

Of special note, Sandra co-starred in Last Night a Canadian film about the end of the world, a performance which brought her a second Genie award for Best Actress in 1999. She also appeared in Michael Radford's Dancing at the Blue Iguana. Sandra had a starring role in the film that gives a bleak and raw view of life in a strip club in L.A. Her improv background served her well as the film was improvised by the actors and her performance won her Best Performance at the Milan Film Festival in 2001.

Future films to watch for include: "Cake" with Heather Graham (Austin Powers) and Sarah Chaulke (Scrubs); "3 Needles" in which she plays a nun helping AIDS patients in South Africa; an as yet untitled film with Robin Wright Penn; "The Nightlistener", playing Anna alongside Robin Williams.

In television -- Sandra now appears weekly on "Grey's Anatomy" as Cristina Yang, a young medical intern learning the ropes at Seattle Grace Hospital. The show has received great audience reaction, prompting ABC to an early pick-up of the show for the September 2005 season. Sandra has also received an Emmy nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a drama series for her portrayal of Cristina.

Along with her regular starring role on Arli$$ - she has been lauded for her work on HBO's Six Feet Under, Showtime's Further Tales of the City, and her recurring role on Judging Amy.

Never straying far from her theatre roots, in recent years Sandra has also starred in the world premieres of Jessica Hagedorn's Dogeaters at the La Jolla Playhouse and Diana Son's Stop Kiss at Joseph Papp's Public Theatre in New York, a role for which she won a Theatre World award. She also joined The Vagina Monologues New York production family in August/September 2001. Sandra encourages everyone to support their local theatres.

Sandra lives in Los Angeles.