My Story
THE JOURNEY TO NOW
Having worked in Hollywood and Canada with many of the greats―including Sir Anthony Hopkins, Michael Douglas, Alan Arkin, Gwyneth Paltrow, Viggo Mortensen, Matthew Broderick; John Neville and John Candy, Ivan Reitman, Dan Ayckroyd, Gilda Radner, and Eugene Levy - Monica has moved seamlessly from stage and screen to page and producer’s chair.
Beginning as an actress, Monica appeared in many groundbreaking theatre productions including The Club at Toronto Workshop Productions, Stonehenge Trilogy and Winter Offensive at Factory Theatre and The Seahorse at Toronto Free Theatre. She also appeared in Tarragon Theatre’s The Stag King, The Love Mouse at the Poor Alex, and Possum Playat the Mark Taper Forum. Monica quickly established herself as a comedic mainstay in Canadian television, appearing as a guest in numerous episodics and sketch comedy/variety programs (King of Kensington, Degrassi, Funny Farm, Bizarre, SCTV) but also hosting her own shows ― “Evening Out”, “Sweet City Woman”, “Any Woman Can”, and “There’s Got to Be a Better Way”.
A move to Los Angeles brought guest shots on numerous shows including “Murder She Wrote”, “Who’s the Boss”, “E.R.”and “The X-Files”, but it also opened doors to a bigger writing career. She wrote for Helen Ready, Evening At the Improv, and Who’s The Boss. She also penned the beloved and timeless All Dogs Go To Heaven, and the international fan favorite Ms Matched for the Hallmark Channel. She became a producer with credits including “Hunger Point”, starring Christina Hendricks and Barbara Hershey and “The Party Never Stops”, headlined by Nancy Travis. And she has had several feature scripts under studio option.
The next chapter in Monica’s career came about with a family inspired return to Canada. Over the course of a long, cold Toronto winter (and spring and into the summer!) Monica wrote and then performed a very successful one-woman show, “Sex, Pies & a Few White Lies” which premiered in Toronto before touring to California, and eventually spawned her funny and deeply moving 2014 memoir/anti-diet book, Getting Waisted (A Survival Guide to Being fat in a Society That Loves Thin.) Buoyed by the overwhelming critical praise for her work, in 2015 she released her second book, the delightful OMG! How Children See God, based on interviews she conducted with children on two continents. Her third book, published in 2021, focused on the hot-button topic of money. Oops! I Forgot to Save Money married her personal adventures in finance to tales of wisdom and woe from a large sampling of women from all walks of life. It garnered critical praise as well as hitting a nerve that resonated with readers. Her humour and heart is always evident; “Everyone wants us to change. I want us to make the most out of who we already are.”
In addition to Monica's many creative endeavors, she serves as an advisory board member for Humber College's prestigious Television Writing and Producing Program. She is also the co-host of a regular podcast, “How's That Working For You? with The Shrink and the Smarty Pants.
