Jo Vannicola

Jo Vannicola is an Emmy award-winning actor, Canadian Screen Award, Gemini, Genie, and Actra Award nominee. Jo is an author, advocate, and screenwriter. Vannicola is the recipient of the Margaret Trudeau Advocacy Award (2021), The Blaze Award Recipient 2022, and the Leslie Yeo award recipient for advocacy. Vannicola’s memoir, All We Knew but Couldn’t Say, was shortlisted for the Kobo Emerging writer Prize in non-fiction, 2020. Their memoir was featured as one of the Top 21 memoirs to read in summer by Bustle Magazine, Top 40 books by CBC, and was featured on The Next Chapter by Shelagh Rogers, the Toronto Star, the Globe, The Girly Club, and Lambda Literary Reviews.

Some of Jo’s acting credits include: The Expanse (Amazon Prime), Diggstown (CBC), Trashed, Slasher (Netflix), Being Erica (CBC/Netflix), Love and Human Remains (TIFF), and Stardom (Cannes). Equity issues have always been at the forefront of Jo’s work both in their artistic world and in their personal/political life.

Jo also founded the non-profit, Youth Out Loud (2004-2009), which was invested in raising awareness about youth rights and child abuse issues, using art, poetry, and activism. They also founded and chaired OUTACTRA (2017-2022), a committee to elevate and educate around 2SLGBTQ+ issues in the arts, and for actors inside the film industry, with a focus on diversity and inclusion.