Early life

Born in Rochford, Essex, England, she moved with her family to Ontario, Canada, when she was three years old. She attended North Toronto Collegiate Institute, where she excelled in Environmental Science and Drama. However, when she finished in 1984, she decided to focus her attention on Drama, attending the University of Windsor School of Dramatic Arts in Windsor, Ontario.

Career

After graduation, Tapping continued to study Theatrical Arts while performing in several stage productions. She appeared in several television commercials and played a variety of roles in television and film productions, such as The Outer Limits and The X-Files. She also formed a comedy troupe, the "Random Acts", with collaborators Katherine Jackson and Anne Marie Kerr, in Toronto in the early 1990s.

Tapping is best known for her portrayal of Samantha Carter in the science fiction television series Stargate SG-1, which debuted in 1997. After SG-1 aired its final episode, Tapping reprised the role of Samantha Carter on Stargate Atlantis as the new commander of the Atlantis expedition. In Season 5, however, Tapping's role on the show was reduced to that of "special guest-star" with only occasional appearances because she chose to focus her attention on the development of a new series for Syfy called Sanctuary. The show expanded on an original series of eight webisodes released on the internet in 2007. The bulk of the scenery and characters were entirely green screen and CGI creations. Tapping served as both star and Executive Producer of the show.

Tapping was reportedly working with William Shatner on a 2011 animated webisode series "The Zenoids", written by Alan Dean Foster. Tapping and Shatner voice characters, and Tapping is Executive Producer.

In 2007, she won a Canadian Comedy Award for Best Actress for her role in the short film Breakdown.

On 18 September 2012, she was cast as an angel named Naomi on Season 8 of the TV series Supernatural. She was a recurring character who appeared in seven episodes.

Directing experience

Tapping's first directing experience was during the seventh season of Stargate SG-1 on an episode titled "Resurrection", written by co-star Michael Shanks. She directed the seventh episode of Sanctuary season two titled "Veritas". She has directed three episodes (6, 8 and 10) of Primeval: New World and three episodes (2.12; 3.06; 3.07) of Continuum. Also, she is directing several episodes (5, 6, 9 and 10, until now) of Olympus.

Personal life

Tapping married Alan Kovacs in 1994. As of 2004, she lives with her husband in Vancouver, British Columbia. Tapping has one daughter, Olivia, born on 22 March 2005. She has two living brothers, Richard and Christopher. A third brother, Steven, died in December 2006.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1995	Donor, TheThe Donor	Cassie
1996	What Kind of Mother Are You?	Ingrid Elstad
1997	Booty Call	Dr. Moore
2001	Void, TheThe Void	Prof. Eva Soderstrom
2002	Stuck	Liz
	Life or Something Like It	Carrie Maddox
2005	Engaged to Kill	Detective Burns
2006	Breakdown	Mary Johnson	Short film
2008	Stargate: The Ark of Truth	Lt. Col. Samantha Carter	Video
	Stargate: Continuum	Col. Samantha Carter	Video
2009	Dancing Trees	Josephina Rooney
	Stargate SG-1: Children of the Gods	Capt. Samantha Carter	Video - re-release
2012	Space Milkshake	Valentina
	Random Acts of Romance	Dianne
2014	Kid Cannabis	Teressia Lee Franks	Completed
	Hell in a Handbag	Mother Superior	Post-production

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1995	Forever Knight	Dr. Naomi Ross	Episode: "Near Death"
	Degree of Guilt	Marcy	TV film
	Rent-a-Kid	Mrs. Nicely	TV film
	Net Worth	Colleen Howe	TV film
1996	Flash Forward	Miss Yansouni	Recurring role (6 episodes)
	Side Effects	Dr. Barbara Bertrand	Episode: "Easy Breathing"
	Goosebumps	Mrs. Merton	Episode: "It Came from Beneath the Sink"
	Due South	Audrey McKenna	Episode: "Starman"
	Haunting of Lisa, TheThe Haunting of Lisa	Gina / Angel	TV film
	Kung Fu: The Legend Continues	Annie	Episode: "Shaolin Shot"
	X-Files, TheThe X-Files	Carina Sayles	Episode: "Avatar"
	Golden Will: The Silken Laumann Story	Kathryn Laumann	TV film
	Remembrance	Linda	TV film
	Newsroom, TheThe Newsroom	Lindsay Ward	Episode: "Dinner at Eight"
1997-2007	Stargate SG-1	Captain/Major/Lieutenant Colonel Samantha Carter	Main role (211 episodes)
1998	Outer Limits, TheThe Outer Limits	Cmdr. Kate Girard	Episode: "The Joining"
1999	Millennium	Dr. Cantor	Episode: "Borrowed Time"
2004	Earthsea	Lady Elfarren	TV miniseries
2005-2009	Stargate Atlantis	Lieutenant Colonel/Colonel Samantha Carter	Season 1-3, 5 (Recurring; 5 episodes) Season 4 (Regular role; 14 episodes)
2006	Engaged to Kill	Det. Burns	TV film
2007-2011	Sanctuary	Dr. Helen Magnus	Main role (67 episodes) Also executive producer
2009-2010	Riese: Kingdom Falling	Narrator	Regular role (10 episodes)
	Stargate Universe	Col. Samantha Carter	Episodes: "Air: Part 1" and "Incursion: Part 1"
2012	Taken Back: Finding Haley	Susan	TV film
2012-2013	Supernatural	Naomi	Recurring role (7 episodes)
2013	Motive	Dr. Kate Robbins	Episode: "The One That Got Away"
2015	Killjoys	Dr. Jaeger	Episode: "Kiss Kiss, Bye Bye"

Theatre

• The Wizard of Oz
• The Lion in Winter as "Alais Capet"
• Steel Magnolias - West End Theater
• Look Back in Anger as "Alison" (1986)
• Children of a Lesser God as "Sarah" (1987)
• The Taming of the Shrew as "Bianca" (1988)
• Noises Off
• The Shadow Walkers

Awards and nominations

Tapping has won 6 awards, out of 13 nominations.

Year	Award	Category	For	Result
2000	Leo Award	Best Performance by a Female in a Dramatic Series	Stargate SG-1: "Point of View"	Nominated
2000	Saturn Award	Best Supporting Actress on Television	-	Nominated
2001	Gemini Award	Best Performance by an Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role	Stargate SG-1: "2010"	Nominated
2001	Saturn Award	Best Supporting Actress on Television	-	Nominated
2002	Leo Award	Dramatic Series: Best Lead Performance - Female	Stargate SG-1: "Ascension"	Won
2002	Saturn Award	Best Supporting Actress on Television	-	Nominated
2004	Leo Award	Dramatic Series: Best Direction	Stargate SG-1: "Resurrection"	Nominated
2004	Leo Award	Dramatic Series: Best Lead Performance by a Female	Stargate SG-1: "Grace"	Won
2004	Saturn Award	Best Supporting Actress on Television	-	Won
2005	Leo Award	Dramatic Series: Best Lead Performance by a Female	Stargate SG-1: "Threads"	Won
2007	Canadian Comedy Award	Best Actress (Film)	Breakdown	Won
2009	Constellation Award	Best Female Performance in a 2008 Science Fiction Film, TV Movie, or Mini-Series	Stargate: Continuum	Nominated
2009	Constellation Award	Best Female Performance in a 2008 Science Fiction Television Episode	Sanctuary: "Requiem"	Nominated
2009	Constellation Award	Outstanding Canadian Contribution to Science Fiction Film or Television in 2008	-	Nominated
2009	Leo Award	Lead Performance by a Female in a Feature Length Drama	Stargate: Continuum	Nominated
2009	Leo Award	Dramatic Series: Best Lead Performance by a Female	Sanctuary: "Requiem"	Won
2009	Gemini Award	Best Performance by an Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role	Sanctuary	Nominated
2010	Women of Distinction Awards	Excellence exploration, environmental and cinematic achievements	Sanctuary for Kids	Received
2012	Leo Award	Dramatic Series: Best Lead Performance by a Female	Sanctuary: "Tempus"	Nominated
2012	Jules Verne Award	Excellence exploration, environmental and cinematic achievements	Sanctuary for Kids	Received

[ Source: Wikipedia ]