{{Short description|Canadian actress}} '''Elley-Ray Hennessy''' (born 1957 or 1958),<ref name="Xtra">{{Cite web |last=Roche |first=David |date=September 17, 2003 |title=An outrageous original |url=https://xtramagazine.com/culture/an-outrageous-original-43220 |access-date= |website=[[Xtra Magazine]] |language=en-CA |quote=Hennesey, 45, gets plenty of film work (Clutch, Perfectly Normal, Ham And Cheese), does voices for radio and animation (George And Margaret, Care Bears) and teaches voice work as well...As for Hennessy's own sexuality, she solves the issue with one word: "I'm queer." That covers the diversity and intransigence nicely.}}</ref> also formerly known as '''Ellen-Ray Hennessy''', is a Canadian actress, best known for her starring role as prison warden Morgan Dungworth in the web series ''[[Pink Is In]]''.<ref>Victoria Ahearn, [https://playbackonline.ca/2022/04/06/pink-is-in-gets-season-three-greenlight-from-bell-fibe-tv1/ "Pink Is In! gets season three greenlight from Bell Fibe TV1"]. ''[[Playback (magazine)|Playback]]'', April 6, 2022.</ref>
Born and raised in [[Toronto]], [[Ontario]], she studied theatre at the [[University of Windsor]].<ref>Henry Mietkiewicz, "Ellen-Ray is closing in on success . . . one off-beat step after another". ''[[Toronto Star]]'', January 24, 1986.</ref> She first became known as a stage actress in experimental and avant-garde theatre productions in the 1980s, including the role of [[Publius Servilius Casca|Casca]] in an all-female production of ''[[Julius Caesar (play)|Julius Caesar]]'' for Toronto Workshop Productions.<ref>Ray Conlogue, "Caesar's director expects 'a lot of flak'". ''[[The Globe and Mail]]'', January 24, 1986.</ref>
Throughout her career, she has also had regular voice roles in animated films and television series, which she has credited with keeping her bills paid so that she can pursue more offbeat theatrical roles.<ref>Mira Friedlander, "Rebel Ellen-Ray unleashes her 'male energy'". ''[[Toronto Star]]'', September 13, 1991.</ref>
==Personal life== Hennessy is [[queer]].<ref name="Xtra" />
== Filmography ==
=== Television === {| class="wikitable sortable" !Year !Title !Role !Notes |- |1995–1996 |''[[The Neverending Story (TV series)|The NeverEnding Story]]'' |Southern Oracle (voice) |2 episodes<ref name="btva">{{cite web |title=Ellen Ray Hennessy (visual voices guide) |url=https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/Ellen-Ray-Hennessy/ |access-date=May 27, 2026 |publisher=Behind The Voice Actors}} A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.</ref> |- |1997 |''[[Franklin (TV series)|Franklin]]'' |Mrs. Moose (voice) |Episode: "Franklin's New Friend"<ref name="btva" /> |- |1998 |''[[Mythic Warriors]]'' |Gray Sister (voice) |Episode: "Perseus: The Search for Medusa"<ref name="btva" /> |- |1998 |''[[Dumb Bunnies]]'' |Mayor (voice) |Episode: "Can It"<ref name="btva" /> |- |2000–2002 |''[[Pelswick]]'' |Gram-Gram (voice) |26 episodes<ref name="btva" /> |- |2000–2004 |''[[Rolie Polie Olie]]'' |Bonita Bevel (voice) |28 episodes<ref name="btva" /> |- |2005–2006 |''[[Harry and His Bucket Full of Dinosaurs]]'' |Nana, additional voices (voice) |14 episodes<ref name="btva" /> |- |2006 |''[[Spider Riders]]'' |Beerain (voice) |<ref name="btva" /> |- |2006 |''[[Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Friends]]'' |Auntie Figwort (voice) |Episode: "The Prince, the Princess and the Bee"<ref name="btva" /> |- |2007 |''[[Iggy Arbuckle]]'' |Raccoon Mom (voice) |Episode: "Mooseknuckle Unplugged"<ref name="btva" /> |- |2007 |''[[Magi-Nation (TV series)|Magi-Nation]]'' |Sikan, Venkma (voice) |<ref name="btva" /> |- |2010–2013 |''[[Sidekick (TV series)|Sidekick]]'' |Maxum Mom (voice) |3 episodes<ref name="btva" /> |- |2012 |''[[My Big Big Friend]]'' |Mother Hen (voice) |Episode: "The New Farmer"<ref name="btva" /> |- |2015–2016 |''[[Rocket Monkeys]]'' |Gam Gam (voice) |2 episodes<ref name="btva" /> |- |2017–2018 |''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic]]'' |Mistmane, Painted Changeling, Feelings Forum Leader (voice) |4 episodes<ref name="btva" /> |- |2024 |''Dullsville and the Doodleverse'' |Nana, Databodata Workers (voice) |<ref name="btva" /> |}
=== Film === {| class="wikitable sortable" !Year !Title !Role !Notes |- |1999 |''[[Babar: King of the Elephants]]'' |Babar's Mother, Misfortune (voice) |<ref name="btva" /> |- |2003 |''[[Blizzard (2003 film)|Blizzard]]'' |Delphi (voice) |<ref name="btva" /> |- |2005 |''[[Heidi (2005 animated film)|Heidi]]'' |Brigit (voice) |<ref name="btva" /> |- |2005 |''Anne: Journey to Green Gables'' |Mrs. Hammond (voice) |<ref name="btva" /> |- |2015 |''[[Get Squirrely]]'' |Kid Frogs (voice) |<ref name="btva" /> |- |2019 |''[[Ice Princess Lily]]'' |Mythia, Beaver, Ice Ladybug (voice) |<ref name="btva" /> |}
=== Video games === {| class="wikitable sortable" !Year !Title !Role !Notes |- |2021 |''[[Cookie Run: Kingdom]]'' |Oyster Cookie |<ref name="btva" /> |}
== Awards == She has been a four-time [[Dora Mavor Moore Award]] nominee for her stage work, receiving nods in 1995 for ''Strange Little Monsters'',<ref>"And the Dora nominees are ...". ''[[The Globe and Mail]]'', May 13, 1995.</ref> in 1998 for ''The Destruction of Eve'',<ref>"Dora Award nominees". ''[[Toronto Star]]'', May 27, 1998.</ref> in 2000 for ''The Emotionalists'',<ref>Greg Quill, "Mirvish leads awards race ; 25 nominations most ever by single producer". ''[[Toronto Star]]'', May 19, 2000.</ref> and in 2008 for ''Age of Arousal''.<ref>"Complete list of nominees for the 2008 Dora Mavor Moore Awards". [[Canadian Press]], June 5, 2008.</ref>
She received a [[Gemini Award]] nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Dramatic Program at the [[11th Gemini Awards]] in 1997, for her performance of Glen Sorestad's theatrical monologue "One Last Look in the Mirror" for the anthology series ''[[Spoken Art]]''.<ref>"CBC dominates Gemini nominations". [[Canadian Press]], January 14, 1997.</ref>
At the [[12th Canadian Screen Awards]] in 2024, she was nominated for Best Lead Performance in a Web Program or Series for ''[[Pink Is In]]''.
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{IMDb name|0377286}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hennessy, Elley-Ray}} [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:20th-century Canadian actresses]] [[Category:20th-century Canadian LGBTQ people]] [[Category:21st-century Canadian actresses]] [[Category:21st-century Canadian LGBTQ people]] [[Category:Actresses from Toronto]] [[Category:Canadian film actresses]] [[Category:Canadian queer actresses]] [[Category:Canadian stage actresses]] [[Category:Canadian television actresses]] [[Category:Canadian voice actresses]] [[Category:University of Windsor alumni]] [[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]