Canadian actress Megan Follows spoke at L.M. Montgomery Institute conference
Canadian actress, producer, and director Megan Follows, known worldwide for her role as the fictional character “Anne Shirley” in the 1985 Canadian television miniseries Anne of Green Gables and its two sequels, gave a keynote address during the L.M. Montgomery Institute’s biennial conference, which was held at UPEI from June 24 to 28.
Close to 1,500 people attended the event in person and virtually to hear Follows speak about her experience as a young actress playing the iconic red-haired orphan created by Island author L.M. Montgomery in the early 1900s and the impact it had on her life at the time and long after.
In her presentation titled “Anne of Everywhere: How A Redheaded Girl from PEI Became Canada’s Greatest Cultural Ambassador and Changed my Life Forever,” Follows said that being cast as Anne was transformative.
“Some describe Anne as delightful, full of wonder. When I first encountered Anne, I saw the fire. I saw an iconoclast—a person who was constitutionally incapable of changing herself to meet the expectations for young women at the time. I saw myself.”
Follows said that she is so proud of what she achieved. Like Anne, who was on trial when she first arrived at Green Gables, she had to prove herself to many veterans who were skeptical about the miniseries, which turned out to be one of the highest-rated television shows in the history of the CBC.
After the miniseries ended, she moved on in her career as an actress and eventually as a producer and director.
“When I reflect on my career, I am so proud as a woman…I got to be cast in roles based on the works of phenomenal women—Margaret Lawrence, Alice Munro, Carol Churchill, Marsha Norman, Lucy Maud Montgomery.”
Eventually, she found herself being pulled back into the world of L.M. Montgomery. She narrated an audiobook version of Emily of New Moon for Audible in 2021 and directed one of Anne of Green Gables in 2023, again for Audible.
She is currently working on a documentary about L.M. Montgomery. While at the conference, she interviewed Montgomery scholars and fans and filmed at sites on PEI that are connected to the author’s life.
