Mariah Owen grew up between Toronto and Los Angeles, and started modelling at two days of age. This allowed her to be exposed to the magical world of entertainment from many angles. Mariah was seven when she first walked into Second City and quickly realized she liked making people laugh. By 10, she loved a team atmosphere, and quickly excelled at Ski Racing, Tumbling and Cheerleading, and was excited to represent Canada at international competitions. At 16, she became a World Champion as a member of Team Canada Cheerleading and graduated early from High School. She started at the University of Toronto and then LA, at Strasberg, Meindl, and UCLA.
Mariah’s desire to create grew and she started her own Toronto based, production company at the age of 21, and produced her first feature film that same year, MFA which premiered at SXSW and stars Francesca Eastwood. Since then she has gone on to produce award-winning and conversation starter films such as Plagued and Daddy’s Playground, digital content and commercials, festivals and events, music videos for Canadian stars like Common Deer and Jeremie Albino, the awards show for Buffer Festival and more. It’s hard to keep up!
She is also the executive producer of TO Webfest which has provided volunteer opportunities for many local students. She continues to amaze those around her and leaves us wondering what she will do next!
Mariah continues to inspire others through her strong belief of inclusion, kindness, and hard work. We are very proud of her. She is a great friend, always the first to help and can make anybody laugh.
-written by her mom Suzie
What ‘hood are you in?
I’m in King West! A creative and effervescent community that inspires me every day! I started taking classes at The Second City (located in the heart of King West) when I was seven years old, so I would walk around the neighbourhood and dream of one day living there. It’s really special to be able to live, work and play in a community that I have grown as both a person and an artist in.
What do you do?
I’m an award-winning filmmaker and actress. I founded GTE Productions, a boutique production company for TV/Film in 2016 when I was 21 years old. I produce, write, direct and act in TV, Film and Digital Media. So basically, I get to play professional dress-up and tell stories. I absolutely love it. It’s a lot of work but it is worth it 🙂
What are you currently working on?
I’m currently developing my first feature film as a writer titled Grace, getting ready to direct and star in The Brunch Club which I also wrote, developing the feature film version of Daddy’s Playground and starting a new film festival. I just wrapped a film as an actor that I’m excited about too :).
Where can we find your work?
Pretty much anywhere you can find film, TV and digital media legally!
Some special ones:
1). Daddy’s Playground premiered on NoBudge on Oct 9th!
2). M.F.A. is available on iTunes, Amazon and Apple TV.
3). Dance Together premiered on Super Channel’s Heart and Home (CAN) and Amazon (USA) on Oct 18th.
4). All episodes of web can be found on Bell Media’s Fine TV1, Sony India or YouTube in Canada.
5). All music videos for Common Deer, Susie Fayth and Jeremie Albino can be found online.
