Acclaimed Actress Sophie Faucher Dies at 68

Sophie Faucher, a beloved star of Quebec theatre, television and film, has died at 68.

The acclaimed actress died Tuesday, leaving behind a decades-long career that made her one of the most recognizable and respected performers in Quebec.

“A great actor of many talents, she left a lasting impression on our collective imagination,” Quebec Premier Christine Fréchette wrote on X, pointing to Faucher’s roles in Le coeur a ses raisons and Indéfendable, as well as her celebrated portrayal of Frida Kahlo in the stage play La Casa Azul.

“As a theatre lover, I can only underscore her contribution to this art form, of which she was one of its great ambassadors,” Fréchette added.

Faucher’s death comes just months after producers of the stage comedy Le duplex announced in early April that she was stepping away from the production for health reasons. The play is scheduled to tour Quebec next summer.

“Sophie Faucher left a profound mark on the cultural landscape in many different ways,” Agence Eugénie Gaillard said Tuesday while announcing her death.

Faucher’s career stretched more than 50 years and began when she was just a child. She made her stage debut at age 8 in L’Oiseau bleu alongside Marc Labrèche.

She later graduated from Montreal’s Conservatoire d’art dramatique in 1978 and launched her television career in the early 1980s with Les fils de la liberté.

Over the years, Faucher appeared in a long list of TV shows, including Un signe de feu, Montréal P.Q., 4 et demi, Virginie, Tohu-Bohu and Le monde de Gabrielle Roy. Her film credits included Ding et Dong, Laurence Anyways and Pays.

She was also a familiar voice to French-speaking audiences. Faucher dubbed dozens of films and lent her voice to American stars including Queen Latifah, Julie Christie and Viola Davis. She also narrated the French-language version of the animated children’s series Caillou.

Faucher came from a deeply artistic family. Her mother, Françoise Faucher, is a French-born actor. Her late father, Jean Faucher, was a stage director and filmmaker. Her brother, François Faucher, is a former sports journalist.

Like her father, Faucher also worked at Radio-Canada, where she co-hosted the ICI TÉLÉ program Les lionnes.

Though she became known for her commanding presence, Faucher once said she had been shy as a child and that acting helped her break through that fear.

“It’s an extraordinary form of therapy. By immersing ourselves in the lives of others, we reveal ourselves to ourselves,” she said in 2019.

One of the defining passions of Faucher’s life and career was Frida Kahlo.

In 2001, she wrote La Casa Azul, a play directed by Robert Lepage that went on to be presented in several countries. In 2012, she created Frida Kahlo – Correspondance.

She also wrote four children’s books about Kahlo. In 2023, she co-wrote the Télé-Québec animated series Frida, c’est moi, as well as the film Hola Frida, which was released last year.

That same year, Faucher portrayed legendary Greek soprano Maria Callas in Une voix pour être aimée: Maria Callas, a production she also co-wrote.

Tributes quickly poured in after news of her death.

Parti Québécois member Catherine Gentilcore called Faucher “one of Quebec culture’s strong and instantly recognizable personalities.”

Charles Milliard, leader of the Quebec Liberal Party, said Faucher “left her mark on Quebec’s artistic scene for several decades.”

Le Diamant, the Quebec City theatre co-founded by Robert Lepage, said it had lost “a dear friend, an ally, a precious gem.”

Author, director and columnist Stéphane Laporte wrote on Facebook that Faucher made life “more beautiful for so many people.”

Producer Martin Leclerc, founder of Productions Martin Leclerc, remembered Faucher as a “masterful artist” and a “great painter of emotions.”

“She gave voice to wounds, shape to triumphs and an unforgettable presence to these deeply scarred women,” Leclerc wrote. “Like them, she lived for art. Like them, she transcended her own story by offering audiences a measure of absolute truth.”