Nicola Correia-Damude

For many, Nicola Correia-Damude was best known for her role as the matriarch Maryse Lightwood on the fantasy adventure series "Shadowhunters: The Mortal Instruments" (Freeform, 2016-). Born in Canada in 1981, Correia-Damude took an interest in acting very early, attending Etobicoke School of the Arts, and later the Birmingham Conservatory for Classical Theatre. Her career as a professional actor first began on stage with roles in plays like "Much Ado About Nothing" at the renowned Stratford Shakespeare Festival and "The Women and Albertine in Five Times" at the Shaw Festival.

Eventually branching into on-screen acting as well, Correia-Damude made her TV debut on a 2005 episode of "Stargate SG-1" (Syfy, 1997-2007). Soon, she was appearing as a recurring character on the Canadian TV institution "Degrassi: The Next Generation" (CTV, 2001-2015). Correia-Damude would go on to appear in feature films as well, earning acclaim for her sensitive performance in the independent drama "Margarita" (2012). But complex and substantial roles on TV would continue to draw her to the medium. She played a recurring character on the horror series "The Strain" (FX, 2014-17) before joining the cast of "Shadowhunters" in 2017, and the legal drama "Burden of Truth" (CW, 2018-) in 2018.