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->''"I like playing smart, savvy, sexy women -- because it's so not me!"''
-->-- '''Amanda Tapping'''

Amanda Tapping (born 28 August 1965 in Rochford, England) is an English-Canadian actress best known for her role as astrophysicist Samantha "Sam" Carter on the long-running sci-fi series ''Series/StargateSG1''. She would reprise the role on ''Series/StargateAtlantis'' and ''Series/StargateUniverse''. Incidentally, Samantha Carter has appeared in more episodes of the ''Stargate'' franchise than any other character.

From 2007 to 2011 she starred as Dr. Helen Magnus on the Creator/{{Syfy}} series ''{{Series/Sanctuary}}'', a show for which she was also executive producer (along with ''Stargate'' alumni Damian Kindler and Martin Wood) and [[DirectedByCastMember occasional director]].

Born in Rochford, Essex, England, she moved to Ontario at age three and excelled in both drama and environmental science, but chose to focus on drama, and graduated from the University of Windsor School of Dramatic Arts. She began her career on television, in series including ''Series/StreetLegal'', ''Series/FlashForward1996'', ''Series/TheXFiles'', and ''Series/DueSouth''.

In 1997 she was cast as Captain Samantha Carter, a theoretical astrophysicist and Air Force officer, in ''Series/StargateSG1''. The role [[StarMakingRole catapulted her to stardom]] and would become iconic among fans of science fiction as Carter proved to be a role model for geeky girls everywhere and one of the Franchise/StargateVerse's most beloved characters. She then reprised the role on ''Series/StargateAtlantis'', but was [[DemotedToExtra Demoted To Recurring Guest Star]] during the show's fifth season so she could focus on the development of ''{{Series/Sanctuary}}''.

After ''{{Series/Sanctuary}}'''s much-lamented cancellation in 2012, she joined the Canadian ''Series/{{Primeval}}'' spinoff ''Primeval: New World'' as a director. Then she was cast in a recurring role as the angel Naomi for the eighth season of the hit series ''Series/{{Supernatural}}''. Never let it be said that Amanda Tapping has problems keeping busy!

She directed an episode of the first season of ''Series/DarkMatter2015'' and the Season 2 opener, but disappointly did not go in front of the camera (this was planned for the latter case, but she was unable to do so as it could not be fitted in with her prep work). She did appear on-screen in ''Series/{{Killjoys}}'' however. Most recently, she has been a director and executive producer on the AlternateHistory series ''Series/MotherlandFortSalem'', where she also voiced the Mother Mycelium in the final scene of the series.

Among other things, she is known for her bright, beaming smile and [[GenkiGirl bubbly personality]], and is one of the most recognizable faces in geekdom today. In fact, she has been called the "Queen of Sci-Fi" and seems to have embraced the title with open arms.

While she is obviously incredibly dedicated to her work, she is also an irrepressible goofball. This tendency is shamelessly enabled by her castmates; Creator/TerylRothery (Janet Fraiser) and Creator/RichardDeanAnderson (Jack O'Neill) were particular enablers on ''Stargate'', and Robin Dunne (Will Zimmerman) seems to have done that job on ''Sanctuary''. She is singlehandedly responsible for the familiar and hilarious [[FanCommunityNicknames Gatehead]] meme about being "... stuck on a glacier with ''[=MacGyver=]!!"'', and in producing said meme endeared herself to sci-fi fans forevermore. She then proceeded to create several more at convention appearances, including "Stargate Barbie" and the "puff and ruffle."

She lives in UsefulNotes/{{Vancouver}}, Canada, with husband Alan Kovacs and daughter Olivia.

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!!Filmography

* ''Series/FlashForward1996'' - Miss Yansouni
* ''Franchise/StargateVerse'' - Samantha "Sam" Carter (and [=RepliCarter=])
** ''Series/StargateSG1''
*** ''Film/StargateTheArkOfTruth''
*** ''Film/StargateContinuum''
** ''Series/StargateAtlantis''
** ''Series/StargateUniverse''
* ''Series/{{Sanctuary}}'' - Dr. Helen Magnus
* ''Film/DancingTrees'' - Josephina Rooney
* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' - Naomi
* ''Series/PackageDeal'' - Gillian
* ''Series/MotherlandFortSalem'' - Mother Mycelium

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!!This actress' roles provide examples of:

* DirectedByCastMember: She has directed the ''SG-1'' season 7 episode "Resurrection" which, incidentally, was written by Michael Shanks). She has also taken more than one spin in the director's chair for ''Sanctuary'' and has since done director-only in ''Series/DarkMatter2015'' and ''Series/MotherlandFortSalem'' (apart from a CreatorCameo in the series finale of the latter).
* IAmNotSpock: She moved decisively to head this off by taking on the role of Dr. Helen Magnus on ''Sanctuary'', who is brilliant and a scientist but is otherwise quite different from Samantha Carter. Time will tell how well this works.
* PlayingAgainstType:, Although she's best known for playing the bookish [[Series/StargateSG1 Samantha Carter]] and [[Series/{{Sanctuary}} Helen Magnus]], she plays a snobbish, [[HardDrinkingPartyGirl alcohol-loving]] lawyer with a [[HairTriggerTemper short fuse]] on ''Series/PackageDeal''.
* StarMakingRole: Sam Carter in ''Series/StargateSG1''.
** (That term is slightly ironic considering [[RememberWhenYouBlewUpASun the trope the character inspired]].)
* WordOfSaintPaul: The finale of ''SG-1'' contains a long TimePassesMontage with little to no dialogue throughout. Several of the actors involved have given their take on what happened -- such as Creator/AmandaTapping and Chris Judge saying they played their parts as if Sam and Teal'c had developed a relationship, and Michael Shanks saying the reason that Vala is crying and being consoled by Daniel in one scene is because she miscarried.

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