Born in England, Amanda Tapping moved with her family to Ontario, Canada, when she was three years old. After graduating from the University of Windsor School of Dramatic Arts in Ontario, she continued to study theatrical arts while performing in several stage productions, appearing in several television commercials and guest-starring in a number of television and film productions, including Forever Knight, Goosebumps, Due South, Kung Fu: The Legend Continues, The X-Files and The Newsroom. She also formed a comedy troupe, the “Random Acts”, with collaborators Katherine Jackson and Anne Marie Kerr, in Toronto in the early 1990s.
In 1997, Amanda debuted in her longest lasting, and most iconic role, Major, later Lieutenant Colonel and finally Colonel Samantha Carter, in the beloved science fiction series Stargate SG-1, starring in all ten seasons of the series and the following movies and video game. After SG-1 concluded, Amanda reprised the role on Stargate Atlantis in seasons 4 and 5. Across the later seasons of SG-1, Amanda was also heavily involved in the development of a new series, Sanctuary, which launched as an online series, before being picked up by Syfy. Amanda served as both star, playing Dr. Helen Magnus, and executive producer of the show.
Throughout this time, Amanda continued to recur and guest-star in other shows, including Flash Forward, alongside future Stargate Atlantis co-star Jewel Staite, The Outer Limits, Millennium, Traffic and Earthsea, and films such as Stuck, and Life or Something Like it. She also provided the voice of the Narrator for the miniseries Riese.
In 2012, Amanda featured in the recurring role of Naomi on Supernatural, which she later reprised nearly five years after the character’s apparent death. She continued to guest-star or recur in series and films including Motive, Killjoys, Woodland, Travelers, Motherland: Fort Salem, and Levls.
Of late, Amanda has been spending even more time directing than acting. The first episode she directed, “Resurrection”, featured in season seven of Stargate SG-1 and was written by co-star Michael Shanks. She has directed for Sanctuary, Primeval: New World, Arctic Air, Continuum, Olympus, Dark Matter, Van Helsing, The Magicians, Supernatural, Travelers, Blindspot, The 100, Anne with an E and more. Her recent directorial work includes work on The Flash and Batwoman for DC, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, First Kill, Motherland: Fort Salem, Dead Boy Detectives, Ripple, Murder in a Small Town and Wild Cards.