The actress attended York University in Toronto, where she studied kinesiology and graduated summa cum laude. She also worked in their Human Performance Lab as a performance tester, where she got to test professional athletes from teams like the Toronto Maple Leafs and the San Jose Sharks.  

She also collaborated with one of her former professors to write a book about bodybuilding and, after graduating from York, she contributed to MuscleMag. 

It wasn't until the magazine's publisher, Robert Kennedy, encouraged her to get into modeling and acting that she started taking classes at the Actors Network in Toronto. She then landed her very first role in 1997 as Jackie Janczyk in Once a Thief: Brother Against Brother. 

Aside from her acting credits, the 48-year-old star also has a blue belt in Shotokan karate and she loves kickboxing. While doing her Oxygen Covergirl shoot, she shared: "I ran track for a decade and a half, I did kickboxing and weight training, and now I've moved into things like salsa dancing and hiking and volleyball, and I've been able to keep it fresh and fun."