Gadon started acting at the age of 11 with her first acting role as Julia in an episode of
La Femme Nikita (1998). For the next few years, she took episodic roles in various television series, including Monica in
Are You Afraid of the Dark? (1999), Young Laura Burnham in
Twice in a Lifetime (2000), Catherine Hartman in
Mutant X (2002), Claudia in
Dark Oracle in 2004, Vicki in
Life with Derek (2005), and Tasha Redford in
Flashpoint (2008). She also has a number of
television films to her credit. She was nominated for the
Young Artist Award for Best Ensemble in a TV movie for her first film,
The Other Me (2000), portraying Heather. Other roles include Sarah in
Phantom of the Megaplex (2000), Samantha in
What Girls Learn (2001), Amanda in
Cadet Kelly (2002), Julia Norton in
Code Breakers (2005) and Celeste Mercier in
The Cutting Edge: Chasing the Dream (2008). Gadon had recurring roles in many television series: Zoe Kessler in
The Border (2008–2009), Katie Atkins in
Being Erica (2009), Georgia Bravin in
Happy Town (2010) and Ruby Odgen in
Murdoch Mysteries (2009–2011). She is also behind the voice of the title character in the animated series
Ruby Gloom (2006–2008), Beth in
Total Drama (2007–2011) and Portia in
Friends and Heroes (2007–2009). Gadon was nominated for a
Gemini Award in 2008 for Best Individual or Ensemble Performance in an Animated Program or Series for her work in
Ruby Gloom. In 2005, she filmed for
Where Love Reigns, a promotional film co-starring
Douglas Henshall. Her filmography includes both feature-length and short films. Her first feature film was
Fast Food High (2003) where she portrayed Zoe. She portrayed Margaret in the dark comedy
Siblings, Priscilla in
Charlie Bartlett (2007) and Laura in
Leslie, My Name is Evil (2009). Her short film work includes Haley in
Burgeon and Fade (2007), Julia in
Grange Avenue (2008) and Gabrielle in
Spoliation (2008).
Burgeon and Fade won the Special Jury Award at the WorldFest Houston Festival for original dramatic short film. She also starred in the short
indie film,
The Origin of Teddy Bears, as Madison. In 2011, Gadon starred in
David Cronenberg's Cosmopolis, alongside
Robert Pattinson, as his on-screen wife of 22 days, Elise Shifirin. She played Phillippa in the television adaptation of
Ken Follett’s bestseller
World Without End, an eight-hour event series. She featured in Brandon Cronenberg's debut feature,
Antiviral as Hannah Geist, a mega-star in a sci-fi world where fans pay to be infected with the diseases of the rich and famous. In 2012, she appeared as
Carl Jung's wife
Emma in the David Cronenberg film
A Dangerous Method and in a Canadian short film,
Yellow Fish, alongside
J. Adam Brown. On May 23, 2012 in Cannes,
Birks presented the first Birks Canadian Diamond award to Gadon and Emily Hampshire during
Telefilm Canada's inaugural Tribute To Canadian Talent press event and reception. She played Miss Elizabeth Murray in the 2013 release of the film
Belle. She co-starred in
Denis Villeneuve's
Enemy (2013), based on the
José Saramago book,
The Double (2002), and in
David Cronenberg's
Maps to the Stars (2014), a dark comic look at Hollywood excess. She participated in the CBC "Canada Reads" competition in March 2014. In September 2014, it was announced that she was cast in
Miramax's supernatural
thriller The 9th Life of Louis Drax, along with
Jamie Dornan and
Aaron Paul. The film was released in September 2016. Gadon played Dracula's wife Mirena (and briefly the modern-day
Mina) in the historical action film
Dracula Untold, released in October 2014. Gadon made her directorial debut with an episode of
Reelside, a documentary series, which focused on her collaborative relationship with photographer
Caitlin Cronenberg; the episode premiered on
The Movie Network in Canada June 4, 2015. In 2015, Gadon appeared as
Princess Elizabeth in
A Royal Night Out, a deeply fictionalized account of the future Queen's incognito night on the town, along with her sister
Princess Margaret, on the evening of
VE Day. In 2016, Gadon starred opposite
Logan Lerman in
Indignation, an adaptation of
Philip Roth's 2008
novel of the same title, and opposite
James Franco in
11.22.63, a television mini-series version of
Stephen King's novel of
the same title. In 2017, Gadon played
Victorian era convicted murderess
Grace Marks in the
CBC miniseries Alias Grace, which is based on the
Margaret Atwood novel of the same name. For her performance, she won her second Canadian Screen Award. In 2019, she starred in the
third season of the
HBO anthology series True Detective. She also co-starred with
Hong Chau in the film
American Woman directed by
Semi Chellas. In 2021, she starred in the film
All My Puny Sorrows with
Alison Pill, as two
Mennonite sisters who leave their religious lives behind. Gadon won
Best Supporting Actress in a Canadian Film from the
Vancouver Film Critics Circle Awards for her role in the movie. In September 2022, it was announced that Gadon has signed to direct her first feature film, an adaptation of
Heather O'Neill's 2006 novel
Lullabies for Little Criminals. ==Personal life==