37 celebrities you probably didn't know were from B.C.

It’s the B.C. Day long weekend, and that means it’s time to celebrate everything to do with our glorious province. The left-coast (best-coast) has grown some amazing stars and figures, including GRAMMY Award-winning musicians, actors, artists and athletes.

For a province with only 4.6 million people, we sure have a tendency to produce some legendary people.

Here are 37 celebrities either born or bred in B.C. Are you surprised by any of the names on this list?

Bryan Adams

• Age: 55
• Raised in North Vancouver as a teenager and went to Argyle Secondary
• Worked as a dishwasher at North Vancouver’s Tomahawk Restaurant
• His band played at local high school dances around Vancouver

Pamela Anderson

• Age: 47
• Born in Ladysmith, B.C. on Vancouver Island and attended high school in Comox
• Moved to Vancouver in 1988 to work as a fitness instructor
• Was discovered at a BC Lions football game at BC Place when she appeared on the Jumbo-Tron wearing a tightly fitting Labatt’s Beer t-shirt. After becoming a local celebrity from this appearance she posed for Playboy.

Diana Bang

• Age: 34
• Born in Vancouver
• Studied psychology and geography at UBC
• Her breakout role was starring as Sook in 2014’s The Interview with James Franco and Seth Rogan

Michael Bublè

• Age: 39
• Born in Burnaby and attended Cariboo Hill Secondary School
• Worked as a teen as a commercial fisherman with his father
• Wanted to be a Vancouver Canuck when he was younger

Kim Cattrall

• Age: 58
• Born in England but moved to Courtenay, B.C. at age three
• Attended Georges P. Vanier Secondary School
• Moved to New York City after high school where she ultimately landed her career-making role as Samantha Jones on Sex and the City

Sarah Chalke

• Age: 38
• Attended Handsworth Secondary during the ’90s
• Got her start while in high school on Roseanne, where she appeared in 70 episodes
• Played Elliot Reid on Scrubs

Hayden Christensen

• Age: 34
• Born in Vancouver but raised in Thornhill, Ontario
• Starred as Anakin Skywalker Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002) and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

Douglas Coupland

• Age: 53
• Grew up in West Vancouver and attended Sentinel Secondary School and Emily Carr College of Art and Design
• Designed the Digital Orca at Jack Poole Plaza and the Terry Fox Memorial at BC Place
• Best-selling novelist of Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture, Microserfs and JPod

Noel Fisher

• Age: 31
• Best known for his portrayal as Mickey Milkovich on Showtime’s Shameless
• Also starred in the Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Michael J. Fox

• Age: 53
• Lived in Burnaby for part of his childhood and attended Burnaby Central Secondary School
• Starred on TV’s Family Ties for seven seasons and feature film Back to the Future
• His favourite restaurant in Vancouver is Vij’s
• Received an honorary degree from UBC in 2008

David Foster

• Age: 65
• Grew up in Victoria, B.C.
• He remains very connected to Victoria and Vancouver and runs the David Foster Foundation out of the latter
• Produced hits for Whitney Houston, Christina Aguilera, Celine Dion, Madonna, Barbra Streisand, Rod Stewart and others
• He received the Order of British Columbia as well as an honorary doctorate from the University of Victoria in 1995

Nelly Furtado

• Age: 36
• Born in Victoria, B.C. and went to Mount Douglas Secondary
• Her parents were Portugese immigrants to Canada and she grew up performing and singing in Portugese

Joshua Jackson

• Age: 37
• Born in Vancouver, moved to California until age 8 and then moved back to Vancouver
• Kicked out of Kitsilano Secondary School because of ‘attitude’ problems
• Was once arrested at a Canucks game in North Carolina in 2002 and was charged with assault, affray and being intoxicated and disruptive
• Best known for playing Pacey on Dawson’s Creek and Peter Bishop on Fringe

Carly Rae Jepsen

• Age: 29
• Born in Mission and attended Heritage Park Secondary School and the Canadian College of Performing Arts in Victoria
• After he hit single “Call Me Maybe” came out, Justin Bieber promoted the song on his social channels and his manager Scooter Braun signed Jepson onto an international record deal

Taylor Kitsch

• Age: 34
• Born in Kelowna and has also lived in Port Moody and Anmore
• Played junior hockey for the Langley Hornets
• Best known for his breakout role on Friday Night Lights as character Tim Riggins

Diana Krall

• Age: 50
• From Nanaimo and after graduation moved to Boston to study at the Berklee College of Music
• She can often be found shopping for wine at Liberty Wine Merchants on Granville Island or at Crema Cafe in West Vancouver
• Currently lives in West Vancouver with husband Elvis Costello and their children

Kristin Kreuk

• Age: 32
• Born in Vancouver
• Almost studied forensic science or psychology at Simon Fraser University but decided to pursue acting instead
• Best known for her role as Lana Lang on TV’s Smallville

Chad Kroeger

• Age: 40
• Born in Hanna, Alberta
• Started Vancouver-based 604 Records in Vancouver in 2002
• Known for being the front-man for the band Nickleback

Jessica Lowndes

• Age: 26
• Born in Vancouver, attended Pacific Academy in Surrey
• Known for playing Adrianna Tate-Duncan in 90210

Alexander Ludwig

• Age: 23
• Born in West Vancouver and attended Collingwood School
• Known for roles in The Seeker, Lone Survivor and playing Cato in The Hunger Games
• Currently appears in History Channel series Vikings

Shay Mitchell

• Age: 28
• Born in Mississauga, Ontario, moved to West Vancouver with family when she was 10
• Actress known for playing Emily Fields in Pretty Little Liars

Carrie-Ann Moss

• Age: 47
• Born in Burnaby
• Joined Vancouver Children’s Musical Theatre at age 11
• Actress known for playing Trinity in the Matrix Trilogy

Steve Nash

• Age: 41
• Born in Johannesburg, South Africa moved to Victoria when he was 18 months old.
• Attended Mount Douglas Secondary in Saanich, and St. Michaels University.
• Known for playing for the Lakers, Phoenix Suns, and for owning Steve Nash Fitness World

Grace Park

• Age: 41
• Born in LA, moved to Vancouver when she was 22 months old
• Actress known for playing Boomer in Battlestar Galactica, and Kono Kalakaua on Hawaii Five-0
• Lives in Vancouver with husband Phil Kim, who is a real estate developer

Molly Parker

• Age: 43
• Born in Maple Ridge, BC
• Actress known for her role as Jacqueline Sharp on House of Cards, and as Alma Garret in Deadwood
• Represented by Uncle’s agent before studying at Gastown Actors’ Studio

Missy Peregrym

• Age: 33
• Born in Montreal, grew up in Vancouver
• Got her big break in the gymnastics comedy Stick It
• Currently stars as Andy McNally in Rookie Blue

Jason Priestley

• Age: 45
• Born in Vancouver, graduated from Argyle Secondary School in North Vancouver
• Actor and director, known for playing Brandon Walsh on Beverly Hills 90210

Josh Ramsay

• Age: 30
• Born in Vancouver and went to Magee Secondary School before he was kicked out for drug addition and an eating disorder
• Singer, songwriter, producer, recording engineer, actor, and lead singer of Marianas Trench
• Likes Hamburger Mary’s on Davie Street
• Produced Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe” single

Ryan Reynolds

• Age: 38
• Born and raised in Vancouver and attended Kitsilano Secondary and Kwantlen Polytechnic University
• Known for roles in Amityville Horror, The Proposal, Deadpool, X-Men Origins: Wolverine
• Stays with his family whenever he films in town
• Favourite pizza place is Nat’s New York Pizzeria on West Broadway

Emily Bett Rickards

• Age: 24
• Born and raised in Vancouver
• Attended Vancouver Film School
• Known for playing Felicity Smoak on Arrow

Coco Rocha

• Age: 26
• Born in Toronto, grew up in Richmond where she attended Hugh McRoberts Secondary School
• Fashion model, awarded Marie Claire’s Prix d’Excellence in 2010, among others

Seth Rogen

• Age: 33
• Born and raised in Vancouver
• Won Vancouver Amateur Comedy Contest in 1998
• Known for 40 Year Old Virgin, Pineapple Express, Superbad and a hundred other things
• Production company is called Point Grey Productions, named for Point Grey Secondary School, which he attended with writing partner Evan Goldberg

Pablo Schreiber

• Age: 37
• Born in hippie commune in Ymir, British Columbia
• Actor known for playing Nick Sobotka on The Wire, and nominated for Emmy for playing George Mendez in Orange is the New Black
• Narrated the audiobook for “American Psycho”

Cobie Smulders

• Age: 33
• Born in Vancouver
• Known for playing Robin Scherbatsky in How I Met Your Mother, and Maria Hill in the Marvel Cinematic Universe
• After quitting modeling and before pursuing acting, registered at the University of Victoria with thoughts of being a marine biologist
• Smulders’ character Robin wore a Loungo jersey in HIMYM, and the team was featured in a few different gags

Serinda Swan

• Age: 31
• Born in West Vancouver
• Actress, known for playing Erica Reed in Breakout Kings

Ryan Stiles

• Age: 56
• Born in Seattle, moved to Vancouver at the age of 10
• Attended RC Palmer Junior Secondary, and Richmond Senior Secondary, dropped out months shy of graduation
• Frequent performer at Vancouver Theatresports, started stand-up career at Punchlines Comedy Club (now closed)
• Known for Drew Carey Show, Whose Line Is It Anyway?

Eckhart Tolle

• Age: 67
• Born in Lünen, Germany, moved to Vancouver in 1995
• Spiritualist and public speaker
• Author of “The Power of Now” and “A New Earth”