Luba Goy - Life and Career

Life and Career

Goy was born in Haltern, Germany to Ukrainian parents and raised in Ottawa. They emigrated to Canada in 1951. She is a graduate of the Glebe Collegiate Institute in Ottawa, Ontario. In 1969 she graduated from the National Theatre School of Canada, then went on to act in theatre productions in Stratford, Ontario. In the early 1980s, she starred (as herself, alongside Billy Van) in an educational series on computers called Bits and Bytes. Produced by TV Ontario, the show was aired by PBS stations in the United States.

Later that decade, she played Lotsa Heart Elephant, Treat Heart Pig and Gentle Heart Lamb in Nelvana's animated Care Bears franchise. As part of the Air Farce team, Goy has won 15 ACTRA awards, a Juno, the MacLean's Honour Roll, and was among the first Canadians to be inducted into the International Humour Hall of Fame. In 1993, Goy and her Air Farce cast members received Honorary Doctor of Law degrees from Brock University. In 1996, Goy received the Outstanding Achievement Award from Women in Film and Television.

She has also done voices for various animated TV series featuring Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors, Babar, AlfTales, My Pet Monster, Sylvanian Families, Tales from the Cryptkeeper, The Rosey and Buddy Show, Rupert, The New Archies, Little Shop and WildC.A.T.S..

Within the Ukrainian Canadian community she occasionally has comedy performances that highlight her Ukrainian heritage. One such example was her involvement in 1999 with the Ukrainian pavilion at Folklorama, a cultural festival in Winnipeg, Manitoba. She speaks Ukrainian fluently. Luba's film roles have included an 18th-century innkeeper in the Ukrainian film Vid'ma (Відьма, Witch), filmed in Kiev.

In 2011, she performed at the Toronto Ukrainian Festival. In May 2012 Luba Goy debuted her one person show LUBA, SIMPLY LUBA at the Berkeley Street Theatre, Toronto.