Journalist, educator and children’s television host Nerene Virgin is being remembered as a trailblazer for Black women in Canadian media. Virgin passed away Monday in a Burlington, ON hospital. She was 77.
Starting out as a teacher before moving into acting, Virgin is best-known to a generation of ’80s kids for her role as “Jodie” on TVO’s Today’s Special from 1981-87, which also aired on Nickelodeon in the U.S. She was also featured on several episodes of Polkadot Door.
“Today’s Special was an internationally acclaimed series that Nerene called her ‘most cherished and important professional experience,'” the Ontario public broadcaster said in a statement released Friday. “Nerene achieved remarkable success, captivating audiences with her versatile performances that showcased both depth and authenticity. She has left an indelible mark on many who grew up watching the show and on everyone she encountered and who had the privilege of working with her.”
Other acting roles included recurring parts on The Littlest Hobo, Night Heat and Ramona, among other series and feature film work.
Virgin went on to work as a weather host and community reporter with CBC Ottawa in the late 1980s, hosted CFTO current affairs show Eye on Toronto, and by the mid-1990s was helming daily national current affairs show Coast to Coast for CBC Newsworld in Calgary. She eventually returned to Toronto as the launch anchor for national weekend newscast Saturday Report and then anchored for Newsworld International, until its dismantling in 2005.
After leaving the CBC, she completed ESL (English as a Second Language) training and taught in China, in addition to continuing her anti-racism advocacy.
Virgin was named one of Canada’s 100 Accomplished Black Canadian Women in 2016, with her tribute saying Virgin was guided by words her mother instilled in her as a child: “You come into this world owning your dignity and decency and you will leave with those traits intact unless you forfeit them along the way.”
“When few Black women were regularly seen on Canadian television, Nerene splintered barriers, railed against prejudice and stereotypes, plotting a course for others,” it continued.
“Nerene persevered, spurred by her mother’s words ‘Pick yourself up, dust yourself off and get back out there.'”
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