Saskia Garel (born December 9, 1969) is a Jamaican-Canadian musician and actress.

Early life and education

Garel was born in Kingston, Jamaica and immigrated to Toronto, Canada at an early age. She graduated from York University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Honours degree and was awarded the Oscar Peterson Award.

Career

During her 4 years at York, she performed in the group Coconut Groove (top 40, Latin and world beat music) and played the Toronto nightclub circuit. It was with Coconut Groove that she was discovered by Richie Mayer and David Bendeth (A&R with BMG Music) and was signed to a record deal as a member of the group Love and Sas. She went on to win two Juno Awards for best R&B recording for "Call My Name" and "Once in a Lifetime" two years in a row off the same album. Love & Sas toured Canada, the US and the UK, had 3 top ten hits on the Canadian charts and had 5 music videos running in high rotation on Much Music. Garson played the role of Mimi in the Canadian production of the musical Rent. While on tour with Rent in Vancouver, she got the part of Jasmine, a singer, on the TV series Nightman, and appeared in ten episodes of the final season. This meant she was filming during the day and performing as Mimi at night.

Personal life

Garel is married to fellow actor Steven Allerick whom she met while playing Nala in The Lion King.

Filmography

Film

Television