Djanet Sears is a Canadian playwright, actor and director. She was born in 1959 in England, to a Guyanese father and a Jamaican mother. Sears was raised in England and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Her birth name was Janet ? she added the D when she came across a town called Djanet on a trip to Algeria. Her play Harlem Duet won many Canadian awards, including four Dora Mavor Moore Awards and a Governor General's Award for drama. In addition to her writing, Sears also acts in theatre and film productions. She was also a founding member of Obsidian Theatre, a Toronto theatre company that specializes in African and Caribbean Canadian drama, and is a professor at the University of Toronto. 

January 1st, 1959 in England (Age 65)