From high school to the Oscars: Edmonton-area actress headed to LA for role in best picture nominee

A young Alberta actress is getting ready to go to the Oscars — after her first professional acting role.
Kate Hallett, 18, is in the film Women Talking, nominated for Academy Awards in best picture and best adapted screenplay.
Hallett was part of high school productions at Bev Facey Community High in Sherwood Park, and shot Women Talking in Toronto the summer before Grade 12.
"I feel incredibly lucky," she told CTV News Edmonton on Monday.
"It's kind of what everyone really wants to work toward and it's so many people's dreams to get here, and to have it come to me so quickly is just so crazy."
She started acting in Grade 7 and got the Women Talking role on her second audition.
Kate Hallett, an actress in Women Talking, standing next to the movie's poster at the theatre. (Supplied)
Hallett is working on other projects now and auditioning for more roles, and she plans to move to Toronto this summer.
But for now, she's excited to fly to Los Angeles for the Oscars.
"I think it's going to be really fun," she said. "Happy I get to extend this adventure a little bit longer."
The Oscars are on Sunday at 6 p.m. MT on CTV.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'I'm a Canadian': MP named in foreign interference report speaks out, refutes claims
The Liberal MP who allegedly benefitted from Chinese election interference is speaking out against the report, categorically stating the foreign government did not help him in his nomination campaign.

Uber says Ottawa has the worst passengers in Canada
According to new data released by Uber on Tuesday, Ottawa has the worst average rider rating in the country, followed by Toronto and Montreal.
Researchers have created a way to cloak artwork so that it can’t be used to train AI
Researchers at the University of Chicago have made a tool called Glaze which, once applied to a piece of artwork, means that artwork can’t be read and reproduced by AI tools that scrape art online to replicate their style.
So many doctors are being driven away by Idaho abortion ban that this hospital can’t deliver babies anymore
An Idaho hospital has announced that it will no longer be able to deliver babies because the state’s near-total abortion ban — one of the most extreme in the U.S. — has driven so many doctors away.
'A very, very difficult odour': Senate adjourns early after foul smell in the building disrupts proceedings
The Senate adjourned early on Tuesday afternoon after a foul smell in the building caused headaches in the chamber and disrupted proceedings.
Nordstrom liquidation sales underwhelm Canadians as most items marked down 5 per cent
The first day of Nordstrom's liquidation sale began on Tuesday, but some shoppers walked away underwhelmed, as most items were only marked down five per cent.
Second body recovered from Old Montreal building destroyed by fire
Montreal police confirmed Tuesday evening that a second body has been recovered from the building in Old Montreal that was destroyed by a fire last week.
Trump's potential indictment caps decades of legal scrutiny
For 40 years, former President Donald Trump has navigated countless legal investigations without ever facing criminal charges. That record may soon come to an end.
Via Rail apologizes after Muslim man told not to pray at Ottawa train station
Via Rail is apologizing after a Muslim man was told he couldn't pray at the Ottawa train station.