Canadian actress Samantha Ferris was born on November 2, 1968 in North Vancouver, British Columbia. Before becoming an actress, some might recognize her as television reporter Janie Ferris, who did reports for a local station in Vancouver, and later in Bellingham, Washington. She began acting in 1998, when she played a guest role in the action series Viper. She then appeared in other shows such as Welcome to Paradox, The Sentinel, Stargate SG-1, Glory Days, Smallville and The L Word.
Ferris made her film debut in 2000, when she played the role of a local anchorwoman in the comedy Screwed. She has since appeared in films such as Along Came a Spider, Blackwoods and Butterfly on a Wheel. However, most of her acting credits were on television; she also managed to get more high-profile television roles. Her first starring role was in the short-lived police drama The Evidence, where she starred opposite Rob Estes, Orlando Jones and Martin Landau. This was followed by a role in the science fiction series The 4400, where she played NTAC director Nina Jarvis. She then took on a role in the hit series Supernatural; she was introduced in the second season as Ellen Harvelle, the mother of Joanna (Alona Tal).
Ferris is also a notable voice actor, having worked on Japanese animation redubs and video games. She did voice work for anime series such as Saber Marionette J, Earth Girl Arjuna and Gundam Wing, and the video game adaptation of CSI.