Marie-Hélène Bellavance is a Canadian artist, actress and dancer.[1] She is most noted for her performance in the 2009 film Vital Signs (Les signes vitaux), for which she won the Borsos Competition award for Best Performance in a Canadian Film at the 2009 Whistler Film Festival.[2]
Bellavance, a double amputee who lost both of her lower legs in childhood,[1] studied fine arts at Montreal's Concordia University.[3] Her artistic practice has centred predominantly around representation of disability, including in visual art, dance and choreography.[4] She is the artistic director of Corpuscule Danse, a dance company built around dancers with disabilities.[5]
In Vital Signs, her debut film performance, she received praise in part for her willingness to appear in a nude scene in which her amputations were not hidden from view.[1]
In 2021 she appeared in Annie Leclair's short documentary film Grounded (Enracinée).[6]