Academic actress and performer Viola Léger died on Saturday at the age of 92.
His death was announced on Facebook by his publicist, Carol Doucet.
She retired from public life in January 2017 after suffering a stroke.
Born in 1930, one of Canada’s greatest artists, he was known as an actress and performer, particularly after playing the character of Antonine Maillet’s La Sagouine.
Viola Léger also served in the Senate of Canada from 2001 to 2006 after championing the minority cause.
Prior to that, she taught high school literature and drama for 15 years.
In 1985, Ms. Léger founded her own theater company, Compagnie Viola Léger, of which she was artistic director until 2008.
Viola Lightweight has received numerous awards including the Order of Canada, the New Brunswick Excellence in the Arts Award and the Order of New Brunswick.
In 2019, a school in Ontario was named after him, Viola-Léger Elementary School in Bowmanville.
In response to her death, Antonine Maillet said, “She was always one of my best friends and certainly the greatest actress Acadia has ever known,” the publication read.