# Anna Hopkins
**Anna Hopkins** (born 1987) is a Canadian actress, screenwriter, and director from Montreal, Quebec, known for television roles in *[Defiance](https://www.edgepedia.org/defiance-tv-series)*, *Arrow*, *The Flash*, *Shadowhunters*, and *The Expanse*, and for her feature film debut in *Barney's Version* opposite [Paul Giamatti](https://www.edgepedia.org/paul-giamatti).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1965525/bio/) She works in both English and French.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1965525/bio/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1987, Montreal, Quebec, Canada[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1965525/bio/) |
| Parents | Visual artist Tom Hopkins and Rita Duris[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1965525/bio/) |
| Film debut | *Barney's Version*, opposite Paul Giamatti[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1965525/bio/) |
| Signature TV roles | Jessica "Berlin" Rainer in *Defiance* (2014–2015); Samantha Clayton in *Arrow* (2014–2017) and *The Flash* (2014–2015); Lilith in *Shadowhunters* (2018–2019); Monica Stuart in *The Expanse*[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1965525/bio/) • [5](https://www.edna.cz/herci/anna-hopkins/) • [4](https://www.tvline.com/gallery/anna-hopkins-photos-arrow-shadowhunters-defiance/) |
| Recognition | Teen Choice Award nomination for Choice TV Villain for *Shadowhunters*[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1965525/bio/) |
| Behind the camera | Actor, director, producer, and writer of *The Give and Take* (2018); short films screened at TIFF and the Austin Film Festival[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/anna_hopkins) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1965525/bio/) |
| Languages | Fluent in French and English, working in both languages[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1965525/bio/) |
## Background
Hopkins was born in Montreal to artists Tom Hopkins, a Canadian visual artist, and Rita Duris. She is of Jewish Romanian and Hungarian descent on her mother's side and Scottish and Welsh descent on her father's side.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1965525/bio/) Before acting she trained intensively in hip-hop dance, and later studied at [Concordia University](https://www.edgepedia.org/concordia-university) and the Paris Institute of Political Studies.[5](https://www.edna.cz/herci/anna-hopkins/) Her bilingual upbringing in Montreal's francophone and anglophone environments positioned her for productions shot in both languages in Canada and internationally.[2](https://www.nrmagazine.com/cinema/people/99416/anna-hopkins) She divides her time between Los Angeles and Toronto.[6](https://www.themoviedb.org/person/208539-anna-hopkins?language=en-US)
## Television career
Her early screen work came in mid-2000s Canadian television. In 2005 she played Katerina in the four-episode miniseries *Human Trafficking*, a thriller about human trafficking led by [Donald Sutherland](https://www.edgepedia.org/donald-sutherland) and [Mira Sorvino](https://www.edgepedia.org/mira-sorvino); Hopkins described her character as a young Romanian woman who is trafficked and survives by helping her traffickers recruit victims.[2](https://www.nrmagazine.com/cinema/people/99416/anna-hopkins) • [4](https://www.tvline.com/gallery/anna-hopkins-photos-arrow-shadowhunters-defiance/) She followed this with roles in the telefilm *Circle of Friends* (2006, as Lesley Wilson), the miniseries *Killer Wave* (2007, as Mel), and the telefilm *Too Young to Marry* (2007, as Sophie).[2](https://www.nrmagazine.com/cinema/people/99416/anna-hopkins) • [3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/anna_hopkins)
**Genre and genre-adjacent series.** Hopkins became a recurring presence in North American genre television. She played Jessica "Berlin" Rainer in the Syfy series *Defiance* across 2014 and 2015.[5](https://www.edna.cz/herci/anna-hopkins/) In the [Arrowverse](https://www.edgepedia.org/arrowverse) she played Samantha Clayton in *Arrow* from 2014 to 2017 and in *[The Flash](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-flash-2014-tv-series)* from 2014 to 2015.[5](https://www.edna.cz/herci/anna-hopkins/) Her role as the demon Lilith in Freeform's *Shadowhunters* (2018–2019) earned her a Teen Choice Award nomination for Choice TV Villain.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1965525/bio/) • [5](https://www.edna.cz/herci/anna-hopkins/)
In Season 3 of *The Expanse* she played Monica Stuart, a documentary filmmaker. The role overlapped with her *Shadowhunters* shooting schedule; she has described a scheduling mishap in which Lilith's prosthetic fingernails had to be unglued overnight by a nail technician called in at about 5 a.m. before a *The Expanse* call the next morning.[4](https://www.tvline.com/gallery/anna-hopkins-photos-arrow-shadowhunters-defiance/) In the Canadian drama *[Bad Blood](https://www.edgepedia.org/bad-blood-tv-series)*, she played Teresa Langana, a crime scion from Calabria who arrives with her twin brother to claim a share of the Montreal drug trade; she developed the character's accent, Italian with a touch of French, with a dialect coach.[4](https://www.tvline.com/gallery/anna-hopkins-photos-arrow-shadowhunters-defiance/)
Her later television and film credits include *Transplant*, *Pretty Hard Cases*, *Letterkenny*, *V/H/S/94* (2021, as Holly Marciano), and the 2023 true-crime film *Stolen Baby: The Murder of Heidi Broussard*, in which she played the title role.[7](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/anna-hopkins/credits/3000326194/) • [3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/anna_hopkins) On Rotten Tomatoes, *V/H/S/94* is her highest-rated film at 90 percent with critics, and *After the Ball* (2015) her lowest at 27 percent.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/anna_hopkins)
## Film work and writing
Hopkins's feature debut was *Barney's Version*, opposite Paul Giamatti, which she credits with launching her television career.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1965525/bio/) Other film roles include Madeleine in *It Was You Charlie* (2013), a voice role as Helen in *[The Grand Seduction](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-grand-seduction)* (2013), Maxine in *Jean of the Joneses* (2016), and Maya in *Red Rover* (2018).[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/anna_hopkins)
**Writing and directing.** On the 2018 film *The Give and Take* she is credited as actor, director, producer, and writer.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/anna_hopkins) Her short films have played at festivals including the [Toronto International Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/toronto-international-film-festival) and the Austin Film Festival, and her original screenplays have been optioned by [NBCUniversal](https://www.edgepedia.org/nbcuniversal) and New Metric Media.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1965525/bio/)
## Trivia
On *White House Down* she worked as an off-camera actor for the telephone scenes of [Jamie Foxx](https://www.edgepedia.org/jamie-foxx) and [Channing Tatum](https://www.edgepedia.org/channing-tatum). When the director asked her to invent a numerical code the two characters had to recite, she split her own phone number in two and gave one half to each actor; both halves remain in the finished film.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1965525/bio/)
## References
1. [Anna Hopkins – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1965525/bio/)
2. [Anna Hopkins : biographie, films et séries, crédits, Nrmagazine](https://www.nrmagazine.com/cinema/people/99416/anna-hopkins)
3. [Anna Hopkins Movies & TV Shows List, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/anna_hopkins)
4. [Anna Hopkins Photos: 'Shadowhunters' 'Arrow' 'Defiance' And More, TVLine](https://www.tvline.com/gallery/anna-hopkins-photos-arrow-shadowhunters-defiance/)
5. [Anna Hopkins, Edna.cz](https://www.edna.cz/herci/anna-hopkins/)
6. [Anna Hopkins, The Movie Database (TMDB)](https://www.themoviedb.org/person/208539-anna-hopkins?language=en-US)
7. [Anna Hopkins List of Movies and TV Shows, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/anna-hopkins/credits/3000326194/)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › Canadian actors › Surnames G to I*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license