Career
Born in Lancashire, England, Burroughs acted in live theatre at Ontario"s Stratford Festival. Her film credits included The Dead Zone (1983), The Grey Fox (1982), and a voice-over stint in the legendary animated anthology Heavy Metal (1981), while her television-series résumé includes the roles of Mistress Amelia Evans in Anne of Green Gables (1985) and Hetty King in Road to Avonlea (1990).
In 1987, Jackie Burroughs produced, directed, co-wrote, and starred in A Winter Tan, a film based on the letters of Maryse Holder, published in 1979 as the book Give Sorrow Words – Maryse Holder"s Letters from Mexico.
Her first award was the 1969 Canadian Award for best actress, for starring in the non-feature short film Duclima. Burroughs played the voice of The Spirit in 1985"s The Care Bears Movie.
She was perhaps best known to American audiences for her portrayal of the fictional character, Hetty King, in the Canadian Broadcasting Company series Road to Avonlea from 1990 to 1996. The series was based on the works of Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery and produced by Sullivan Entertainment.
She also played Mother Mucca in the television adaptations of Armistead Maupin"s More Tales of the City and Further Tales of the City.
Burroughs again played a mother role in 2003"s Willard. She appeared in the 2006 film The Sentinel. She also appeared in the Smallville season one episode "Hourglass" as the elderly prophetess Cassandra Carver.
Burroughs died at her home in Toronto on 22 September 2010, aged 71, after suffering from stomach cancer.