Age: 54
female
Stefany was born and raised in North Vancouver BC. She is the only daughter of Squamish Nation hereditary Chief Joe Mathias and Janice Antoine, the principal of the Coldwater School in Merritt, BC. Her love of the arts was ignited in her as a young child because her mom brought her to the theatre for children and her dad to see movies of all kinds. Not only did they both encourage her acting they also supported her love of singing, dance, and writing. Stefany graduated from the University of British Columbia theatre program and continued in Theater until she was noticed by Chris Haddock who cast her in his acclaimed TV series "DaVinci's Inquest," where she played a recurring role. She then went on to appear in "Da Vinci City Hall", "The Collector" and several independent feature-length and short films. She also attended the Vancouver Film School for film production and directing. Stefany splits her time between Los Angeles and British Columbia. When she was 7 years old, she was cast in the play Little Mermaid (based on Hans Christian Anderson's book) which was aired on the local cable network in North Vancouver. Although she did not win the coveted role of the Little Mermaid, she was cast as the evil Sea Witch and thus began her love affair with acting. She danced for 12 years as she was building her acting career, until she injured her shoulder. Stefany now carries the title of hereditary Chief with the Squamish Nation after the passing of her father on March 10th, 2000. She is one of 16 hereditary chiefs.
Pop singer Avery Fox has become a national joke after posing scantily clad on the cover of Rolling Stone in a feather warbonnet. What was meant to be a statement of her success as a Native American singer has turned her into a social pariah and dubbed her a fake. With threats coming from every direction and her career at a standstill, she escapes to her estranged grandmother Lottie's ranch in Oklahoma. Living on the rez is new to Avery--not only does she have to work in the blazing summer heat to earn her keep, but the man who runs Lottie's horse ranch despises her and wants her gone. Red Fox Ranch has been home to Lucas Iron Eyes since he was sixteen years old. He has lived by three rules to keep himself out of trouble: 1) preserve the culture, 2) respect the horses, and 3) stick to himself. When he is tasked with picking up Lottie's granddaughter at the bus station, the last person he expected to see is the Avery Fox. Lucas can't stand what she represents, but when he's forced to work with her on the ranch, he can't get her out of his sight--or his head. He reminds himself to keep to his rules, especially after he finds out the ranch is under threat of being shut down. It's clear Avery doesn't belong here, but they form a tentative truce and make a deal: Avery will help raise funds to save the ranch, and in exchange, Lucas will show her what it really means to be an Indian. It's purely transactional, absolutely no horsing around...but where's the fun in that?
