Lisa Ryder
Lisa Ryder (born 26 October 1970) is a Canadian actress, who portrayed the role of Beka Valentine on the science fiction television series Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda.
Ryder was born in Edmonton, Alberta and attended the University of Toronto, where she began acting. She formed a local theatre group, Bald Ego Productions, in Toronto after graduation and landed her first film and television roles in the mid-1990s (such as a cameo in Babylon 5). She starred in many theater productions, including "Put Me Away," a one-woman show she wrote herself. She gained a following as Detective Tracy Vetter on the final season of the science fiction drama Forever Knight in 1995-1996, and was cast on the syndicated science-fiction series Andromeda in 2000; the series ended in 2005 after 110 episodes. She also co-starred, as android Kay-Em 14 in the 2001 movie Jason X, starring Andromeda alumnus Lexa Doig (notable is the role reversal).
Ryder guest-starred in Gene Roddenberry's Earth: Final Conflict, Total Recall 2070, Kung Fu: The Legend Continues, Wind at My Back, and Psi Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal. She also had a recurring role on The Newsroom.
Her other movie roles include the critically acclaimed Canadian indie film Stolen Heart, the thriller Blackheart, and the short films Strands and Lemon. She also wrote, produced, and starred in the film SF Seeks, featuring Michael Shanks, Gordon Michael Woolvett, Keith Hamilton Cobb and Lexa Doig. She has also appeared in a television advert for Cheer laundry detergent in the late '80s/early '90s.