Elisapie

Elisapie Isaac (also known simply as Elisapie; syllabics: ; born 1977) is a Canadian Inuk musician, broadcaster, documentary filmmaker, activist, and actress. She spent her childhood in Salluit, Nunavik, Quebec, and moved to Montreal in 1999 to pursue communication studies in order to become a journalist.

Biography Elisapie was born in Moose Factory, Ontario, to an Inuk mother and a father from Newfoundland. She was adopted at birth and raised by Anglican parents in Salluit, QC who were distant relatives of her biological mother, Eva Audlaluk, a host at the local branch of a northern radio network.

She grew up listening to Christian hymns translated into Inuktitut. Her music aspirations led her to move to Montreal in her early 20s, where she formed the musical duo Taima with the instrumentalist Alain Auger. The band's sole album, Taima, won the Juno Award for Aboriginal Recording of the Year in 2005.

In 2010, Isaac's first solo album, There Will Be Stars, was released by Pheromone Recordings. She garnered a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Original Song at the 2nd Canadian Screen Awards for her song "Far Away", which appeared in the film The Legend of Sarila. At the Juno Awards of 2019, her album The Ballad of the Runaway Girl was nominated for the Indigenous Music Album of the Year. In July 2019, the album was shortlisted for the 2019 Polaris Music Prize. This album again contained lyrics in English, French, and Inuktitut.

Isaac has an extensive background in media production as well. When asked about her work in this medium in relation to her music, she has stated "I really believe that communication and radio was really a place for me to express my inner creativity, and I love that medium. And it has helped me to be a little more aware, especially when I have to be doing interviews and have a larger vision of my work than just the artiste point of view".

In 2021, Isaac was announced to have landed her first onscreen acting role, in C.S. Roy's forthcoming augmented reality film, V F C. She also had a part in the television crime drama series Motel Paradis in 2022.

In 2023, she released the album Inuktitut, consisting of ten Inuktitut-language covers of classic pop and rock songs. and Best Adult Alternative Album at the Juno Awards of 2025. The album was a shortlisted finalist for the 2024 Polaris Music Prize. It is included in the 2011 Inuit film anthology Unikkausivut: Sharing Our Stories.

In 2016, she had an acting role in Marc Séguin's film Stealing Alice. In 2026, Isaac and Séguin collaborated on the short animated film Piluk, which is slated to premiere at the 79th Locarno Film Festival.

Personal life Isaac dated actor Patrice Robitaille from 2003 to 2011. In 2006, she gave birth to a daughter. She also has a son, born in 2014. In February 2018, she revealed that she was pregnant with her third child, a boy.

Awards and nominations

Discography with Taima Taima (2004)

Solo There Will Be Stars (2010) Travelling Love (2012) The Ballad of the Runaway Girl (2018) Eaux turbulentes (2020) – television soundtrack, with Frédéric Levac Inuktitut (2023)

Filmography Acting roles Year Title Role NotesRef.2008The Necessities of LifeInuit mother 2013 The Legend of Sarila Sedna Voice 2020 Soul Miali Voice