Cindy Busby

Cindy Busby (born March 18, 1983) is a Canadian actress and singer. She portrayed Ashley Stanton on Heartland, and has played many roles in Hallmark movies, including Marrying Mr. Darcy, Follow Me to Daisy Hills, and Warming Up to You. Early life and education Born and raised in Montreal, Quebec, Busby always dreamed of becoming an actress. From the time she was a child, she loved performing for an audience and throughout her elementary school and high school years, she devoted herself to every theater school production. Upon graduating from high school, Busby was accepted into the Professional Theater Program at Dawson College in Montreal and was admitted from among hundreds of applicants. Career Starting out in theater in 2005, she crossed into television and film and was given her first lead in the story of the Canadian medical hero Norman Bethune in the television series Bethune, which filmed in rural China for two and a half months and attracted several million viewers. In 2006, Busby played a supporting lead in the Lifetime original film A Life Interrupted opposite Lea Thompson and also landed a series regular role on the series Heartland when she was cast as Ashley Stanton, a rich, self-righteous, competitive horseback rider. The series has been nominated for several Gemini Awards as well as winning a Directors Guild of Canada prize and became one of the most popular shows on Canadian television. In 2008 and 2009, Busby first landed the lead antagonist in the film Picture This alongside Ashley Tisdale, Shenae Grimes, and Kevin Pollak and appeared on the hit CW series The Vampire Diaries. In 2011, she appeared on the big screen in Fox 2000 Pictures' The Big Year, in which she was seen opposite Steve Martin, Jack Black, and Owen Wilson.