Michelle Tisseyre

Michelle Tisseyre
Tisseyre in 1941
Born	Mary Jane Michelle Ahern 13 December 1918 Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Died	21 December 2014 (aged 96) Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Nationality	Canadian
Occupation	Television host, journalist and translator
Known for	First woman to present a "Grand Journal" newscast for CBC French services (Radio-Canada)
Notable work	Translation of Winter by Morley Callaghan for which she won Governor General’s Literary Award

Michelle Tisseyre (née Ahern; 13 December 1918 – 21 December 2014) was a Canadian television presenter who also worked in the fields of journalism and translations. She joined Radio-Canada in 1941 and did pioneering work as a broadcasting journalist on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) radio and television till 1947. Thereafter, she worked freelance for some time and then rejoined Radio-Canada in 1950, and was its director from 1953 to 1960 when the first TV show TV-Montreal was launched. In 1941, she became the first woman to present a 15-minute newsletter broadcast in CBC's French services.

She lived to the age of 96. She received several awards for her career achievements, including the Governor General’s Literary Award for her translation of Winter (authored by Morley Callaghan), and being made an Officer of the Order of Canada for her work on publications. In 2001, at the age of 80, she returned to college, graduating in 2006 with a BA degree in Art History from McGill University. Apart from her children she was survived by 28 grandchildren and 17 great grandchildren.

Tisseyre was born Mary Jane Michelle Ahern on 13 December 1918 at Montreal, Quebec. She was born in a well-to-do family. Her father was John G. Ahern, a lawyer and bâtonnier of the Province of Québec who was also president of the Québec Bar. Ahern was the son of Michael Joseph Ahern, a surgeon of the Hôtel-Dieu de Québec and Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the Laval University. Her mother was Jeanne Marcil, daughter of Charles Marcil, who was a Member of Parliament for Bonaventure, Ottawa, for 36 years. Her mother divorced Ahern and moved to Sweden to reunite with her lover.