Vandervoort was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario. She is the daughter of a Canadian mother and a Dutch father. In the first weeks of her life, she contracted meningitis, resulting in a severe sickness that lasted a few months… See more

In 1997, she made her acting debut at age 13. After taking several classes and doing background work on Canadian shows such as Road to Avonlea and Harriet the Spy, she got her first speaking role in the Canadian children's h… See more