A Family Affair: A Mother-Daughter Duo Shaping Cinema
By legacy and by talent, Aine and Cliona Furey represent two generations of Durham Region’s filmmaking professionals whose combined impact reaches from the foundations of Ontario’s screen industry to the highest global honours in cinema.
When people speak of film dynasties, they often think of actors or directors. Less visible (but just as vital) are the artists and other specialists who shape productions from behind the scenes. Aine and Cliona Furey are a mother-daughter duo whose careers, though entirely separate, have helped define excellence in Canadian and International film productions for over half a century.
Building the Groundwork: Aine Furey
Born in Ireland, Aine Furey’s journey into storytelling began early. At just 13 years old, she moved to Los Angeles, where she attended high school while completing a theatre apprenticeship at the Mission Playhouse in California. For three years, she trained rigorously in drama before returning to the UK at the age of 17.
After marrying a member of the Royal Air Force, Aine joined the RAF Theatre, performing for military audiences: a formative experience that blended discipline, adaptability, and performance. In 1967, she relocated to Canada, continuing her acting career and joining the Ryerson Repertory Theatre in the early 1970s.
In 1972, her path changed dramatically. While enroute to a commercial audition arranged by legendary agent Gino Emory, Aine was involved in a devastating car accident. “I had a massive car accident,” she recalls, “and never again put my foot on the stage.”
What followed was not an ending, but a reinvention. In 1979, Aine transitioned into film and television production as a Location Manager, at a time when the role itself was newly established within the Directors Guild of Canada. Over the next 40-plus years contributing to more than 400 hours of screen time, she became a cornerstone of Ontario’s production landscape. Her work helped position Ontario as an attractive and reliable destination for film and television productions, contributing to projects such as Relic Hunter, Mutant X, Lost Girls, and Canadian Bacon.
In 2021, she received the Locations Manager Guild International Lifetime Achievement Award, which she accepted with humility: “I don’t know what I did to deserve such an honour.” What she knows without question is her pride in her daughter. “I am so proud of Cliona and her professionalism,” Aine says. “Regardless of awards—though the awards she received are amazing.”
A Childhood on Set, A Career of Her Own.
Cliona Furey is a Canadian film artist whose earliest memories are shaped by the quiet choreography of film sets. Growing up in Guildwood and later Uxbridge, she often accompanied her mother to work on production sets from a youthful age.
One early experience proved decisive: while visiting the set of The Littlest Hobo, Cliona found herself cast as a background stand-in alongside her Girl Guide troop. The spark was immediate.
Rather than pursuing performance, Cliona gravitated toward craftsmanship, she trained as a wigmaker through a competitive apprenticeship at the Canadian Opera Company, later working extensively in theatre. Her technical precision made the transition into film and television a natural evolution.
Known for her work on wig-intensive and period productions, Cliona has collaborated with some of the most acclaimed directors working today, including David Cronenberg, Alexander Payne, Sofia Coppola, John Madden, Paul Feig, and Guillermo del Toro. Her creative partnership with del Toro spans more than 15 years and includes Crimson Peak, Nightmare Alley, and Frankenstein.
In 2025, Cliona’s hair design work on Frankenstein earned her the Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Critics Choice Award—a rare sweep that firmly established her as one of the leading hair designers in contemporary cinema.
Grounded Despite Global Success
Despite a career that helped shaped Ontario’s film industry, Aine Furey has always remained firmly grounded. Even in retirement, Aine remains active and engaged, lending her expertise to location scouting and assisting local film commissions through image packages and consultation.
Just as she helped build the foundation of Ontario’s film industry decades ago, Aine continues to support it thoughtfully, behind the scenes exactly where she has always thrived.
Cliona remains deeply rooted in Uxbridge despite working internationally. She continues to live in the same small town where she grew up and is now raising her son on the very same neighbourhood, she spent her childhood in.
A lifelong horse owner and enthusiast, Cliona values country life, and privacy. Most colleagues know her simply as “CLI,” and many are surprised to learn of her famous lineage. In fact, one longtime producer, who previously worked with extensively with her mother, only recently realized Cliona was Aine’s daughter. “His jaw dropped,” she laughs.
Two Careers, One Legacy
Together, Aine and Cliona Furey embody the evolution of the film industry itself; from the foundational work that helped establish Ontario as a production hub to the artistry that now garners international acclaim at the highest level.
They are united not by shared credits, but by shared values: professionalism, craftsmanship, humility, and an enduring love for storytelling. In an industry built on collaboration, the Furey's remind us that legacy is not inherited, it is earned, one production at a time.