Isabelle Anna "Ziggy" Lorenc is a Canadian television and radio personality as well as occasional actress in film and television, best known for hosting programming on Citytv, MuchMusic and Bravo! after working for CHUMCity as a receptionist.
Career
Having done modelling work since the age of thirteen, Lorenc began pursuing acting jobs during her late teens. Hanging around aspiring performers in Toronto in the late 1970s, a group that included Michael Wincott, Kim Cattrall, Jim Carrey, Tonya Lee Williams, Lorenc too went to the U.S., getting accepted at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in New York City following an audition of sorts that consisted of the school's director Sanford Meisner just speaking to the applicants. Her stay in New York turned out to be short, however, as she returned home to Toronto due to being unable to support herself financially in New York. Continuing to look for work as character actress in Toronto without much success, she worked various jobs including disco bunny at Toronto night clubs that got her an appearance on Boogie, Citytv's disco local counterpart to Dick Clark's American Bandstand. She soon met Citytv producer and creative directorMoses Znaimer, eventually getting a job at the station as a switchboard operator.
Citytv
In parallel with working the switchboard at Citytv's 99 Queen Street East headquarters, Lorenc became part of the Switchettes — a group of young female office staffers the station sent around the city of Toronto for promotional activities and even human interest reporting. She continued going to acting auditions and soon got a part on the Canadiansketch comedy series Bizarre being shot in Toronto. Asking for time off from her Citytv duties in order to do Bizarre, she got rejected eventually and left Citytv. Her time on Bizarre was short, however, as she got fired after a couple of episodes. Without both jobs, Lorenc began waitressing at night at Bemelmans, a popular Toronto eatery, while going to acting auditions during the day. She soon got cast as one of the romantic leads in Copper Mountain, a 1983 comedy that was never completed though still got a limited video release, starring young comedian Jim Carrey and Alan Thicke. By 1984 she was back in the Citytv fold and was on hand during the launch of Much Music. Lorenc was also the star/host of the series Life on Venus Ave. She is currently heard on CFZM, hosting a late night program devoted to romantic music. She also had roles in movies White Room and Love, Sex and Eating the Bones.
