I’m standing in swag epicentre of the 2010 Olympics, or, as it’s also known—the Bay’s “gift” suite located in the penthouse of the Loden, a luxe boutique hotel discretely off the downtown beaten track. The room is bright and airy, filled with neatly ordered racks of the Bay’s official 2010 Olympic branded gear. The scarce red mittens that have become a cult item are piled in a wicker basket. A PR person politely asks if I’d like a pair. “No, thanks,” I tell him. It’s a rule (often broken) that journalists never accept gifts.

Since the Games began, a steady stream of famous folks have visited the space to stock up on freebies—the Gretzky family, Hayden Christensen, Rachel Bilson, Jon Hamm. The day before the big Canada-US men’s hockey final, CNN is filming Canadian actress Emmanuelle Vaugier, best known for her recurring role on Two and a Half Men and Canadian actor Byron Lawson, of Snakes on a Plane fame.
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She left Vancouver for the City of Angels 12 years ago, but there’s no mistaking where actress Emmanuelle Vaugier calls home.

“My base is in Vancouver; my friends and family are there,” said Vaugier, who plays Mia on the sitcom Two and a Half Men and Det. Jessica Angell on CSI: NY. “That’s something that you can’t really replace when you move to a new city.”

Vaugier was born in Vancouver and raised in the Kerrisdale neighbourhood. She acted in school plays while attending Crofton House and Magee Secondary and dabbled in modelling before landing commercials and the lead in a made-for-TV movie.
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