Shamas, a talented individual, was born in Sudbury, Ontario, and later relocated to Toronto in 1980. Prior to pursuing a career in the performing arts, she held various jobs and attended a workshop at The Second City, which inspired her to follow her passion. She went on to act with Second City and Theatresports, and even worked as a puppeteer on the popular children's series Fraggle Rock before deciding to strike out on her own.
In 1987, Shamas premiered her first show, My Boyfriend's Back and There's Gonna Be Laundry, at the Edmonton Fringe Festival. The show, a unique blend of personal stories and observational humor about dating and relationships, was a huge success and soon found itself on tour across the country. In 1989, she began performing the sequel, My Boyfriend's Back and There's Gonna Be Laundry II: The Cycle Continues. A third show, Wedding Bell Hell, which explored wedding rituals, made its debut in 1991.
Shamas took her Laundry show to the Old Vic Theatre in London for her first performance outside of Canada in 1993, where it received a warm welcome from the British audience and critics. After a brief hiatus, she returned with a new series of shows, Wit's End, Wit's End II...Heart's Desire, and Wit's End III...Love Life, which revolved around her move to the country after purchasing a farm in Southern Ontario.
Throughout her career, Shamas has received numerous accolades, including nominations for the Governor General's Award and the Stephen Leacock Award for the Laundry trilogy. She has also won a Gemini Award for Best Performance in Comedy and the Best Theatre Award at the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in 2003.
In 2017, Shamas premiered her play The Big What Now at the Harbourfront Centre in Toronto, which explores the themes of menopause and being a woman over the age of 50. In January 2018, she was appointed to the Order of Ontario for her outstanding contributions to the performing arts.
