Kate Walsh (actress)

Infobox actress
name = Kate Walsh

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imagesize =
caption =
birthdate = October 13, 1967 (age 40)
birthname = Kathleen Walsh
location = San Jose, California
academyawards =
screenactorsguildawards= Best Ensemble - Drama Series
2006 "Grey's Anatomy"
spouse = Alex Young (2007 - )

Kathleen Erin Walsh (born October 13, 1967) is an American film and television actress, currently known for her role as Dr. Addison Montgomery on the ABC dramas "Grey's Anatomy" and "Private Practice".

Early life

Walsh was born in San Jose, California and grew up in Tucson, Arizona. According to a commercial interview that Kate Walsh did for Cadillac, Walsh explains that her father is an Irish immigrant and her maternal grandfather was Italian American. [http://www.mycadillacstory.com; copyright 2007 General Motors Corporation.] Her mother Angela lives in Nevada and Kate has four older siblings. Walsh studied at University of Arizona for a while where she got involved in regional theatre. She now lives in Los Angeles.

Career

Early career

Walsh was a model in Japan during the 1980s. When Walsh moved to Chicago, she began working with the Piven Theatre Workshop. She performed on National Public Radio in the production of the radio play "Born Guilty". Walsh subsequently moved to New York City and joined the comedy troupe Burn Manhattan on June 27 1987, performing in a number of Off-Broadway plays.

Television roles

After playing Cathy Buxton in the "Stakeout" episode of ' in 1996, her first major television appearance was in 1997, when she appeared on "The Drew Carey Show" as Carey's character's girlfriend Nicki. She wore a fatsuit in some episodes of the show, as the Nicki character was a formerly obese woman who lost weight & slowly started to gain it back. She went on to portray Carol Nelson in HBO's "The Mind of the Married Man" television series, and played Norm Macdonald's romantic interest in the sitcom "The Norm Show". Walsh also made a notable guest appearance on ' as Mimosa, a transsexual. She sometimes appeared in sketches on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien". She had a recurring role on "Karen Sisco" as Detective Marley Novak in 2003 and 2004.

In 2005, she was cast in the ABC hit, "Grey's Anatomy", as Dr. Addison Montgomery, the estranged spouse of Derek Shepherd ("Dr. McDreamy", played by Patrick Dempsey).

It was announced in February 2007 that Walsh's "Grey's Anatomy" character Addison would be in a spin-off of "Grey's Anatomy" that began airing in September 2007. Taye Diggs, Tim Daly, Amy Brenneman, Chris Lowell and Audra McDonald have been cast in the spin-off, which has been given the name "Private Practice". [ [http://www.wsbtv.com/news/11174317/detail.html?rss=atl&psp=entertainment "Grey's Anatomy" Spin-Off Planned, Dr. Addison Shepherd to Leave Seattle Grace] , "WSBTV.com", March 5, 2007] cite news|accessdate=2007-05-05 |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/28/arts/television/28grey.html?ref=television
title=Well-Known Secret: ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Spinoff for ABC
work=New York Times|date=April 28, 2007|author=Edward Wyatt] Kate Walsh returned to Seattle Grace as a guest star for episode thirteen in Season 4 of "Grey's Anatomy", she is currently set to shoot the second season of "Private Practice".Fact|date=April 2008

Beginning in September 2007, Walsh has appeared in television commercials for the 2008 Cadillac CTS and is the current spokeswoman for Caress's Exotic Oil Infusions body wash. [http://www.caressfairytales.com/]

Film roles

The crime drama "Normal Life" marked her film debut; she played the sister of a bank robber played by Luke Perry. She portrayed a kleptomaniac in the film "Peppermills". Walsh also appeared in the cult movie, "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, Part 2". She had her first significant role in a major Hollywood production as Will Ferrell's wife in the family comedy, "Kicking & Screaming", alongside Robert Duvall and Mike Ditka. Walsh has also appeared in several other films with Ferrell, including "Bewitched" and an "alternate film" to ' titled, '.

In 2003, Walsh appeared in "Under the Tuscan Sun", with Diane Lane and Sandra Oh. She played the partner of Grey's Anatomy co-star Sandra Oh's character.

Regarding her various lesbian roles, Walsh said: "Do I give off a girl-on-girl vibe, I wonder? Or is it because I’m tall? I guess the chicks just dig me!" [ [http://msnbc.msn.com/id/15066207/ Britney keeping mum on new baby's name - Gossip Archive - MSNBC.com ] ]

Walsh was also set to star across John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson in the supernatural thriller 1408, but she had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts. [http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117948401.html; by Ian Mohr.]

Walsh is set to be starring alongside Dennis Quaid and Paul Bettany in the biblical horror film Legion, due out 2010. [http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117983055.html; by Michael Fleming.]

Personal life

Walsh is married to Alex Young, a production co-president at 20th Century Fox. [ [http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20039025,00.html Kate Walsh Engaged -- by Jeffrey Slonim for People Magazine] ] On September 1, 2007, Walsh and Young were married in the Ojai Presbyterian Church in Ojai, north of Los Angeles.

ocial and political activism

Since the summer of 2007, Walsh has been the spokesperson for Narcolepsy Network, working to promote national awareness of narcolepsy through infomercials and DVDs.

In January 2008, Walsh participated in a video for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama called, "Yes We Can", produced by Will.I.Am of the Black Eyed Peas. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjXyqcx-mYY] She also campaigned for Obama in Arizona, Texas, Nevada, and Pennsylvania. [Walsh discussed this in an appearance on "Late Night with David Letterman (February 11, 2008)]

In July 2008, Walsh was nominated as a candidate on the 'Unite for Strength' slate for a place on the national governing board of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) in elections scheduled for 18 September 2008. [cite web |url=http://http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/07/25/2314256.htm?section=entertainment |title=Hollywood actors' union faces internal rift |accessdate=2008-07-27 |author=|date=2008-07-25 |work=Reuters]

On September 18, 2008, Walsh was elected to serve on the Screen Actor's Guild (SAG) National Board for a three year term. Walsh ran as a candidate with the Unite for Strength party who won 6 of the 11 Hollywood Division seats which were up for contention in the recent Screen Actor's Guild (SAG) National Board elections. [http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117992472.html?categoryid=13&cs=1&nid=2563]

Awards and recognitions

* Screen Actors Guild Award: Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble Cast in a TV Series - Drama: Grey's Anatomy (2007)
* Best Actress 2002 - Short Film ("Model Trapper") - New York International Independent Film & Video Festival
*Voted number 52 of Maxim's Hot 100 of 2007
*Voted number 71 of FHM's 100 Sexiest Women of 2007

Filmography

*"Legion (film)" (2010)
*"Private Practice" (2007- present)
*"One Way to Valhalla" (awaiting release)
*"Grey's Anatomy" (2005-2007; 2008-guest star)
*"Eyes" (2005-guest star)
*"Bewitched" (2005)
*"Kicking & Screaming" (2005)
*"Veritas, Prince of Truth" (awaiting release)
*"Inside Out" (2005)
*"" (2004)
*"After the Sunset" (2004)
*"Under the Tuscan Sun" (2003)
*"Revealing Hollywood: Exposing Writer Nancy M. Pimental", from "The Sweetest Thing" (DVD, 2002)
*"Anatomy of a Breakup" (2002)
*"The Fugitive" (2001-guest star)
*"The Family Man" (2000)
*"Heaven" (1998)
*"Three Below Zero" (1998)
*"Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, Part 2" (1998)
*"Night of the Lawyers" (1997)
*"Peppermills" (1997)
*"Normal Life" (1996)
*"The Drew Carey Show as Nicki"

References

External links

*imdb name|id=0005532|name=Kate Walsh
*ymovies name|1800022265
*tvtome person|id=2863|name=Kate Walsh
* [http://katewalshaholics.com/ Kate Walshaholics Fan Forum]
* [http://www.people.com/people/kate_walsh Kate Walsh] at People.com
* [http://sidewalkstv.com/webclips/w/katewalsh.html Kate Walsh 2007 Interview] on "Sidewalks Entertainment"
* [http://forums.televisionwithoutpity.com/index.php?showtopic=3159381 Kate Walsh Forum on Television Without Pity]
* [http://collegenews.com/feature.php?newsid=2656/ Listed in CollegeNews.com's 11 Hottest Apatow Babes]