Katherine McNamara

Katherine McNamara: biography

Katherine McNamara is an actress, singer, and songwriter who earned her fame for her roles in Happyland, The Fosters, Shadowhunters, Monsterville: Cabinet of Souls, and Natural Selection.

The future actress was born on November 22, 1995, in Kansas City, Missouri.

The girl was the only child in the family of Ursula and Evan McNamara. She started dancing early and tried many styles: ballet, jazz, hip-hop, hula, and waltz; besides, Katherine attended singing classes for a short while. The parents encouraged their daughter to do various activities.

McNamara was a smart student; she persuaded her parents to let her be home-schooled and save her time. As a result, the young talent graduated at 14, three years earlier than her peers.

At 17, the ambitious and industrious beauty finished Drexel University online and became a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration; she continued her studies at Johns Hopkins University and got the next degree, a Master of Science in applied economics.

The young woman tried herself in modeling; she appeared on covers of Seventeen, Modeliste, Pulse Spikes, Jamo, NKD, and C’est Prune.

As a grown-up, McNamara did not forget her childhood fondness of music. She recorded several songs; the single “Chatter” became the soundtrack for Contest (2013).

Movies

Katherine began her acting career before she graduated from the middle school. The 13-year-old girl participated in a couple of Broadway performances including the musical A Little Night Music about a boy who saw music as a real character in his dream. In different times, Katherine had the opportunity to collaborate with many professionals: Angela Lansbury, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Elaine Stritch, and Bernadette Peters.

Following the successful start, McNamara moved to Los Angeles and received secondary parts in the TV series 30 Rock and Drop Dead Diva.

In 2011, Kat played in the romantic comedy New Year's Eve. Its cast was full of stars: Zac Efron, Michelle Pfeiffer, Halle Berry, Ashton Kutcher, Jessica Biel, Jon Bon Jovi, Robert De Niro, and Sarah Jessica Parker.

The next year brought the premiere of the fantasy comedy Girl vs. Monster; McNamara personified Myra Santelli and sang Olivia Holt’s “Had Me Hello” and Samantha Fox’s “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Me”. In 2013, the audience could see the actress in an episode of the comedy Kickin’ It and the Disney series Jessie. The artist also appeared in the adventure movie Tom Sawyer & Huckleberry Finn and personified Tom’s friend, Becky.

The 2014 series Happyland brought Katherine the lead part. Her character, Harper Munroe, is in love with the son of the amusement park owner. However, Harper’s mother is afraid the young man might be her daughter’s brother. The same year, McNamara’s song “My Heart Can Fly” became the soundtrack for Little Savages.

In 2015, the actress received the role of Rose in A Sort of Homecoming and performed “Wait for You” by Elliott Yamin. She also worked on the drama series The Fosters about a lesbian couple and the sequel of the popular project, Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials, based on James Dashner’s book. It is the story about teenagers who manage to escape from the labyrinth full of terrible creatures. As long as they find the way out, they have to face new challenges and travel across a burned territory.

In 2016, fans could enjoy the artist’s talent in the series Shadowhunters, the TV version of Cassandra Clare’s fantasy The Mortal Instruments. The attempt of the screen adaptation had been made in 2013 when The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones with Jamie Campbell Bower and Lily Collins was released. However, the box office was low, and no sequel followed.

The new version with Katherine McNamara and Dominic Sherwood proved to be more popular, especially among teenagers. Kat played a young woman with supernatural powers, Clary Fray, who had to fight demons. This part brought her People's Choice Awards – Female TV Star.

At the same time, the psychological thriller Indiscretion was released. McNamara was given the role of Lizzy, the daughter of the main character (Mira Sorvino). Mira’s husband, Christopher Backus, personified her passionate lover Victor; Lizzy fell in love with him, too.

Personal life

There is little information about Katherine’s relationships. The actress is not married. Rumors have it she has a romance with her Shadowhunters partner Will Tudor, but no evidence has been given.

There were also theories about McNamara’s affairs with Dominic Sherwood and Matthew Daddario. The artist has told journalists she was going to keep her personal life private.

Present days

January 2017 brought the second season of the fantasy series Shadowhunters; fans could enjoy 20 new episodes. The third season came out in March 2018 and included 22 episodes. Once again, Katherine personified Clary Fray and collaborated with Matthew Daddario, Dominic Sherwood, Emeraude Toubia, Alberto Rosende, and Isaiah Mustafa.

In 2018, fans welcomed the sequel of the popular franchise, Maze Runner: The Death Cure. As the story runs, the main characters have to find a cure for the terminal disease that threatens the whole humanity. The project starred Dylan O'Brien, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Nathalie Emmanuel, and Kaya Scodelario.

Despite her busy schedule, Katherine does not forget about her fans and regularly shares new photos and videos from movie sets and vacation on Instagram and Twitter.

The artist’s height is 5.38 feet (164 cm.); her weight is 108 lbs. (49 kg.).

Katherine McNamara’s net worth is estimated at $3 million in 2019.

Filmography

• 2007 – The Bride & the Groom
• 2009 – Matchmaker Mary
• 2011 – Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
• 2011 – 30 Rock
• 2011 – Drop Dead Diva
• 2012 – Glee
• 2012 – Girl vs. Monster
• 2013 – Touch
• 2013 – Jessie
• 2014 – Unforgettable
• 2015 – Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials
• 2016 – Shadowhunters
• 2016 – Indiscretion
• 2018 – Maze Runner: The Death Cure