Kate Walsh (actress) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Kate Walsh
Walsh in 2011
Born	Kathleen Erin Walsh (1967-10-13) October 13, 1967 (age 57) San Jose, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actress businesswoman
Years active	1995–present
Spouse(s)	Alex Young ​ ​ (m. 2007; div. 2010)​

Kathleen Erin Walsh (born October 13, 1967) is an American actress and businesswoman. She is famous for playing Dr. Addison Montgomery in the popular medical TV shows Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice.

Walsh has also appeared in many other well-known series. She played Nicki Fifer on the comedy show The Drew Carey Show and Olivia Baker in the teen drama 13 Reasons Why. She is also known for her roles as The Handler in the superhero series The Umbrella Academy and Madeline Wheeler in Emily in Paris.

Early Life and Education

Kate Walsh was born in San Jose, California. She is the daughter of Angela and Joseph Patrick Walsh Sr. Her mother has an Italian background, and her father was Irish. She grew up in a Catholic family in Tucson, Arizona.

Walsh went to Catalina Magnet High School. She later studied acting at the University of Arizona but left before graduating to follow her acting dreams. She moved to New York City, where she joined a comedy group called Burn Manhattan. To support herself, she worked as a waitress.

Acting Career

Before becoming a famous actress, Walsh had several different jobs. She worked at fast-food restaurants and even lived in Japan in the 1980s, where she worked as a model and taught English. When she moved to Chicago, she joined the Piven Theatre Workshop to improve her acting skills.

In 2010, Walsh started her own beauty and lifestyle company called Boyfriend LLC.

Famous Television Roles

Walsh at a party in 2008.

Walsh's first major TV role was in 1997 on The Drew Carey Show. She played Nicki Fifer, the main character's girlfriend. For some episodes, she wore a special suit to make her look heavier.

Her big break came in 2005 when she was cast as Dr. Addison Montgomery in the ABC series Grey's Anatomy. Her character was the wife of Dr. Derek Shepherd (played by Patrick Dempsey). Addison became so popular with fans that she got her own spin-off show called Private Practice, which ran from 2007 to 2013. Walsh returned to Grey's Anatomy for guest appearances several times over the years.

From 2017 to 2019, Walsh starred in the Netflix drama series 13 Reasons Why. She played the mother of a teenager who has died. Her performance in this role was highly praised by critics.

In 2019, she joined the Netflix series The Umbrella Academy as a character known as "The Handler." She also has a recurring role in the Netflix show Emily in Paris as Emily's boss from America.

Movie Roles

Walsh made her first movie appearance in the 1995 crime film Normal Life. She played the sister of a bank robber. She later appeared in the popular family comedy Kicking & Screaming as Will Ferrell's wife.

She also had roles in other movies, including Under the Tuscan Sun and the horror film Legion. In 2012, she played the main character's mother in the movie The Perks of Being a Wallflower.

Personal Life

Walsh married movie studio executive Alex Young on September 1, 2007. They divorced in 2010.

In October 2022, Walsh announced that she was engaged to an Australian farmer named Andrew Nixon. She currently lives in Perth, Australia.

Health

In 2017, Walsh shared that she had been diagnosed with a benign meningioma in 2015. A benign tumor is one that is not cancerous. She had surgery to remove the tumor and took a nine-month break from work to recover. In 2019, she also had a hip replacement.

Charity Work and Activism

Walsh is passionate about helping animals and supports pet adoption. In 2008, she helped open a new dog adoption center in Times Square, New York City.

She has also worked with Oceana, a group that protects the world's oceans. She traveled with them to the Virgin Islands to help raise awareness about the need to protect sea turtles.

During the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Walsh was a supporter of Hillary Clinton and campaigned for her. She also supported Barack Obama's presidential campaign in 2008.

Filmography

A list of some of Kate Walsh's most well-known movies and TV shows.

Film

Television