Katja Blichfeld facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Katja Blichfeld
|
|
|---|---|
| Born |
Long Beach, CA, U.S.
|
| Occupation |
|
| Spouse(s) |
Ben Sinclair
(m. 2010; div. 2016) |
Katja Blichfeld (born in 1979) is an American writer, director, and producer. She is also a casting director. She is best known for creating and directing the TV series High Maintenance. This show started as a web series on Vimeo and later became a popular HBO television series. Katja won an Emmy award for her great work in casting for the show 30 Rock.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Katja Blichfeld was born in Long Beach, California, in 1979. Her parents moved to the United States from Denmark in 1970. She grew up in a Christian family and went to Christian schools until she finished high school.
After high school, Katja briefly attended Long Beach City College. However, she soon left college and moved to Chicago. In 2004, she moved to New York to start a career in casting.
Her Career in TV and Film
When Katja was only nine years old, she showed her creative side. She wrote, filmed, and even starred in a short movie. This early project showed her interest in filmmaking from a young age.
Starting in Casting
In 2005, Katja began her professional casting career. She worked as an assistant on a TV special called Comedy Central's Roast of Jeff Foxworthy. The next year, she helped cast the movie Freedomland.
In 2010, Katja started working in television. She became a casting director for the NBC show 30 Rock. For her work on 30 Rock, she was nominated for an Emmy award in 2010 and 2011. She finally won the Emmy in 2013 for Outstanding Casting on a Comedy Series.
Creating High Maintenance
Katja Blichfeld is the co-creator and director of the TV series High Maintenance. She started the show with her co-creator, Ben Sinclair. They began High Maintenance as a project they were passionate about.
They wrote almost all of the first 19 webisodes themselves. These early episodes were made for less than $1,000 each. Later, HBO picked up the show, making it a full television series. Before working with Ben, Katja had not professionally written or directed anything.
Personal Life
Katja Blichfeld met Ben Sinclair in Los Angeles in 2009. They quickly became a couple and started writing together. In 2010, they got married. The idea for High Maintenance came to them during a bike ride across the Williamsburg Bridge in New York City. They launched the show together in 2012.
Katja and Ben separated in 2016, and their divorce was finalized before the second season of High Maintenance began. Even after their divorce, they continued to work together on three more seasons of the show. In 2021, it was announced that High Maintenance would take a break.
Katja has shared that she has experienced feelings of worry and sadness. A few years into making High Maintenance, she started going to therapy to help her feel better. She still goes to therapy regularly.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Media |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Comedy Central Roast of Jeff Foxworthy | Casting Assistant | TV Special |
| 2006 | Freedomland | Casting Associate | Movie |
| 2007 | Conviction | Casting Associate | TV Series |
| 2008 | Kath & Kim | Casting Coordinator | TV Series |
| 2009 | Warehouse 13 | Casting Department | TV Episode |
| 2010–2013 | 30 Rock | Casting Director | TV Series |
| 2012–2020 | High Maintenance | Creator, Writer, Director, Producer | Web Show/TV Series |
| 2015 | Nasty Baby | Casting Director | Movie |
Awards and Nominations
At the 2010 Primetime Emmy Awards, Katja Blichfeld and Jennifer McNamara were nominated. They were recognized for their excellent casting work on 30 Rock. They received another nomination in 2011. Finally, in 2013, they won the Emmy for Outstanding Casting For A Comedy Series.
In 2020, Katja Blichfeld received the first-ever Creator Achievement Award from Stareable Fest. This award honored her for creating the show High Maintenance.
