Genevieve Nicole Padalecki (née Cortese; born January 8, 1981) is an American actress. She starred in the television series ''

Wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a ...

'' as Kris Furillo and had a recurring role in ''

Supernatural Supernatural phenomena or entities are those beyond the Scientific law, laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin 'above, beyond, outside of' + 'nature'. Although the corollary term "nature" has had multiple meanin ...

'' as the demon

Ruby Ruby is a pinkish-red-to-blood-red-colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum ( aluminium oxide). Ruby is one of the most popular traditional jewelry gems and is very durable. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called sapph ...

. Her film and television appearances were inconsistently credited as either Genevieve Cortese or Jennifer Cortese through to 2010, and has been consistently credited as Genevieve Padalecki since a February 2011 episode of ''Supernatural''.

Life and career

Genevieve Padalecki was born in

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

. She has two brothers, Johnny and Ben, and a sister, Sarah. At the age of 13, she moved to

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

, and later to

Sun Valley, Idaho Sun Valley is a resort city in the western United States, in Blaine County, Idaho, adjacent to the city of Ketchum in the Wood River valley. The population was 1,783 at the 2020 census. The elevation of Sun Valley (at the Lodge) is above se ...

. She holds a BA in English and a BFA degree in drama from the

Tisch School of the Arts The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic, and media arts school of New York University. Founded on August 17, 1965, as the School of the Arts at New York University, Tisch ...

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

. Before making her television debut as Kris Furillo, she performed in regional theater productions of ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a Comedy (drama), comedy play written by William Shakespeare in about 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One s ...

'', '' One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'', '' Crimes of the Heart'', and '' Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat''. In 2008, she was cast to play the recurring role of

(previously played by

Katie Cassidy Katie Cassidy (born November 25, 1986) is an American actress. Following several minor television roles, she came to attention as a scream queen after starring in the horror films ''When a Stranger Calls (2006 film), When a Stranger Calls'' (2006 ...

) in

alongside her future husband, Jared Padalecki. On September 14, 2020, it was announced that she had been cast in a recurring role in

The CW The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial broadcast television network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. The network's name is derived from the firs ...

's crime drama series '' Walker'', a reboot of the original television show of ''

Walker, Texas Ranger ''Walker, Texas Ranger'' is an American action fiction, action Crime drama, crime television series created by Leslie Greif and Paul Haggis. It was inspired by the film ''Lone Wolf McQuade'', with both the film and the series starring Chuck Norr ...

'', to play the role Emily Walker, the late wife of Cordell Walker (who is played by her husband Jared Padalecki). The series premiered on January 21, 2021. The series was cancelled in 2024 after four seasons.

Personal life

She met actor Jared Padalecki during her recurring role as

. She went on to make a guest appearance in the sixth season as a fictionalized version of herself. In October 2009, Padalecki proposed to her in front of their favorite painting, "Joan of Arc" by French realist Jules Bastien-Lepage, at New York's

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

. The engagement was announced in January 2010. The pair married on February 27, 2010, in Cortese's hometown of Sun Valley, Idaho. On October 10, 2011, the couple announced that they were expecting their first child together. Their son was born on March 19, 2012. On December 22, 2013, Cortese gave birth to their second son. Their daughter was born on March 17, 2017. The couple resides in

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

, with their three children.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cortese, Genevieve 1981 births 21st-century American actresses People from Sun Valley, Idaho Actresses from Idaho American film actresses American stage actresses American television actresses Living people Tisch School of the Arts alumni