Katheryn Winnick (born December 17, 1977) is a Canadian actress. She is known for her starring roles in the television series ''

Vikings Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

'' (2013–2020), ''

Wu Assassins ''Wu Assassins'' is an American supernatural action television series, created by John Wirth and Tony Krantz that premiered on Netflix on August 8, 2019. The series stars Iko Uwais, Byron Mann, Lewis Tan, Lawrence Kao, Celia Au, Li Jun Li, To ...

'' (2019), and '' Big Sky'' (2020–2023), and her recurring role on the television series ''

Bones A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, an ...

'' (2010–2011). She also starred in the films ''

Amusement Amusement is the state of experiencing humorous and entertaining events or situations while the person or animal actively maintains the experience, and is associated with enjoyment, happiness, laughter and pleasure. It is an emotion with pos ...

'' (2008), '' Choose'' (2010), ''

A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III ''A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III'' is a 2012 American comedy film written, directed, and produced by Roman Coppola. It stars Charlie Sheen, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Katheryn Winnick and Patricia Arquette. It premiered at ...

'' (2012), '' The Art of the Steal'' (2013), ''

Polar Polar may refer to: Geography * Geographical pole, either of the two points on Earth where its axis of rotation intersects its surface ** Polar climate, the climate common in polar regions ** Polar regions of Earth, locations within the polar circ ...

'' (2019), and '' The Marksman'' (2021).

Early life

Katheryn Winnick was born on December 17, 1977 in

Etobicoke, Ontario Etobicoke (, ) is an administrative district and former city within Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Comprising the city's west end, Etobicoke is bordered on the south by Lake Ontario, on the east by the Humber River, on the west by Etobicoke Cre ...

, and is of Ukrainian descent. She spoke Ukrainian as her first language and did not begin speaking English until she was eight years old. She has two brothers. She began training in

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; ...

at age seven, and obtained her first black belt at 13. By age 21, she had started three

Taekwondo Taekwondo (; ; ) is a Korean martial art and combat sport involving primarily kicking techniques and punching. "Taekwondo" can be translated as ''tae'' ("strike with foot"), ''kwon'' ("strike with hand"), and ''do'' ("the art or way"). In ad ...

schools. She taught Taekwondo and self-defense to actors while completing her degree in

kinesiology Kinesiology () is the scientific study of human body movement. Kinesiology addresses physiological, anatomical, Biomechanics, biomechanical, Pathology, pathological, neuropsychological principles and mechanisms of movement. Applications of kines ...

York University York University (), also known as YorkU or simply YU), is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, and it has approximately 53,500 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, ...

, Toronto. Winnick studied at and is an alumnus of the

William Esper Studio The William Esper Studio was founded in 1965 as a school for the performing arts in Manhattan, New York. The school is dedicated to the acting technique of Sanford Meisner. Its founder, William "Bill" Esper, is occasionally referred to as the bes ...

. Winnick started acting as a young girl at her community centre in Toronto. She had directed plays in her high school and won a scholarship for drama and directing while attending

Richview Collegiate Institute Richview Collegiate Institute (Richview CI, RCI or Richview) is a secondary school in Etobicoke, in the west end of Toronto, Ontario. It is in the Etobicoke Board of Education which in turn became the part of the Toronto District School Board in 1 ...

Career

Winnick entered the

film industry The film industry or motion picture industry comprises the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking, i.e., film production company, production companies, film studios, cinematography, animation, film production, screenwriting, pre- ...

by teaching

to actors on movie sets; the experience inspired her to pursue professional acting. She was then cast as a series regular on ''

Student Bodies ''Student Bodies'' is a 1981 American parody slasher comedy film written and directed by Mickey Rose. A spoof of slasher horror films such as ''Halloween'', '' Friday the 13th'' and '' Prom Night'', ''Student Bodies'' was the first film to s ...

''. Since then, she has appeared in many films, including ''

Stand Up Guys ''Stand Up Guys'' is a 2012 American black comedy crime film directed by Fisher Stevens and starring Al Pacino, Christopher Walken and Alan Arkin. The film was released in North America on February 1, 2013. The term "stand-up guy" is an American ...

'', ''

Failure to Launch ''Failure to Launch'' is a 2006 American romantic comedy film directed by Tom Dey, and starring Matthew McConaughey and Sarah Jessica Parker alongside Zooey Deschanel, Justin Bartha, Bradley Cooper, Terry Bradshaw, and Kathy Bates. The film f ...

'', ''

Love & Other Drugs ''Love & Other Drugs'' is a 2010 American romantic comedy drama film directed, produced and co-written by Edward Zwick and based on Jamie Reidy's 2005 non-fiction book ''Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman''. Starring Jake Gyllenhaa ...

'', and '' Killers''. She has

guest-star The term guest appearance generally denotes the appearance of a guest in an artistic or pop-culture setting. The guests themselves (referred to as guest artists, featured artists, guest stars, or guest fighters, depending on context), are disting ...

red in numerous television shows, most notably ''

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

'', '' The Glades'', ''

'', ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television, launching the ''Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire ...

'', '' Law & Order: Criminal Intent'', '' CSI'', '' CSI: NY'', '' CSI: Miami'', ''

Criminal Minds ''Criminal Minds'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series created by Jeff Davis that premiered on CBS on September 22, 2005. It follows a group of criminal profilers who work for the FBI as members of its Behavioral ...

'', ''

Person of Interest "Person of interest" is a term used by law enforcement in the United States, Canada, and other countries when identifying someone possibly involved in a criminal investigation who has not been arrested or formally accused of a crime. It has no leg ...

'', and ''

Nikita Nikita may refer to: * Nikita (given name), people with the given name, including variants * Nikita, Crimea, a town in Ukraine * Nikita the Tanner, a character in East Slavic folklore Film and television *''Little Nikita'', a 1988 film * ''La Femm ...

''. In ''Bones'', she portrayed Hannah Burley, a

war correspondent A war correspondent is a journalist who covers stories first-hand from a war, war zone. War correspondence stands as one of journalism's most important and impactful forms. War correspondents operate in the most conflict-ridden parts of the wor ...

who had been posted to cover the

war in Afghanistan War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC), the conquest of Afghanistan by the Macedonian Empire * Muslim conquests of Afghanistan, a series of campaigns in ...

and becomes a love interest for main character

Seeley Booth Seeley Joseph Booth is a fictional character in the American television series ''Bones (TV series), Bones'' (2005–2017), portrayed by David Boreanaz. Agent Booth is the male protagonist of the series. The character made an appearance in the ''Sle ...

. Winnick starred in the

comedy-drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

film ''

Cold Souls ''Cold Souls'' is a 2009 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Sophie Barthes. The film features Paul Giamatti, Dina Korzun, Emily Watson, and David Strathairn. Giamatti stars as a fictionalised version of himself, an anxious, over ...

'', which had its world premiere at the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

2009. In 2011, she was cast in a guest role on

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 spy drama ''

''. In 2013, she starred in ''

'' and appeared in the comedy '' The Art of the Steal''. She also joined

History Channel History (formerly and commonly known as the History Channel) is an American pay television television broadcaster, network and the flagship channel of A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney General Entertainme ...

's ''

'', starring in the role of

Lagertha Lagertha, according to legend, was a Viking ruler and shield-maiden from what is now Norway, and the onetime wife of the famous Viking Ragnar Lodbrok. Her tale was recorded by the chronicler Saxo Grammaticus, Saxo in the 12th century. According t ...

, a legendary figure in Viking history. In July 2017, Winnick stated on her

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

account that she had been cast for a role in what was thought to be a film project, and that it would be announced at

San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con is a comic book convention and multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California, at the San Diego Convention Center. Founded in 1970, originally showcasing primarily comic books and science fiction/fant ...

. She was later revealed to be cast as a main character in the Nazi Zombies mode of the video game '' Call of Duty: WWII''."'Vikings' Star Katheryn Winnick Joins 'Call of Duty: WWII' Voice Cast"
– ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'', July 17, 2017 In July 2018, it was announced that Winnick had been cast in the series regular role of Christine "C.G." Gavin on the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

series, ''

''. In February 2020, Winnick was announced to play the starring role of Jenny Hoyt on the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

crime drama series '' Big Sky''.

Personal life

In 2015, Winnick stated she has dual American and Canadian citizenship. Her brothers have made appearances on ''Vikings''. In March 2022, Winnick, together with her mother, created the charity "The Winnick Foundation" to raise funds for the needs of

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

during the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

. In November 2022, the

Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation (MFA Russia; , МИД РФ) is the central government institution charged with leading the foreign policy and foreign relations of Russia. It is a continuation of the Ministry of Foreig ...

banned Winnick from entering Russia, as well as 99 other Canadians, in response to

international sanctions International sanctions are political and economic decisions that are part of diplomatic efforts by countries, multilateral or regional organizations against states or organizations either to protect national security interests, or to protect i ...

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

* '' Call of Duty: WWII'' (2017), as Marie Fischer

As a director

* ''

'' (2019), episode: "Legacy" * ''

'' (2020), episode: "Valhalla Can Wait"

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
The Winnick Foundation
Katheryn Winnick's organization {{DEFAULTSORT:Winnick, Katheryn 1977 births Living people 21st-century Canadian actresses Actresses from Toronto Canadian female taekwondo practitioners Canadian film actresses Canadian people of Ukrainian descent Canadian television actresses People from Etobicoke William Esper Studio alumni York University alumni