Katherine Sian Moennig (; born December 29, 1977) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as

Shane McCutcheon Shane McCutcheon is a fictional lesbian character from the American Showtime television drama series ''The L Word'', and the sequel series ''L Word: Generation Q'' played by Katherine Moennig. Character development in The L Word Shane was orig ...

on ''

The L Word ''The L Word'' is a television drama that aired on Showtime from January 18, 2004 to March 8, 2009. The series follows the lives of a group of lesbian and bisexual women who live in West Hollywood, California. The premise originated with Ile ...

'' (2004–2009), as well as Jake Pratt on ''

Young Americans ''Young Americans'' is the ninth studio album by English musician David Bowie, released on 7March 1975 through RCA Records. The album marked a departure from the glam rock style of Bowie's previous albums, showcasing his interest in soul ...

'' (2000). Moennig played the role of Lena in the Showtime series '' Ray Donovan'' from 2013 to 2019. She played a recurring role on '' Grown-ish'' on Freeform as Professor Paige Hewson in season 2 and 3. She reprised her role as Shane McCutcheon in '' The L Word: Generation Q'' in 2019. Moennig currently hosts podcast ''PANTS'' with close friend and ''L Word'' co-star, Leisha Hailey.

Personal life

Moennig was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

, Pennsylvania, the daughter of

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

dancer Mary Zahn and violin-maker William H. Moennig III. Her father's maternal half-sister is actress

Blythe Danner Blythe Katherine Danner (born February 3, 1943) is an American actress. Accolades she has received include two Primetime Emmy Awards for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Izzy Huffstodt on '' Huff'' (2004–2006), and ...

, making her a half-first cousin of

Gwyneth Paltrow Gwyneth Kate Paltrow (; born ) is an American actress and businesswoman. She is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award. Paltrow gained notice for her early work in films ...

and Jake Paltrow. Moennig is a

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

. She is married to musician

Ana Rezende Ana Maria de Rezende Versiani dos Anjos (born 19 March 1983) is a Brazilian film director and musician. She is the guitarist and keyboardist of the rock band CSS. Music career Rezende is responsible for the direction of CSS's first music video ...

Career

Moennig moved to New York City at the age of 18 to study at the

American Academy of Dramatic Arts The American Academy of Dramatic Arts (AADA) is a private performing arts conservatory with two locations, one in Manhattan and one in Los Angeles. The academy offers an associate degree in occupational studies and teaches drama and related art ...

. In 1999, she had the central role in the

Our Lady Peace Our Lady Peace (sometimes shortened to OLP) is a Canadian rock band formed in Toronto, Ontario in 1992. Led by lead vocalist Raine Maida since its formation, the band currently also features Duncan Coutts on bass, Steve Mazur on guitars, and ...

video Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) sy ...

" Is Anybody Home?". She also took a role in a Fleet Bank commercial, and appeared in a

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

Campaign benefiting victims of

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

. Moennig was a presenter at the 17th annual

GLAAD GLAAD (), an acronym of Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, is an American non-governmental media monitoring organization originally founded as a protest against defamatory coverage of gay and lesbian demographics and their portrayal ...

awards and appeared at the 10th annual Ribbon of Hope Celebration. Moennig's first major role was in the television series ''

'', playing Jake Pratt. She has played multiple

roles:

in ''

''; Rosie's ( Drew Barrymore) partner Jilly in '' Everybody's Fine''; Candace, the lesbian lover of

Sophia Myles Sophia Jane Myles (; born 18 March 1980) is an English actress. She is best known in film for portraying Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward in ''Thunderbirds'' (2004), Isolde in '' Tristan & Isolde'' (2006), Darcy in '' Transformers: Age of Extinctio ...

' character, in ''

Art School Confidential ''Art School Confidential'' is a 2006 American comedy-drama film directed by Terry Zwigoff and starring Max Minghella, Sophia Myles, John Malkovich, Jim Broadbent, Matt Keeslar, Ethan Suplee, Joel Moore, Nick Swardson, Adam Scott, and Anjelica ...

''; and Lena, a press agent who works for

Liev Schreiber Isaac Liev Schreiber (; born October 4, 1967) is an American actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and narrator. He became known during the late 1990s and early 2000s after appearing in several independent films, and later mainstream Hollywood ...

's character, in '' Ray Donovan''. She has also pursued

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through ...

roles, auditioning for the part of Brandon Teena in '' Boys Don't Cry'', and playing Cheryl Avery, a young

transgender woman A trans woman or a transgender woman is a woman who was assigned male at birth. Trans women have a female gender identity, may experience gender dysphoria, and may transition; this process commonly includes hormone replacement therapy and so ...

in the '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' episode "

Fallacy A fallacy is the use of invalid or otherwise faulty reasoning, or "wrong moves," in the construction of an argument which may appear stronger than it really is if the fallacy is not spotted. The term in the Western intellectual tradition was intr ...

". In April 2006, Moennig made her

Off Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer th ...

debut as "American Girl", opposite Lee Pace, in '' Guardians'', by Peter Morris. The story is loosely based on that of

Lynndie England Lynndie Rana England (born November 8, 1982) is a former United States Army Reserve soldier who was prosecuted for mistreating detainees during the Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse that occurred at the Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad during the ...

. In 2007, the Hetrick-Martin Institute (HMI) produced the documentary ''My Address: A Look At Gay Youth Homelessness'' in cooperation with Moennig. Directed by Gigi Nicolas, the documentary explored the experiences of homeless gay youth and the work of the HMI. In 2009, Moennig joined the cast of the TV series '' Three Rivers''. On November 30, 2009, it was announced that CBS had pulled ''Three Rivers'' from the schedule, with no plans to return it. Moennig appeared in an episode of ''This Just Out'' in 2010. In 2013,

tomboy A tomboy is a term for a girl or a young woman with masculine qualities. It can include wearing androgynous or unfeminine clothing and actively engage in physical sports or other activities and behaviors usually associated with boys or men. W ...

clothing range Wildfang launched in America. Moennig was an ambassador for the brand, appearing in the launch video and designing a limited edition pair of boots. Also in 2013, Moennig joined the cast of the Showtime drama '' Ray Donovan'', starring as Lena, Ray Donovan's assistant. In 2017, Moennig narrated her first audiobook, ''The Late Show'' by

Michael Connelly Michael Joseph Connelly (born July 21, 1956) is an American author of detective novels and other crime fiction, notably those featuring LAPD Detective Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch and criminal defense attorney Mickey Haller. Connelly is the bestse ...

. In 2019, Moennig reprised her role as

in ''The L Word'' sequel, '' The L Word: Generation Q''.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Moennig, Katherine 1977 births Living people 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses American lesbian actresses American people of German descent Actresses from Philadelphia American Academy of Dramatic Arts alumni American film actresses American stage actresses American television actresses LGBT people from Pennsylvania 21st-century LGBT people