Anna Cathcart

Anna Cathcart (born June 16, 2003) is a Canadian actress who gained widespread recognition for playing Kitty Song-Covey in Netflix's ''To All the Boys'' film series (2018–2021) and in the character’s own spin-off show ''XO, Kitty'' (2023−present). She began her career as a child actress, starring as Agent Olympia in the PBS Kids/TVOKids series ''Odd Squad'' (2016–2019) for which she won a Canadian Screen Award. Cathcart then played Dizzy Tremaine in the Disney Channel films ''Descendants 2'' (2017) and ''Descendants 3'' (2019) and played the titular role in the Brat web series '' Zoe Valentine'' (2019).

Early life and education

Anna Cathcart was born on June 16, 2003 in Richmond, BC. She is of Chinese and Irish descent, and has an older sister.

She graduated high school in 2021, and has described her school experience as "like having two full-time jobs at once". On the set of ''Odd Squad'', she and her castmates were tutored in two-hour blocks. Cathcart attends the University of British Columbia majoring in sociology and creative writing.

Career

2016–2017: Career beginnings

Cathcart, at the age of six or seven, gained a talent agent and appeared in a few commercials. At the age of eight, she appeared in a Crayola and Campbell's Soup commercial. She stated that she has "never really been to acting classes", saying that she is inspired by performances on Disney Channel and Netflix.

At the age of 12, following a hiatus, Cathcart was scouted and asked to audition for the TVOKids and PBS Kids series, ''Odd Squad''. She and fellow actor Isaac Kragten were cast as Agents Olympia and Otis respectively. They filmed the series for seven months in Toronto. The first episode of season 2 " First Day" aired on 20 June 2016 on PBS Kids and 21 June 2016 on TVOKids. That same year, Cathcart reprised her role for the film spin-off '' Odd Squad: The Movie'', marking her first theatrical appearance. Cathcart won a Joey Award for her work as well as being co-nominated for another Joey Award along with her castmates. In November 2016, PBS ordered 20 one to three minute episodes of an ''Odd Squad'' spin-off titled '' OddTube''. In the series, Cathcart reprised her role as Agent Olympia, the character who hosted the show.

In 2017, Cathcart appeared in the sequel to the Disney Channel Original Movie '' Descendants'', ''Descendants 2'', in which she portrayed Dizzy Tremaine, daughter of Drizella Tremaine. The film premiered on 21 July 2017 and was viewed by 8.92 million viewers across six networks on the night of its premiere.

2018–present: ''To All the Boys'' franchise and ''XO, Kitty''

Cathcart joined the cast of the film adaption of Jenny Han's bestselling book ''To All the Boys I've Loved Before'', in which she was to portray 11-year-old Kitty Song-Covey, the younger sister of protagonist Lara Jean. The film was released in 2018 on Netflix and quickly became one of the most viewed Netflix original films. The film received generally favourable reviews and critics praised the actors. Molly Freeman of ''Screen Rant'' called Cathcart a "hilarious standout" while Charlie Salek of ''Joker Mag'' called the supporting performances "crucial".

In November 2018, Cathcart was cast in the Brat web-based series '' Zoe Valentine'' in which she was to portray the eponymous character. Cathcart had not auditioned but instead was contacted about the role. The first episode, which premiered on January 17, 2019, received 4.9 million views on YouTube as of November 2020. Cathcart described filming as being "crazy", saying " t wassuch a blur but so much fun". Cathcart starred as Zoe Valentine again in Brat film ''Spring Breakaway'' which was released on March 15, 2019, on YouTube. ''Zoe Valentine'' was later renewed for a second season. Cathcart reprised her role as Dizzy Tremaine in the third instalment of the ''Descendants'' franchise, ''Descendants 3'' in 2019.

Cathcart reprised her role as Kitty in 2020 in '' To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You'' which had been filmed from March to May 2019, the film being primarily filmed in Vancouver. Released in February 2020, the film received generally mixed reviews. Cathcart received praise for her performance, with '' The Post'' writing that Cathcart was one of the only members of the returning cast to bring the "same type of energy as hedid in the first film." She was nominated for the Cogeco Fund Audience Choice Award.. In mid-2020, because of the restrictions placed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Cathcart hosted a virtual series called ''Letters To'' which allowed fans to connect with their favourite authors. Developed by Picturestart and released on Facebook Watch, ''Glitter Magazine'' wrote that the series had "all literary fans buzzing".

Cathcart reprised her role in the third film of the ''To All the Boys I've Loved Before'' film series titled '' To All the Boys: Always and Forever, Lara Jean'', which was mostly filmed in Vancouver, New York and Seoul from July to September 2019.

Cathcart played Molly in the 2021 Disney Channel Original Movie ''Spin''. Principal photography for ''Spin'' began in early October 2020 and wrapped in late November. Cathcart's performance was commended by Amy Amatangelo of ''Paste'', who called her the "generation's secret weapon" and stated that projects including her were certain to be of high quality. She also voiced Dizzy in animated special '' Descendants: The Royal Wedding'', which aired after ''Spin''.

In March 2021, it was announced Cathcart would reprise her role as Kitty Song-Covey in a ''To All the Boys'' spin-off series, later revealed to be titled ''XO, Kitty''. ''TheWrap'' described her as "appropriately sweet", while ''Comic Book Resources'' stated she "makes a confident jump to a leading role".

Filmography

Film

Television

Web

Awards and nominations

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Cathcart, Anna
2003 births
Living people
21st-century Canadian actresses
Actresses from Vancouver
Canadian actresses of Chinese descent
Canadian child actresses
Canadian film actresses
Canadian Screen Award winning actors
Canadian television actresses
Canadian voice actresses
Canadian web series actresses
Canadian people of Irish descent