Kate Dollenmayer is an American actor and film archivist. She made her debut as the star of

Andrew Bujalski Andrew Bujalski (; born April 29, 1977) is an American film director, screenwriter and actor, who has been called the "godfather of mumblecore." Life and career Bujalski, born in Boston in 1977, is the son of artist-turned-businesswoman Sheil ...

's 2002 film '' Funny Ha Ha''. She subsequently appeared in Bujalski's next film ''

Mutual Appreciation ''Mutual Appreciation'' is a 2005 independent film by Andrew Bujalski who previously directed '' Funny Ha Ha'' (2002). The script is primarily dialogue between a group of young people as they try to determine where they fit in the world. It is con ...

'' in 2005.

Early and personal life

Dollenmayer was born in

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

and raised in

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. She attended public schools in Grafton and Hopkinton as child, before graduating from high school at the

Bancroft School Bancroft School in Worcester, Massachusetts, United States, is an independent, co-educational, PreK–12, college-preparatory day school. Students typically live in Central Massachusetts and MetroWest Boston. The school campus measures . ...

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Massachusetts, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the list of United States cities by population, 113th most populous city in the United States. Named after Worcester ...

. Dollenmayer uses both "

she/her In Modern English, ''she'' is a singular, feminine, third-person pronoun. Morphology In Standard Modern English, ''she'' has four shapes representing five distinct word forms: * ''she'': the nominative (subjective) form * ''her'': the acc ...

" and "

they/them Singular ''they'', along with its inflected or derivative forms, ''them'', ''their'', ''theirs'', and ''themselves'' (also ''themself'' and ''theirself''), is a gender-neutral third-person pronoun derived from plural they. It typically occu ...

" pronouns. She currently resides in

Richmond, California Richmond is a city in western Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city was municipal corporation, incorporated on August 3, 1905, and has a Richmond, California, City Council, city council.

Career

Dollenmayer obtained her BA in Earth and Planetary Studies from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in 1998, where she additionally took courses in animation and film. She and Bujalski met at Harvard, where she was his friend and roommate prior to the filming of ''Funny Ha Ha''. In a ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' review of ''Funny Ha Ha'', Ann Hornaday praised her performance by writing, "Dollenmayer has managed to transform a sad sack into an indie screen goddess." For her work in the film, Dollenmayer placed third for the

National Society of Film Critics The National Society of Film Critics (NSFC) is an American film critic organization. The organization is known for its highbrow tastes, and its annual awards are one of the most prestigious film critics awards in the United States. In January 2024, ...

' Best Actress award in

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, tying with

Vera Farmiga Vera Ann Farmiga ( ; born August 6, 1973) is an American actress. Farmiga began her professional acting career on stage in the original Broadway production of '' Taking Sides'' (1996). After expanding to television and film, her breakthrough ...

for her performance in '' Down to the Bone''. After the success of ''Funny Ha Ha'', a casting director approached Dollenmayer about potentially auditioning for a

Judd Apatow Judd Apatow (; born December 6, 1967) is an American director, producer, screenwriter, and comedian known for his work in comedy films. Apatow is the founder of Apatow Productions, through which he wrote, produced, and directed his films ''The 4 ...

comedy, but she declined the opportunity upon reading the script. According to Bujalski, this marked the end of her acting career, save for her brief appearance in his film ''Mutual Appreciation''. Dollenmayer received an MFA in film and video from

California Institute of the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a Private university, private art school in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for ...

in 2003. From 2013 to 2017, she was an audiovisual archivist for the

Wende Museum The Wende is an art museum, cultural center, and archive in Culver City, California. Mission ''Wende'' (pronounced “venda”) is a German word that translates into English as “transformation.” It commonly refers to the era of uncertain ...

, where she contributed to the preservation of non-feature length films. She served as a film archivist at the

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., with the stated goal of adva ...

from April 2018 to October 2022, before being promoted to senior archivist, where she worked until April 2023. Since 2016, she has served on the board of directors for the Center for Home Movies. As of 2024, she currently works as a film archivist for the

Prelinger Archives The Prelinger Archives is a collection of films relating to U.S. cultural history, the evolution of the American landscape, everyday life, and social history. Originally based in New York City from 1982 through 2002, it is now based in San Franci ...

References

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dollenmayer, Kate American film actresses Place of birth missing (living people) Living people 21st-century American actresses Year of birth missing (living people) California Institute of the Arts alumni Harvard College alumni