Kelly Rowan (born October 26, 1965) is a Canadian film and television actress and former fashion model. A native of

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

, Rowan studied acting in London and New York City before working as a model. She was featured in the horror film '' The Gate'' (1987) before earning critical acclaim for her performance in the Canadian television film ''Adrift'', for which she won a

Gemini Award The Gemini Awards were awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television between 1986–2011 to recognize the achievements of Canada's television industry. The Gemini Awards are analogous to the Emmy Awards given in the United States ...

for Best Actress. After a lead role in '' Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh'' (1995), Rowan starred as Mattie Shaw on the series '' Lonesome Dove: The Outlaw Years'' (1996–1997). Rowan went on to garner international fame for her portrayal of California real estate developer

Kirsten Cohen Kirsten Cohen (maiden name Nichol) is a fictional character on the FOX television series ''The O.C.'', portrayed by Kelly Rowan. Kirsten is the wife of Sandy Cohen, mother to Seth Cohen, and the adoptive mother of Ryan Atwood. Originally portr ...

on the American television series '' The O.C.'', which ran from 2003 to 2007. She had a leading role on the crime series ''

Perception Perception () is the organization, identification, and interpretation of sensory information in order to represent and understand the presented information or environment. All perception involves signals that go through the nervous system ...

'' from 2012 to 2015.

Early life

Rowan was born October 26, 1965 in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, and is a graduate of

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Northern Secondary School Northern Secondary School (often referred to as Northern Secondary, Northern, or NSS) is a public high school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It teaches grades 9 through 12. It is a part of the Toronto District School Board (TDSB). Prior to Amalgama ...

. She left the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO), also known as Western University or Western, is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by resident ...

to pursue acting, and studied at the

British American Drama Academy The British American Drama Academy is a drama school in London, in the United Kingdom. It is affiliated with Sarah Lawrence College and Yale University. Background The British American Drama Academy (BADA) was founded in 1983 by Tony Branch and ...

in the United Kingdom and at the

Neighborhood Playhouse A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town, suburb or rural area, ...

in New York City. While in New York, Rowan worked as a model to earn a living.

Career

After studying acting and modeling in New York, Rowan went on to appear in films such as '' The Gate'' (1987), '' Hook'' (1991), ''

Three to Tango ''Three to Tango'' is a 1999 romantic comedy film directed by Damon Santostefano, written by Rodney Patrick Vaccaro and Aline Brosh McKenna, and starring Matthew Perry, Neve Campbell, Dylan McDermott and Oliver Platt. Plot Architects Oscar N ...

'' (1999), and ''

One Eight Seven ''One Eight Seven'' (also known as ''187'') is a 1997 American crime thriller film directed by Kevin Reynolds. It was the first top-billed starring role for Samuel L. Jackson, who plays a Los Angeles teacher caught with gang trouble in an urban ...

'' (1997). Rowan guest-starred in television series such as '' The Outer Limits'', '' Growing Pains'', '' Da Vinci's Inquest'', ''

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', also referred to as ''CSI'' and ''CSI: Las Vegas'', is an American procedural forensics crime drama television series that ran on CBS from October 6, 2000, to September 27, 2015, spanning 15 seasons. This wa ...

'' and ''

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

''. In 1993, she won a

for her work in the television movie ''Adrift''. In 1995–96 she played Matty Shaw, a funeral parlor operator and gun smith, in the TV series '' Lonesome Dove: The Outlaw Years''. In 2002, Rowan guest-starred in four episodes of ''

Boomtown A boomtown is a community that undergoes sudden and rapid population and economic growth, or that is started from scratch. The growth is normally attributed to the nearby discovery of a precious resource such as gold, silver, or oil, although ...

'', playing "Marian", the deceived wife of David McNorris ( Neal McDonough). In 2003, she was cast as

, a loving mother and businesswoman on

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

's teen drama series '' The O.C.''. In 2006, she won a Prism Award for this role. From 2012 to 2015, she starred as Natalie Vincent in the TNT series, ''

''. Her credits as executive producer include the 2008 television film ''The Good Times Are Killing Me'' and the 2007 television film ''She Drives Me Crazy'', which was her third project for Lifetime. Rowan has volunteered as an actress with the

Young Storytellers Foundation Young Storytellers, formerly widely known as the Young Storytellers Foundation, is an arts education non-profit operating primarily in Los Angeles. Young Storytellers currently serves elementary, middle, and high school students in Southern Califor ...

Personal life

Rowan announced her

engagement An engagement or betrothal is the period of time between the declaration of acceptance of a marriage proposal and the marriage itself (which is typically but not always commenced with a wedding). During this period, a couple is said to be ''fi ...

to David Thomson, 3rd Baron Thomson of Fleet in late June 2007. They broke off their engagement before Rowan, then age 42, gave birth to their daughter on April 28, 2008 in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rowan, Kelly 1965 births 20th-century Canadian actresses 21st-century Canadian actresses Actresses from Ottawa Female models from Ontario Canadian film actresses Canadian television actresses Living people Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre alumni University of Western Ontario alumni University of California, Los Angeles alumni