Katheryn Winnick

Early life

Katheryn Winnick was born on December 17, 1977 in Etobicoke, Ontario, 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 at age seven, and obtained her first black belt at 13. By age 21, she had started three Taekwondo schools. She taught Taekwondo and self-defense to actors while completing her degree in kinesiology at York University, Toronto. Winnick studied at and is an alumnus of the William Esper Studio.

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.

Career

Winnick entered the film industry by teaching martial arts to actors on movie sets; the experience inspired her to pursue professional acting. She was then cast as a series regular on Student Bodies.

Since then, she has appeared in many films, including Stand Up Guys, Failure to Launch, Love & Other Drugs, and Killers. She has guest-starred in numerous television shows, most notably House, The Glades, Bones, Law & Order, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, CSI, CSI: NY, CSI: Miami, Criminal Minds, Person of Interest, and Nikita.

In 2010, she joined the cast of Bones, in the recurring role of Hannah Burley, a glamourous war correspondent and love interest for main character Seeley Booth.

Winnick starred in the comedy-drama film Cold Souls, which had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival 2009. In 2011, she was cast in a guest role on The CW's spy drama Nikita. In 2013, she starred in A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III and appeared in the comedy The Art of the Steal. She also joined History Channel's Vikings, starring in the role of Lagertha, a legendary figure in Viking history. In July 2017, Winnick stated on her Twitter 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. She was later revealed to be cast as a main character in the Nazi Zombies mode of the video game Call of Duty: WWII.

In July 2018, it was announced that Winnick had been cast in the series regular role of Christine "C.G." Gavin on the Netflix series, Wu Assassins. In February 2020, Winnick was announced to play the starring role of Jenny Hoyt on the ABC crime drama series Big Sky.

Personal life

In 2015, Winnick 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 during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In November 2022, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs banned Winnick from entering Russia, along with 99 other Canadians, in response to international sanctions.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

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

As a director

• Wu Assassins (2019), episode: "Legacy"
• Vikings (2020), episode: "Valhalla Can Wait"

Awards and nominations

References

References

1. (December 18, 2022). "Katheryn Winnick who played Lagertha in 'Vikings' turns 45". [[The News International]].
2. Dowling, Amber. (2020-01-23). "'Vikings's' Katheryn Winnick Breaks Down Directing the 'Start of Bjorn's Downfall'".
3. Vlessing, Etan. (December 14, 2023). "'Vikings' Star Katheryn Winnick Warns Against Ukraine War Fatigue: "We Can't Forget"".
4. "Win Kai".
5. (March 9, 2018). "Notable Alumni - TV/Film/Theater".
6. Hernon, Alison. (May 2, 2022). "Katheryn Winnick's Jenny Hoyt is driven to protect Montana and keep it safe in Big Sky - PhotoBook Magazine". PhotoBook Magazine.
7. "'Person Of Interest' Season 4 Spoilers: Will Jim Caviezel, Michael Emerson Lose To Samaritan's "New Agents?" [WATCH]". Mstarz.
8. "Vikings Actress Katheryn Winnick Teases Big Announcement At SDCC 2017".
9. Kroll, Justin. (2017-07-17). "‘Vikings’ Star Katheryn Winnick Joins ‘Call of Duty: WWII’ Voice Cast".
10. Petski, Denise. (July 20, 2018). "'Wu Assassins': Katheryn Winnick, Lewis Tan, Tommy Flanagan & Tzi Ma Join Netflix Martial Arts Drama". Deadline Hollywood.
11. Andreeva, Nellie. (February 27, 2020). "Katheryn Winnick To Star In David E. Kelley's PI Drama Series 'The Big Sky' On ABC". Deadline Hollywood.
12. Winnick, Katheryn. (April 15, 2015). "Katheryn Winnick Hollywood's Action Diva".
13. "Home {{!}} placeholder".
14. Gardner, Chris. (2022-03-23). "'Vikings' Star Katheryn Winnick on Launching a Foundation to Help Ukraine".
15. (November 14, 2022). "Russia bans Jim Carrey and other Canadians over Trudeau's opposition to invasion". Washington Examiner.
16. Gilyadov, Alex. (February 23, 2018). "Netflix Adapting Dark Horse's Polar". [[IGN]].
17. "'Vikings' star Katheryn Winnick joins Aaron Eckhart on conspiracy thriller 'Wander' (exclusive)". Screendaily.
18. (June 19, 2019). "'Flag Day' Shoot Under Way: Sean Penn Directs & Stars In Drama With Dylan Penn, Josh Brolin, Miles Teller, Katheryn Winnick, More". Deadline Hollywood.
19. "Flag Day".
20. (July 23, 2019). "Kathryn Winnick Teases Directing 'Vikings' And 'Wu Assassins'". ET Canada.
21. Borines, Nobelle. (March 12, 2018). "Katheryn Winnick Celebrates Wrap On 'Vikings' Season 6 Directorial Debut After Clive Standen Reunion In Canada". [[Inquisitr]].
22. . (January 13, 2014). ["Canadian Screen Awards: Orphan Black, Less Than Kind, Enemy nominated"](http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/canadian-screen-awards-orphan-black-less-than-kind-enemy-nominated-1.2494447). *[[CBC News]]*.
23. "Women's Image Network Awards 2014".
24. Li, Shirley. (May 6, 2015). "The Critics' Choice TV Awards 2015: And the nominees are...".
25. (July 8, 2015). "Golden Maple Awards'15 Winners Include Brandon Jay McLaren and Amanda Crew {{!}} IndieWire".
26. Kelley, Seth. (April 28, 2015). "'Vikings' Leads Golden Maple Awards' 2015 Nominees". [[Variety (magazine).
27. McKenzie, Rob. (October 2025). "Giving the doctor a taste of his own meds - Finally, house meets his match in Canuck actress Katheryn Winnick". National Post.
28. Lepage, Mark. (September 2005). "Toro Woman". Toro.
29. Kroll, Justin. (June 28, 2012). "Fimmel, Winnick set sail on 'Vikings'". [[Variety (magazine).
30. (March 1, 2013). "Vikings – Katheryn Winnick Conference Call". SpoilerTV.
31. Franklin, Sheila. (February 5, 2009). "Katheryn Winnick Talks About Her Latest Movie 'Cold Souls' With Paul Giamatti And More". Starpulsse.