Kathleen Robertson

Early life

Robertson was born in Hamilton, Ontario and attended Sherwood Secondary School and Hillfield Strathallan College, a local private school. She started taking acting classes when she was ten and had roles in local theatre productions. Her first television appearances were in The Campbells, My Secret Identity and E.N.G.

Career

Acting

From 1990 to 1993, Robertson starred as Tina Edison, the eldest of three children of Dr. Fred Edison (Joe Flaherty), on the Canadian sitcom Maniac Mansion. This role earned her two nominations for Young Artist Awards. She appeared in several small films and television shows, and did not debut on the big screen until her small role in the 1992 thriller film Blown Away, opposite Corey Haim and Nicole Eggert. She also made her American debut in the 1992 made-for-television movie, Quiet Killer, co-starring Kate Jackson.

In 1994, Robertson was cast in the series regular role of Clare Arnold in the Fox teen drama Beverly Hills, 90210. She starred in the show from 1994 to 1997, during seasons four to seven. In 1997, her then-boyfriend, director Gregg Araki cast her as Lucifer, one of a group of bored, alienated, and very horny Los Angeles teens in the black comedy drama film Nowhere. She later had a role in his next film, called Splendor (1999). Robertson also has appeared in several films during her career. She appeared opposite Luke Wilson in romantic comedy Dog Park (1998), in Sally Field's directed comedy-drama Beautiful (2000), and the parody movie Scary Movie 2 (2001). She later had more serious roles with the 2002 acclaimed independent drama film XX/XY, opposite Mark Ruffalo. In the same year, Robertson played the role of Evelyn Dick, a Canadian convicted murderer, whose trial remains the most sensationalized event in Canadian criminal history, in the made-for-television movie, Torso: The Evelyn Dick Story. Robertson was nominated for a Gemini Award for her performance in the film.

In 2002, Robertson starred as one of the leads in the short-lived Fox legal drama series Girls Club created by David E. Kelley. She later appeared in a number of independent films, and had guest-starring roles on Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Medium, CSI: Miami, and Rookie Blue. In 2006, she appeared in Hollywoodland opposite Adrien Brody. From 2006 to 2007, she Executive Produced and had the leading role in the IFC comedy series, The Business. In 2007, she starred in the EMMY winning Syfy miniseries Tin Man as the primary antagonist of the story.

In 2011, she was cast as Kitty O'Neill, Tom Kane's personal aide alongside Kelsey Grammer in the Starz original drama series Boss. The series was cancelled after two seasons in late 2012. Robertson also starred in a number of made-for-television movies in recent years, primarily for Lifetime network, including Last Exit (2006), and Time of Death (2013). In 2013, Robertson portrayed the wife of hockey legend Gordie Howe in the made-for-television movie, Mr. Hockey: The Gordie Howe Story.{{cite news|url=https://www.huffpost.com/archive/ca/entry/gordie-howe-movie_n_3155316|title=Gordie Howe, Mr. Hockey, Played By Stargate's Michael Shanks In New Film

In 2013, Robertson was cast as the lead in the TNT detective drama series Murder in the First co-created by Steven Bochco which debuted on June 9, 2014. She plays the role of Hildy Mulligan, a homicide detective and single mother. In the same year she starred in the thriller film The Vatican Tapes that was released on February 27, 2015, and was cast in recurring role as Jodi Morgan for the second season of A&E drama series Bates Motel. In 2015, Robertson had the leading role alongside Eric Dane in the four-hour miniseries The Fixer.

In 2018, Robertson was cast in the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and Netflix co-production drama series Northern Rescue. It was released on Netflix and CBC GEM on March 1, 2019. In 2021, Robertson had a pivotal role in the final season of The Expanse as the right hand of Marcos Inaros.

Writing

In 2010s, Robertson added producing and screenwriting to her resume. In 2015, Robertson completed the Writers Guild's Showrunners Training Program, where she was mentored by former WGA West president John Wells. In 2017 she began adapting The Possibilities, Kaui Hart Hemmings' follow up novel to The Descendants about a grieving Colorado mother whose son was killed in a skiing avalanche and then starts a friendship with a mysterious young girl. She is writing a feature drama film based on Chris Cleave's novel, Little Bee starring Julia Roberts. In 2017, she began developing Swimming with Sharks, a series based on the 1994 Hollywood satire film. The series was set to debut in 2020 on the former Quibi platform. The series was later picked up by The Roku Channel and premiered at South by Southwest in March 2022. She also created comedy-drama pilot Your Time Is Up for Lifetime with Christina Applegate attached to star. As of 2022 Robertson was writing a film for Paramount and Akiva Goldsman for director Johannes Roberts. She also sold a new series to CBC called APRES SKI as well as a show to Lionsgate with Academy Award nominated doc filmmaker Joe Berlinger attached to direct.

Personal life

Robertson dated independent filmmaker Gregg Araki from 1997 to 2000.

Robertson has been married to film producer Chris Cowles since 2004. They run a production company together, Debut Content, and have several films and television series in various stages of development. She gave birth to her first child, a son named William Robertson Cowles, on July 9, 2008, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. In October 2016, Robertson gave birth to her second son, Bennett.

Filmography

Film

Television

Writing and producing

• 2007 – The Business, Executive Producer
• 2022 – Swimming with Sharks, Producer, Executive Producer & Writer
• TBA – Your Time Is Up, Writer
• TBA – Little Bee, Writer

References

References

1. "Kathleen Robertson Biography". Tvguide.com.
2. "Kathleen Robertson".
3. (July 8, 1973). "Kathleen Robertson biography and filmography". Tribute.ca.
4. Rebecca Flint Marx. (2014). "Kathleen Robertson – Biography – Movies & TV". [[The New York Times]].
5. "Kathleen Robertson Biography – Fandango".
6. Holden, Stephen. (May 9, 1997). "Movie Review – Nowhere – Teen-Agers Who Have Too Much Free Time". [[The New York Times]].
7. Susman, Gary. (October 30, 2002). "David Kelley's streak ends with quick demise of "girls club"". [[Entertainment Weekly]].
8. Andreeva, Nellie. (April 20, 2011). "Starz Sets Production Start And Remaining Cast For Kelsey Grammer Series 'Boss'". [[Deadline Hollywood]].
9. (November 20, 2012). "Boss: Cancelled; No Season Three But... | canceled + renewed TV shows". TV Series Finale.
10. "The Web's Best Television Resource". TheFutonCritic.com.
11. Robyn Ross. (May 1, 2014). "Take a Stab at TNT's Murder in the First – Today's News: Our Take". TVGuide.com.
12. (July 19, 2013). "TNT Greenlights Steven Bochco's 'Murder In The First' For Summer 2014". [[Deadline Hollywood]].
13. (November 17, 2011). "Steven Bochco's 'Murder in the First' Gets Series Order at TNT". Hollywoodreporter.com.
14. Friedlander, Whitney. (September 19, 2013). "Steven Bochco's 'Murder in the First' Greenlit at TNT". Variety.
15. Creepy, Uncle. (June 28, 2013). "Cast Recorded on The Vatican Tapes". Dread Central.
16. Slezak, Michael. (August 13, 2013). "Kathleen Robertson Checks Into Bates Motel". TVLine.
17. (July 16, 2014). "Eric Dane, Kathleen Robertson Board Canadian Miniseries 'The Fixer'". The Hollywood Reporter.
18. (February 4, 2019). "About the show". CBC.
19. (April 14, 2022). "Kathleen Robertson reveals the #MeToo 'horror stories' that inspired 'Swimming With Sharks'".
20. (August 4, 2015). "Kathleen Robertson Writing Dramedy For Lionsgate TV With Christina Applegate Attached To Star".
21. (April 12, 2017). "Kathleen Robertson to Adapt 'The Possibilities' for Jason Reitman at Fox Searchlight".
22. (June 11, 2018). "Julia Roberts Attached To Star In Amazon's 'Little Bee' Film Adaptation; Kathleen Robertson Scripting".
23. (June 11, 2018). "Julia Roberts to Produce, Star in Drama 'Little Bee' for Amazon".
24. (December 2, 2016). "Kathleen Robertson Sells 'Swimming With Sharks' Series Adaptation To E!, Dramedy Starring Christina Applegate To Lifetime".
25. (November 20, 2019). "'Swimming With Sharks' Update From Kathleen Robertson Set at Quibi".
26. (May 14, 2022). "Kiernan Shipka Goes After Diane Kruger in Hollywood Battle Royale in First Trailer for 'Swimming With Sharks'".
27. Szymanski, Michael. (July 20, 1997). "Having It Both Ways". Los Angeles Times.
28. "Kathleen Robertson gives birth to son William".
29. (2002). "Nominations & Awards Archives". [[Canadian Comedy Awards]].
30. Vlessing, Etan. (2007-08-29). "Pay TV checks in with Gemini noms".