Katherine McNamara

Sobre Katherine McNamara

Katherine Grace McNamara, born on November 22, 1995, is an accomplished American actress and singer. She gained prominence for her role as Clary Fray in the supernatural drama series Shadowhunters from 2016 to 2019, earning nominations for both a Teen Choice Award and a People’s Choice Award for her performance. In 2022, she took on the role of Abby Walker in the western action series Walker: Independence, which brought her a nomination for the Critics Choice Super Award for Best Actress in an Action Series. Additionally, she played Mia Smoak in the superhero series Arrow and took on the character Julie Lawry in the miniseries adaptation of Stephen King's The Stand. Her film appearances include Lily Bowman in the romantic comedy New Year's Eve (2011), Rosa in the drama A Sort of Homecoming (2015), Sonya in the Maze Runner series, and Amy in the thriller Trust (2021).

McNamara was born in Kansas City, Missouri, as the only child of Ursula and Evan McNamara, a U.S. military veteran. She grew up in Lee's Summit, Missouri, and made the move to Los Angeles in 2011. As a gifted student, she was partially homeschooled, graduating from high school at the age of 14. By 17, she achieved summa cum laude honors with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Drexel University, completing much of her coursework online. In July 2017, she revealed her enrollment in an online master's literature program at Johns Hopkins University.

Her acting journey began on stage in Kansas City, leading to her involvement in film productions in the area, including the 2008 film Matchmaker Mary and the short Get Off My Porch. She was part of the Broadway revival of A Little Night Music in 2010 alongside Catherine Zeta-Jones and Angela Lansbury. McNamara made guest appearances on television shows such as Law & Order: SVU, 30 Rock, and Drop Dead Diva. She had notable roles in films like New Year's Eve and the Disney Channel original movie Girl vs. Monster, in which she portrayed Myra Santelli. She starred alongside others in Tom Sawyer & Huckleberry Finn as Becky Thatcher and featured in the independent films Contest and A Sort of Homecoming. Her recurring role as Claire, Kim's rival, in the Disney XD series Kickin’ It, and her appearance as Bryn Brietbart in Jessie heightened her profile. She also played Tara in an episode of The Thundermans and became known as Harper Munroe in the MTV series Happyland. In a significant development, on May 6, 2015, ABC Family (now known as Freeform) announced her as the lead character Clary Fray in Shadowhunters, adapting Cassandra Clare's popular book series.

McNamara joined the Maze Runner film franchise in the sequel Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials,