Kate Walsh

Kate Walsh (born October 13, 1967) is an American film and television actress, currently known for her role as Dr. Addison Montgomery on the ABC dramas Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice.

Kate Walsh was born in San Jose, California and grew up in Tucson, Arizona. Her father is an Irish immigrant and her maternal grandfather was Italian American. Walsh studied at University of Arizona where she got involved in regional theatre. She was also a model in Japan during the 1980s and now lives in Los Angeles.

Kate Walsh was a model in Japan during the 1980s. When Walsh moved to Chicago, she began working with the Piven Theatre Workshop. She performed on National Public Radio in the production of the radio play Born Guilty. Walsh subsequently moved to New York City and joined the comedy troupe Burn Manhattan on June 27, 1987, performing in a number of Off-Broadway plays. After playing Cathy Buxton in the "Stakeout" episode of Homicide: Life on the Street in 1996, her first major television appearance was in 1997, when she appeared on The Drew Carey Show as Carey's character's girlfriend Nicki. She wore a fatsuit in some episodes of the show, as the Nicki character was a formerly obese woman who lost weight & slowly started to gain it back. She went on to portray Carol Nelson in HBO's The Mind of the Married Man television series, and played Norm MacDonald's romantic interest in the sitcom "The Norm Show". Walsh also made a notable guest appearance on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation as Mimosa, a transsexual. She sometimes appeared in sketches on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. She had a recurring role on Karen Sisco as Detective Marley Novak in 2003 and 2004.

In 2005, she was cast in the ABC hit, Grey's Anatomy, as Dr. Addison Montgomery, the estranged spouse of Derek Shepherd ("Dr. McDreamy", played by Patrick Dempsey). The role of Addison was originally conceived as a short-term role (five episodes) but audience response to Walsh, and to the Derek/Meredith/Addison triangle, convinced series creator Shonda Rhimes to expand the role and make Walsh a series regular. As she noted in an interview she's "The house guest who never leaves" referring to her extended role on both Grey's Anatomy & The Drew Carey Show.

It was announced in February 2007 that Walsh's Grey's Anatomy character Addison would be in a spin-off of Grey's Anatomy that began airing in September 2007. Taye Diggs, Tim Daly, Amy Brenneman, Chris Lowell and Audra McDonald have been cast in the spin-off, which has been given the name Private Practice. Beginning in September 2007, Walsh has appeared television commercials for the 2008 Cadillac CTS. Her memorable quote in the series: "When you turn your car on, does it return the favor?"

The crime drama Normal Life marked her film debut; she played the sister of a bank robber played by Luke Perry. She portrayed a kleptomaniac in the film Peppermills. Walsh also appeared in the cult movie, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, Part 2. She had her first significant role in a major Hollywood production as Will Ferrell's wife in the family comedy, Kicking & Screaming, alongside Robert Duvall and Mike Ditka. Walsh has also appeared in several other films with Ferrell, including Bewitched and an "alternate film" to Anchorman titled, Wake Up, Ron Burgundy: The Lost Movie.