Katie Sackhoff

Katie Sackhoff (born April 8, 1980) is an American actress known for playing Captain Kara "Starbuck" Thrace on the Sci Fi Channel television program Battlestar Galactica. In 2004 she was nominated for a Saturn Award in the "Best Supporting Actress in a Television Series" category for her work in the Battlestar Galactica miniseries. In May 2006, she won the Saturn Award for the same role.

Katie Sackhoff was born in Portland, Oregon and grew up in St. Helens, Oregon. Her mother Mary is an ESL program coordinator and her father Dennis is a land developer. She graduated from Sunset High School in Beaverton in 1998. She participated in swimming and ballet until her right knee was injured, which led her to begin practicing yoga, which she continues today. Sackhoff has three tattoos: One, on the back of her neck, is a Chinese symbol ('choice'). The second is on her right shoulder and is of a cross, but because there is no Christianity in the Battlestar Galactica universe, whenever her right shoulder blade was exposed on screen in the first two seasons it would be covered with a bandage; in later seasons temporary additions were added to the cross to make it look like a terraced pyramid. The third is on her right forearm and reads "bona fiscalia," meaning "public property" in legal Latin. This tattoo is visible in numerous episodes. Other elements from Sackhoff's life have been incorporated into the show: a ring she wears on her thumb has been described as Starbuck's engagement ring from Zak Adama, and the actress's decision to quit smoking between seasons two and three was mirrored by her character.

First appearing in a series of commercials, TV movies and shows, Sackhoff got her first recurring role as 'Annie' in MTV's Undressed, next gaining a supporting role as Nell Bickford in The Education of Max Bickford. Katee made her motion picture debut in My First Mister, next appearing in film as Jenna "Jen" Danzig in Halloween: Resurrection.

Katie Sackoff appeared in her most notable role as Kara "Starbuck" Thrace in the mini-series and followup TV series of Battlestar Galactica, for which the actress won a Saturn Award in 2005 for Best Actress on Television. The actress's persona led the writers to develop the character of Starbuck as a more volatile and complex character. What executive produce Ron Moore described as magnetism, David Eick, producer, expanded stating, "We saw this whole other side that was all because of Katee—vulnerability, insecurity, desperation. We started freeing ourselves up to explore the weakness of the character, because we knew Katee could express those things without compromising the character's strength."

Sackhoff provided the voice of a female marine in the video game Halo 3 and is also featured in the viral marketing campaign for Resistance 2.