Early life

Walsh was born in San Jose, California, the daughter of Angela (née Bochetto) and Joseph Walsh. She grew up in a Roman Catholic household in Tucson, Arizona. Her father is Irish, being a native of Navan, County Meath, and her mother was of Italian descent. Her mother lives in Nevada. Walsh has four older siblings: two sisters and two brothers. Her brothers, Sean and Joe, are filmmakers.

Walsh attended Catalina Magnet High School for three years before transferring to and graduating from Rincon High School. She later studied at the University of Arizona, where she got involved in regional theater.

Career

Early career

Before modeling, Walsh worked at Burger King and Dairy Queen. She began as a model in Japan in the 1980s where she also taught English. Later she moved to Chicago and worked with the Piven Theatre Workshop. She also performed on National Public Radio in the production of the radio play Born Guilty. Walsh later moved to New York City and joined the comedy troupe Burn Manhattan on June 27, 1987, performing in a number of Off-Broadway plays.

Television roles

After playing Cathy Buxton in the Homicide: Life on the Street episode "Stakeout" in 1996 and Navy Lieutenant Kirstin Blair in the Law & Order episode "Navy Blues", her first major television appearance was in 1997, when she appeared on The Drew Carey Show as Drew Carey's love interest, Nicki Fifer. She wore a fatsuit in some episodes of the show, as the Nicki character was a formerly obese woman who lost weight and 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 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 her breakout role in the ABC series Grey's Anatomy, as Dr. Addison Montgomery, the estranged spouse of Derek Shepherd ("Dr. McDreamy", played by Patrick Dempsey).

It was announced in February 2007 that Walsh's Grey's Anatomy character 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 were cast in the spin-off, Private Practice. Walsh returned to Seattle Grace as a special guest star for episode thirteen in Season 4 and episodes 15 and 16 in Season 5 of Grey's Anatomy. She also briefly returned for one episode in season 6 and two episodes in the seventh and eighth seasons.

She continued playing the character of Addison Montgomery on the fourth season of Private Practice, for which ABC ordered a full season of episodes. On January 10, 2011, ABC picked up Private Practice for the 2011-2012 fall season (5th season). Walsh guest-starred in "Song Beneath The Song", a musical episode of Grey's Anatomy.

Beginning in September 2007, Walsh has appeared in television commercials for the 2008 Cadillac CTS. She is also the current spokeswoman for Caress' Exotic Oil Infusions body wash. On June 12, 2012, Walsh announced that the sixth season of Private Practice would be her final season. However, she mentioned she'd be open to reprise her role in Grey's Anatomy for a few guest spots.

In 2013, Walsh appeared in Full Circle, a 10-episode ensemble drama series created by Neil LaBute and airing on DirecTV's Audience Network channel.

In 2014, Walsh had a supporting role in the first season of FX's television series Fargo She had a guest starring role in Hulu's original series The Hotwives of Orlando and later starred in the NBC series Bad Judge, which aired for one season.

Film roles

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 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 character's wife in the family comedy, Kicking & Screaming, alongside Robert Duvall and Mike Ditka. Walsh has appeared in several other films with Ferrell, including Bewitched (with Nicole Kidman) and an "alternate film" to Anchorman titled, Wake Up, Ron Burgundy: The Lost Movie.

In 2003, Walsh appeared in Under the Tuscan Sun, with Diane Lane and Sandra Oh. She played the partner of Sandra Oh's character. Regarding her lesbian roles, Walsh said: "Do I give off a girl-on-girl vibe, I wonder? Or is it because I’m tall? I guess the chicks just dig me!"

Walsh was set to star opposite John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson in the supernatural thriller 1408, but she had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts. Walsh starred alongside Dennis Quaid and Paul Bettany in the biblical horror film Legion, that was released on January 22, 2010. She played Charlie's mother in The Perks of Being a Wallflower.

Theatre

In May 2010, Walsh made her off-Broadway debut opposite Paul Sparks in Atlantic Theater Company's world premiere of Stephen Belber's Dusk Rings a Bell. The new play began previews on May 19 and opened May 27 at Atlantic Stage 2 and played through June 26. The New York Times called it "a sublime, beautifully acted drama." She also had a long theater career in Chicago, which included roles in Happy Birthday Wanda June, The Danube, Moon Under Miami and Troilus and Cressida. In New York, Walsh was a member of the improvisational comedy troupe Burn Manhattan and the New York City Players theater ensemble.

Fashion

Walsh founded Boyfriend LLC, a beauty and lifestyle company in 2010. The company launched its first product in November 2010: a perfume called "Boyfriend". HSN, a leading multichannel retailer, and Walsh partnered to launch the "Boyfriend" fragrance with live appearances by the actress/entrepreneur on HSN, November 11 and 12. Walsh's fragrance train case, including Boyfriend eau de perfume, pulse point oil and votive candles, sold out on day one exceeding sales expectations.

Leading up to the launch of Boyfriend, Walsh released 8 webimercials written and directed by the actress herself, relaying the sentiments the Boyfriend scent was developed to evoke. Launched via various social media channels, including Twitter, YouTube and select blogs, the Boyfriend webimercials have been viewed more than 200,000 times to date and were released by Walsh prior to her appearance on HSN to drive excitement and anticipation. On July 9, 2012, Kate Walsh launched her newest fragrance called "Billionaire Boyfriend" which has become a huge hit across the world.

Personal life

Walsh resides in Los Angeles, California.

In April 2007, Walsh began dating 20th Century Fox executive Alex Young. They were first spotted having lunch together in 2006, and then went public with their relationship by attending a Barack Obama fundraiser in Los Angeles, which was co-hosted by Young. Young proposed to Walsh during a trip to San Francisco, California. They married on September 1, 2007 at the Ojai Presbyterian Church in Ojai, California. On December 11, 2008, Young filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences; the official date of separation in the divorce petition was listed as November 22. On December 24, 2008, Walsh counterfiled for divorce, contesting the date of separation listed in Young's divorce papers. The divorce was finalized on February 5, 2010.

Social and political activism

Since the summer of 2007, Walsh has been the spokesperson for Narcolepsy Network, working to promote national awareness of narcolepsy through infomercials and DVDs. In January 2008, Walsh participated in a video for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama called, "Yes We Can", produced by will.i.am of The Black Eyed Peas. She also campaigned for Obama in Arizona, Texas, Nevada, and Pennsylvania. In July 2008, Walsh was nominated as a candidate on the Unite for Strength slate for a place on the national governing board of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) in elections scheduled for September 18, 2008. On September 18, 2008, Walsh was elected to serve on the SAG board for a three-year term. Walsh ran as a candidate with the Unite for Strength party who won six of the 11 Hollywood Division seats which were up for contention in the recent Screen Actor's Guild National Board elections.

Walsh supports pet adoption and frequently campaigns for the cause. On February 7, 2008, she cut the ribbon to a new dog adoption center named Pedigree(R) Dogstore in Times Square. In 2005, Walsh joined the Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA)'s Board of Advocates, and in 2008 received the PPFA Maggie Award for an Artist who Stands Up for Reproductive Health and Freedom. She has participated in numerous Planned Parenthood activities, including national fundraisers, local Planned Parenthood affiliate events, the PPFA Awards Gala, and lobby day on Capitol Hill promoting the need for comprehensive sex education. In January 2009, she spoke at the Planned Parenthood Presidential Inauguration Brunch in Washington, D.C.

As announced in late 2009, Walsh partnered with the ocean conservancy and advocacy group Oceana to call for increased sea turtle protections. She joined experts from the group on a trip to the Virgin Islands to witness the turtles' hatching and moving to the sea. In her own words: "I want to get the word out and make people aware about the challenges facing sea turtles. I also want to help get legislation enacted to keep harmful fishing techniques to a minimum and help protect the sea turtles."

Walsh referenced Oceana during a September 16, 2010 appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. She told Jay Leno that her dress was covered in sushi and sashimi as an homage to a dress made of beef worn by Lady Gaga at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards. While she claimed it was sustainable seafood, Walsh later admitted via her Twitter account that the sushi was fake. She attended a meeting on Capitol Hill in which they marked the one year anniversary since the BP oil spill. On November 3, 2012, Walsh spoke in Dubuque, IA during one of President Obama campaign stops days before Election Day.

Filmography

Films

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1996	Normal Life	Cindy Anderson
1997	Peppermills	Lena
	Night of the Lawyers	Pressie Brooks (Biker)
1998	Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, Part II	Cricket
	Three Below Zero	Moirat
1998	Heaven	Diner
2000	Family Man, TheThe Family Man	Jeannie
2002	Anatomy of a Breakup	Lorra
	Day in the Life of Nancy M. Pimental, AA Day in the Life of Nancy M. Pimental	Kate	Direct-to-DVD
2003	Under the Tuscan Sun	Grace
2004	After the Sunset	Shelia
	Wake Up, Ron Burgundy: The Lost Movie	Sue	Direct-to-DVD
2005	Kicking & Screaming	Barbara Weston
	Inside Out	Tyne
	Bewitched	Sexy Waitress
2009	One Way to Valhalla	Raina
2010	Legion	Sandra Anderson
2011	Angels Crest	Roxanne
2012	Perks of Being a Wallflower, TheThe Perks of Being a Wallflower	Mrs. Kelmeckis
2013	Scary Movie 5	Mal Colb
2014	Dermaphoria	Morell
2015	Just Before I Go	Kathleen Morgan
	Staten Island Summer	Danny's Mom
2017	Felt		Filming

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1996	Homicide: Life on the Street	Cathy Buxton	1 episode
1996	Swift Justice	Paula "Paulie" Goddard	1 episode
1997	Law & Order	Lt. Kirstin Blair	1 episode
1997-2001	Drew Carey Show, TheThe Drew Carey Show	Nicki Fifer	21 episodes
1998	Cupid	Heidi	1 episode
1999	Turks	Terry
1999	Mike O'Malley Show, TheThe Mike O'Malley Show	Marcia
2000	Cursed	Stace	1 episode
2000-2001	Norm Show, TheThe Norm Show	Jenny	5 episodes
2001	Fugitive, TheThe Fugitive	Agent Eve Hilliard	3 episodes
2001	Mind of the Married Man, TheThe Mind of the Married Man	Carol Nelson	3 episodes
2003-2004	Karen Sisco	Marley Novak	2 episodes
2004	Joint Custody	Florence
2004	Men's Room, TheThe Men's Room	Karen	3 episodes
2004	CSI: Crime Scene Investigation	Mimosa	1 episode
2004	Complete Savages	Maggie	1 episode
2005	Bobby Cannon	London	Television film
2005	Eyes	Kendall Judd	1 episode
2005-2012	Grey's Anatomy	Dr. Addison Montgomery	Guest (Season 1) Main Cast (Season 2-3) Special Guest Star (Season 4-8): 59 Episodes
2007-2013	Private Practice		Lead Role (Season 1-6): 111 Episodes
2008	Upright Citizens Brigade: Asssscat	Guest Monologist	Television film
2009	King of the Hill	Kat Savage	1 episode
2011	Comedy Central Roast of Charlie Sheen	Roaster	1 episode
2013	Full Circle	Trisha	Main Cast Member (DirecTV Original Series)
2014	Fargo	Gina Hess	4 episodes
2014-2015	Bad Judge	Rebecca Wright	Main Cast: 13 Episodes
2015	Undateable	Customer	1 episode

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Result	Category	Work
2006	Satellite Awards	Won	Best Ensemble, Television	Grey's Anatomy
2006	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Nominated	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series	Grey's Anatomy
2007		Won	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series	Grey's Anatomy
2008		Nominated	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series	Grey's Anatomy
2011	People's Choice Awards	Nominated	Favorite TV Drama Actress	Private Practice
2012	San Diego Film Critics Society Awards	Won	Best Ensemble Performance	The Perks of Being a Wallflower
2012	Awards Circuit Community Awards	Nominated	Best Cast Ensemble	The Perks of Being a Wallflower

[ Source: Wikipedia ]