Katharine Isabelle | |
---|---|
Born | Katharine Isobel Murray [1] November 2, 1981 Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada |
Other names | Katie Murray, Katharine Isabelle |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1989–present |
Katharine Isobel Murray (born November 2, 1981), known professionally as Katharine Isabelle, is a Canadian actress. She has been described as a scream queen due to her roles in various horror films. She started her acting career in 1989, playing a small role in the television series MacGyver . She gained fame for the role of Ginger Fitzgerald in the films Ginger Snaps , Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed , and Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning . [2]
In 2014 Katharine Isabelle was awarded the Fangoria Chainsaw Award for Best Actress for her role as Mary Mason in the Canadian body horror film American Mary . [3]
Katharine Isabelle Murray was born on November 2, 1981, in Vancouver, British Columbia. Her parents are Graeme Murray, a production designer who has won two Emmy Awards for work on The X-Files , and Gail Johnson Murray, a writer and producer. Her paternal grandparents and maternal grandfather are from Scotland. [1] [4] [5] Her paternal half-brother is Joshua Murray, a director and former actor. [6] [1] [7]
Isabelle has been credited under several stage names during the course of her career.
She began her acting career at the age of eight as Katie Murray, playing an episodic role in the television series MacGyver in 1989. Then she continued to act in small episodic roles in television series and films such as: Cold Front , Immediate Family , The Last Winter , Burning Bridges, [8] Children of the Dust , Salt Water Moose , [9] and Married to a Stranger . [1]
Isabelle has worked with her half-brother Joshua Murray in Cold Front and The Last Winter. [7] In 1998, she worked with her father Graeme Murray on an episode of The X-Files titled "Schizogeny". [1]
In 1998, she played Lindsay Clark in the film Disturbing Behavior , where Katie Holmes, James Marsden, and Nick Stahl were her film partners. [6]
She first found fame with the role of Ginger Fitzgerald in the film Ginger Snaps , directed by John Fawcett; actress Emily Perkins became her co-star in the film as Brigitte Fitzgerald. Casting took place in Los Angeles, New York, Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver. Isabelle auditioned on the same day as Perkins at their agency in Vancouver, reading to one another off-camera. Screenwriter Karen Walton said that they were exactly as she had pictured the characters when their taped auditions had arrived. [10] The film tells how during the filming of an amateur horror film, the two sisters find themselves being hunted by a monster. One of the sisters is bitten, but her wounds heal incredibly fast leaving the sisters suspicious of what it is that's hunting them. [11] [12]
What Culture said:
Obsessed with death and morbidity, and afraid of adulthood, Ginger Fitzgerald, portrayed by Katharine Isabelle of American Mary fame, only gets worse when she's bitten by a lycanthrope and the transformation into a wolf begins. She gradually becomes aggressive and over-sexualised, loses her relationship with her sister, grows pointy teeth and sprouts hair in really weird places. She even grows a tail that she actually attempts to cut off. It takes a big set of cojones to try to cut off any body part. Ultimately though, the film is interesting because it examines the dichotomy between Ginger's humanity and her animalistic side. [13]
Jessica Roakes of The Toast also mentions the metaphorical nature of the character saying "Ginger’s body has betrayed her by menstruating. This is a key tenet of the body-horror genre — the monstrous comes not just from the outside, but from within the human body, from infection or perversion or unwanted biological functions. In Ginger’s case, it is her metamorphosis from girl to woman that renders her monstrous." [14]
The actress also portrayed the character in the sequel Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed (2004) and the prequel Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning . [15]
Two years later, Isabelle appeared in the film Insomnia . [16] In this detective thriller directed by Christopher Nolan, the actress played along with Al Pacino, Robin Williams and Hilary Swank. In 2012, Isabelle starred in the horror film twins Jen and Sylvia Soska American Mary . American Mary premiered at the London FrightFest Film Festival on August 27, 2012. It received a limited theatrical run in the U.S. on May 31, 2013, and became available on video on demand on May 16, 2013. [17] This role brought her many awards at various horror film festivals, including the "Fangoria Chainsaw Awards". [16]
In 2008, Isabelle received the Gemini Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Supporting Role in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series for her role in The Englishman's Boy . [18] She later reunited with Perkins in Another Cinderella Story where they played the daughters of Jane Lynch's character.
Cooperation with the gothic sisters continued in 2014 when Isabelle played a major role in their 2006 horror sequel, See No Evil 2 . Later, she played a major role in the thriller Primate. In 2015, the film 88 starred Isabelle, after she played a cameo role in the film The Girl in the Photographs .
Also, she played a small role in the short film Iteration 1 and one of the main roles in the action film Countdown in 2016. In 2019, Isabelle was cast as Vera Stone in the Netflix horror-drama series, The Order . [19]
Despite acting in a large number of gory films and television productions, Isabelle is uneasy with the sight of real blood. [1]
In 2003, Isabelle almost died from a viral infection, which caused one of her lungs to collapse, as well as kidney failure. She fell into a coma and had to be put on a ventilator. Isabelle made this revelation in 2020, on her Instagram account. [20]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1989 | Cousins | Chloe Hardy | as Katie Murray [21] [7] |
1989 | Cold Front | Katie McKenzie | as Katie Murray [7] |
1989 | Immediate Family | Birthday Girl Carrie | as Katie Murray [7] |
1989 | The Last Winter | Winnie Jamison | as Katie Murray [22] [7] |
1992 | Knight Moves | Erica Sanderson | as Katharine Isabelle [23] |
1996 | Salt Water Moose | Josephine 'Jo' Parnell | as Katharine Isabelle [9] |
1998 | Disturbing Behavior | Lindsay Clark | |
2000 | Snow Day | Marla | |
2000 | Ginger Snaps | Ginger Fitzgerald | |
2001 | A Shot in the Face | Erin | |
2001 | Josie and the Pussycats | Laughing Girl | |
2001 | Bones | Tia Peet | |
2001 | Turning Paige | Paige Fleming | |
2002 | Insomnia | Tanya Francke | |
2002 | Spooky House | Mona | |
2003 | Freddy vs. Jason | Gibb Smith | |
2003 | Falling Angels | Lou Field | |
2003 | On the Corner | Stacey Lee | |
2004 | Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed | Ginger Fitzgerald | |
2004 | Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning | Ginger Fitzgerald | |
2004 | Show Me | Jenna | |
2006 | Everything's Gone Green | Heather | |
2008 | Another Cinderella Story | Bree Blatt | Direct-to-video film |
2009 | Favorite People List | Denise Moynahan | Short film |
2009 | Rampage | Beauty Staff #2 | |
2010 | Frankie & Alice | Paige | |
2010 | Hard Ride to Hell | Kerry | Direct-to-video film |
2010 | 30 Days of Night: Dark Days | Stacey | Direct-to-video film |
2012 | American Mary | Mary Mason | |
2012 | The Movie Out Here | Danielle | |
2013 | 13 Eerie | Megan | |
2013 | Torment | Sarah | |
2013 | Lawrence & Holloman | Zooey | |
2014 | See No Evil 2 | Tamara | Direct-to-video film |
2014 | Primary | Andrea | |
2015 | 88 | Gwen / Flamingo | |
2015 | The Girl in the Photographs | Janet | |
2015 | How to Plan an Orgy in a Small Town | Alice Solomon | |
2016 | Countdown | Julia Baker | Direct-to-video film |
2016 | A.R.C.H.I.E. | Brooke | Direct-to-video film |
2018 | Bad Times at the El Royale | Auntie Ruth | |
2021 | Night of the Animated Dead | Barbara (voice) | |
2021 | The Green Sea | Simone | |
2023 | It's a Wonderful Knife | Gale Prescott |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1990 | The Last Train Home | Sarah Bradshaw | |
1990 | Burning Bridges | Emily Morgan | |
1991 | Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus | Virginia O'Hanlon | |
1996 | Prisoner of Zenda, Inc. | Fiona | |
1997 | Married to a Stranger | Lacey Potter | |
1998 | Voyage of Terror | Aly Tauber | |
2002 | Due East | Reba | |
2002 | The Secret Life of Zoey | Kayla | |
2002 | Carrie | Tina Blake | |
2004 | The Life | Amber Reilly | |
2004 | Earthsea | Yarrow | |
2004 | The Last Casino | Elyse | |
2006 | Eight Days To Live | Lucinda Klunn | |
2006 | Engaged to Kill | Maddy Lord | |
2006 | Rapid Fire | Amber | |
2008 | Ogre | Jessica | |
2008 | Mail Order Bride | Jen | |
2009 | Killer Hair | Cherise Smithsonian | |
2009 | Hostile Makeover | Cherise Smithsonian | |
2009 | Beyond Sherwood Forest | Alina | |
2010 | Sins of the Mother | Ivy | |
2010 | Smoke Screen | Wife | |
2012 | Goodnight for Justice: Queen of Hearts | Lucy Truffaut | |
2017 | Undercover Angel | Robin Bladen | |
2021 | The Long Island Serial Killer: A Mother's Hunt for Justice | Shannan Gilbert |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1989 | MacGyver | Violet | Episode: "The Madonna"; as Katie Murray [24] |
1990 | Neon Rider | Maxine 'Max' Forrest | Episode: "Running Man" |
1992 | The Ray Bradbury Theater | Mink | Episode: "Zero Hour" |
1995 | Children of the Dust | Young Rachel | Television miniseries |
1995 | Lonesome Dove: The Series | Francis Maitland | Episode: "Rebellion" |
1996 | Goosebumps | Kat Merton | Episode: "It Came from Beneath the Sink" |
1996 | Titanic | Ophelia Jack | Television miniseries |
1997 | Madison | Allysia Long | 4 episodes |
1998 | The X-Files | Lisa Baiocchi | Episode: "Schizogeny"; worked with father Graeme Murray [1] |
1998 | Da Vinci's Inquest | Audrey | Episodes: "Little Sister: Part 2", "Little Sister: Part 3" |
1998 | First Wave | Elizabeth | Episode: "Book of Shadows" |
1999 | First Wave | Denise | Episode: "The Channel" |
1999 | Da Vinci's Inquest | Madeline Marquetti | Episodes: "A Cinderella Story: Parts 1 & 2" |
1999 | The Net | Malika | Episode: "In Dreams" |
2000 | The Fearing Mind | Josie Hogan | Episode: "Good Harvest" |
2001 | The Immortal | Taurez | Episode: "Wired" |
2001 | The Chris Isaak Show | Melissa | Episode: "Smackdown" |
2001 | Night Visions | Vicki | Episode: "Rest Stop" |
2002 | The Outer Limits | Tammy Sinclair | Episode: "Dark Child" |
2002 | Mentors | Anne Sullivan | Episode: "Breakthrough" |
2002 | John Doe | Shayne Pickford | Episode: "Blood Lines" |
2003 | Smallville | Sara Conroy | Episode: "Slumber" |
2004 | The Eleventh Hour | Petrel | Episode: "Stormy Peterel" |
2005 | Young Blades | Celeste La Rue | Episode: "To Heir is Human" |
2006 | Stargate SG-1 | Valencia | Episode: "Camelot" |
2006 | Reunion | Courtney | Episode: "1998" |
2007 | Supernatural | Ava Wilson | Episodes: "Hunted", "All Hell Breaks Loose: Part 1" |
2008 | Psych | Sigrid | Episode: "Black and Tan: A Crime of Fashion" |
2008 | The Englishman's Boy | Norma Carlyle | Television miniseries |
2008 | Sanctuary | Sophie | Episode: "Nubbins" |
2009 | Heartland | Mindy Fanshaw | Episode: "Starstruck!" |
2009 | The L Word | Marci Salvatore | Episode: "Leaving Los Angeles" |
2009 | The Assistants | Paulette Reubin | Episode: "The Bully" |
2009 | The Good Wife | Cindy Lewis | Episode: "Pilot" |
2011 | Health Nutz | Jennifer | Episodes: "The Local Hero", "The Sponsor" |
2011 | Endgame | Danni | Main role, 13 episodes |
2012 | Flashpoint | Madelyn 'Maddie' | Episode "Run To Me" |
2013–2014 | Being Human | Susanna Waite | Recurring role; seasons 3–4 |
2013 | Motive | Liane Healey | Episode: "Pushover" |
2013 | Eve of Destruction | Calla | Television miniseries |
2013 | Cedar Cove | Cecilia Rendall | Episode: "Pilot" |
2014 | Psych | Priscilla Morganstern | Episode: "Cloudy with a Chance of Improvement" |
2014–2015 | Hannibal | Margot Verger | Recurring role; seasons 2–3 |
2015 | Rookie Blue | Detective Frankie Anderson | Episodes: "Integrity Test", "Ninety Degrees", "74 Epiphanies" |
2017 | Rosewood | Naomi | Episode: "Puffer Fish & Personal History" |
2017–2018 | The Arrangement | Hope | Recurring role; 8 episodes |
2018–present | Little Dog | Ginny Ross | Main role |
2019–2020 | The Order | Vera Stone | Main role |
2021 | Ghosts | Liz | Episode: “The vault” |
2023 | Transplant | Marissa | Episode: "Sinkhole" |
2024 | Tracker | Mallory Banks | Episode: "St. Louis" |
Year | Title | Award | Category | Result | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2002 | Ginger Snaps Turning Paige | Vancouver Film Critics Circle | Best Actress in a Canadian Film | Nominated | [25] [26] |
2004 | Falling Angels | Leo Awards | Best Lead Performance by a Female - Feature Length Drama | Nominated | [27] |
2008 | The Englishman's Boy | Gemini Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Supporting Role in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series | Won | [28] |
2011 | Endgame | Gemini Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Supporting Role in a Dramatic Series | Nominated | [29] |
2012 | American Mary | Fantastic Fest | Special Mention in Horror Features | Won | [30] |
2012 | Screamfest Horror Film Festival | Best Actress | Won | [31] | |
2012 | Toronto After Dark Film Festival | Best Leading Actress | Won | [32] | |
Best Antihero (Mary Mason, played by Isabelle) | Won | ||||
2013 | Fright Meter Awards | Best Actress in a Leading Role | Won | [33] | |
2014 | Fangoria Chainsaw Awards | Best Actress | Won | [34] | |
2014 | See No Evil 2 | Fright Meter Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Nominated | [35] |
2014 | Lawrence & Holloman | Leo Awards | Best Supporting Performance by a Female – Motion Picture | Nominated | [36] |
Motive | Best Guest Performance by a Female – Dramatic Series | Won | [36] | ||
2015 | Primary | Leo Awards | Best Lead Performance by a Female – Motion Picture | Nominated | [36] |
2016 | How to Plan an Orgy in a Small Town | Canadian Film Festival | Best Ensemble Cast | Won | [37] |
2019 | The Order | Leo Awards | Best Supporting Performance Female – Dramatic Series | Nominated | [36] |
A scream queen is an actress who is prominent and influential in horror films, either through a notable appearance or recurring roles. A scream king is the male equivalent. Notable female examples include Barbara Steele, Sandra Peabody, Linda Blair, Felissa Rose, Olivia Hussey, Marilyn Burns, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Neve Campbell, Daria Nicolodi, Dee Wallace, Isabelle Adjani, Sarah Paulson, Vera Farmiga, Jamie Lee Curtis, Taissa Farmiga, Anya Taylor-Joy, Mia Goth, Jenna Ortega, Samara Weaving, Heather Langenkamp, Shawnee Smith, Emma Roberts, Billie Lourd, Melissa Barrera, and Linnea Quigley.
Ginger Snaps is a 2000 Canadian supernatural horror film directed by John Fawcett and written by Karen Walton, from a story they jointly developed. The film stars Emily Perkins and Katharine Isabelle as Brigitte and Ginger Fitzgerald, two morbid teenage sisters whose relationship is tested when Ginger is attacked and bitten by an unknown animal, and then later, during the next full moon, slowly starts to transform into a werewolf. The supporting cast features Kris Lemche, Jesse Moss, Danielle Hampton, John Bourgeois, Peter Keleghan, and Mimi Rogers.
Emily Jean Perkins is a Canadian actress, known for her roles as Crystal Braywood in the TV series Hiccups, young Beverly Marsh in Stephen King's It, and Brigitte Fitzgerald in Ginger Snaps. Since the late 1980s, she has appeared in various films and television series.
Katharine Juliet Ross is a retired American actress. Her accolades include an Academy Award nomination, a BAFTA Award, and two Golden Globe Awards.
Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed is a 2004 Canadian horror film, written by Megan Martin and directed by Brett Sullivan. It is the second installment in the Ginger Snaps series and sequel to Ginger Snaps (2000), directed by executive producer John Fawcett and written in collaboration with Karen Walton. A prequel, Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning, was filmed back-to-back with Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed and was also released in 2004.
Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning is a 2004 Canadian horror film and a prequel to Ginger Snaps and Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed. The third and final installment in the Ginger Snaps series takes place in 19th century Canada, following the ancestors of the Fitzgerald sisters of the two previous films: Ginger and Brigitte, who are identical in all respects to their modern-day counterparts.
Debbie Ann Rochon is a Canadian actress and former stage performer, best known for her work in independent horror films and counterculture films.
Yan-Kay Crystal Lowe is a Canadian actress. She is known for her scream queen roles in horror films such as Children of the Corn: Revelation (2001), Final Destination 3 (2006), Black Christmas (2006), and Wrong Turn 2: Dead End (2007). She played Rita Haywith in Hallmark Channel's television and television film series Signed, Sealed, Delivered (2013–present).
Isabelle Fuhrman is an American actress. She is known for her breakthrough role as Esther in the horror film Orphan (2009) and its prequel Orphan: First Kill (2022). She plays Clove in the dystopian adventure film The Hunger Games (2012), Alex in the independent film The Novice (2021), and Diamond in the Western film series Horizon: An American Saga (2024–present).
Lin Shaye is an American actress. In a career spanning over fifty years, Shaye has appeared in more than a hundred feature films. She is regarded as a scream queen due to her roles in various horror productions, which include the films Alone in the Dark (1982), A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), Critters (1986) and its sequel Critters 2: The Main Course (1988), Amityville: A New Generation (1993), Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994), Dead End (2003), 2001 Maniacs (2005) and its sequel 2001 Maniacs: Field of Screams (2010), Ouija (2014) and its prequel Ouija: Origin of Evil (2016), Tales of Halloween (2015), Abattoir (2016), The Final Wish (2018), Room for Rent (2019), The Grudge (2020), Ted Bundy: American Boogeyman (2021), and the Insidious film series (2010–2023).
Karen Sheila Gillan is a Scottish actress and filmmaker. She gained recognition for her work in British film and television, particularly for playing Amy Pond, a primary companion to the Eleventh Doctor in the science fiction series Doctor Who (2010–2013). Her early film roles include the thriller Outcast (2010) and romantic comedy Not Another Happy Ending (2013). She also worked on the stage while in Britain, appearing in John Osborne's play Inadmissible Evidence (2011).
Axelle Carolyn is a Belgian filmmaker and former actress and journalist.
See No Evil 2 is a 2014 American slasher film directed by the Soska sisters, written by Nathan Brookes and Bobby Lee Darby, produced by Michael Luisi, and starring Danielle Harris, Katharine Isabelle and the WWE professional wrestler Kane. It is the sequel to the 2006 See No Evil feature film. Unlike the original, which had a theatrical release, the film was released in 2014 on a direct to Blu-ray and DVD form.
Jen Soska and Sylvia Soska, also known as The Soska Sisters or The Twisted Twins, are Canadian twin sisters who collaborate as film directors, producers and screenwriters. They are known for directing often violent and visceral horror movies such as Dead Hooker in a Trunk, See No Evil 2 and American Mary.
American Mary is a 2012 Canadian body horror film written and directed by Jen and Sylvia Soska and starring Katharine Isabelle, Antonio Cupo, and Tristan Risk. Isabelle plays a destitute medical student who begins taking clients from the extreme body modification community to solve her financial troubles.
Heather Dorff is an American actress, writer, and producer currently living in Los Angeles, California.
Izzy Lee is an American filmmaker and writer, known for her short films Re-Home (2019), The Obliteration of the Chickens (2019), My Monster (2018), and Innsmouth, which she produced through her company Nihil Noctem. She has written for multiple outlets such as Birth.Movies.Death, Rue Morgue, TwitchFilm, and Fangoria and has also helped program and curate film festivals like the Boston Underground and the Boston Sci-Fi Fest.
Odessa Young is an Australian actress. She gained prominence through her roles in the Nine Network drama Tricky Business (2012) and the 2015 films Looking for Grace and The Daughter, the latter of which earned her an AACTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. Her films since include Assassination Nation, A Million Little Pieces, Shirley (2020), Mothering Sunday (2021) and Manodrome (2023). On television, she starred in the miniseries The Stand (2020). Young also made her off-Broadway debut in Days of Rage.
Ginger Fitzgerald is a fictional character and the anti-villain of the Ginger Snaps trilogy. She is the sister of Brigitte Fitzgerald. Ginger was portrayed by Katharine Isabelle while her werewolf form is performed by Nick Nolan.
Amy Forsyth is a Canadian actress. On television, she appeared as a series regular on the Hulu drama The Path (2016–17), the second season of SyFy horror anthology Channel Zero (2017), and the NBC musical drama Rise (2018), along with recurring roles on the science fiction Western Defiance (2014–15) and the historical drama The Gilded Age (2022). She appeared in the horror films A Christmas Horror Story (2015), Hell Fest (2018), and We Summon the Darkness (2020) and the drama films Beautiful Boy (2018), CODA (2021), and The Novice (2021).