| Katheryn Winnick | |
| Birth Date: | 17 December 1977 |
| Birth Place: | Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada |
| Years Active: | 1999–present |
| Occupation: | Actress |
| Alma Mater: | York University |
Katheryn Winnick (born December 17, 1977[1]) is a Canadian actress. She is known for her starring roles in the television series Vikings (2013–2020), Wu Assassins (2019), and Big Sky (2020–2023), and her recurring role on the television series Bones (2010–2011). She also starred in the films Amusement (2008), Choose (2010), A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III (2012), The Art of the Steal (2013), Polar (2019), and The Marksman (2021).
Winnick was born in Etobicoke, Ontario, and is of Ukrainian descent. She spoke Ukrainian as her first language and did not begin speaking English until she was eight years old. She has two brothers.[2]
She began training in martial arts at age seven, and obtained her first black belt at 13. By age 21, she had started three Taekwondo schools.[3] She taught Taekwondo and self-defense to actors while completing her degree in kinesiology at York University, Toronto.[4] Winnick studied at and is an alumnus of the William Esper Studio.[5]
Winnick started acting as a young girl at her community centre in Toronto. She had directed plays in her high school and won a scholarship for drama and directing while attending Richview Collegiate Institute.[6]
Winnick entered the film industry by teaching martial arts to actors on movie sets; the experience inspired her to pursue professional acting. She was then cast as a series regular on Student Bodies.
Since then, she has appeared in many films, including Stand Up Guys, Failure to Launch, Love & Other Drugs, and Killers. She has guest-starred in numerous television shows, most notably House, The Glades, Bones, Law & Order, , CSI, , , Criminal Minds, Person of Interest,[7] and Nikita. In Bones, she portrayed Hannah Burley, a war correspondent who had been posted to cover the war in Afghanistan and becomes a love interest for main character Seeley Booth.
Winnick starred in the comedy-drama film Cold Souls, which had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival 2009. In 2011, she was cast in a guest role on The CW's spy drama Nikita. In 2013, she starred in A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III and appeared in the comedy The Art of the Steal. She also joined History Channel's Vikings, starring in the role of Lagertha, a legendary figure in Viking history. In July 2017, Winnick stated on her Twitter account that she had been cast for a role in what was thought to be a film project, and that it would be announced at San Diego Comic-Con.[8] She was later revealed to be cast as a main character in the Nazi Zombies mode of the video game .[9]
In July 2018, it was announced that Winnick had been cast in the series regular role of Christine "C.G." Gavin on the Netflix series, Wu Assassins.[10] In February 2020, Winnick was announced to play the starring role of Jenny Hoyt on the ABC crime drama series Big Sky.[11]
In 2015, Winnick stated she has dual American and Canadian citizenship.[12] Her brothers have made appearances on Vikings.
In March 2022, Winnick, together with her mother, created the charity "The Winnick Foundation" to raise funds for the needs of Ukraine during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[13] [14] In November 2022, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs banned Winnick from entering Russia, as well as 99 other Canadians, in response to international sanctions.[15]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Biohazardous | Jennifer | ||
| 2002 | Smoking Herb | Marcia | ||
| data-sort-value="It Factor, The" | The It Factor | Herself | ||
| Fabled | Liz | |||
| Two Weeks Notice | Tiffany | |||
| 2003 | What Alice Found | Julie | ||
| 2004 | 50 First Dates | Young Woman | ||
| Satan's Little Helper | Jenna Whooly | |||
| Going the Distance | Trish | |||
| Our Time Is Up | Waif | Short film | ||
| 2005 | Chelsea | |||
| 2006 | Cloud 9 | Olga | ||
| Kiss Me Again | Chalice | |||
| Failure to Launch | Melissa | |||
| 2007 | When Nietzsche Wept | Lou Salome | ||
| 2008 | Amusement | Tabitha | ||
| 2009 | Cold Souls | Sveta | ||
| 2010 | Tranced | Cleo | ||
| Radio Free Albemuth | Rachel Brady | |||
| Choose | Fiona Wagner | |||
| Killers | Vivian | |||
| Love & Other Drugs | Lisa | |||
| 2011 | Bat $#*! Crazy | Girlfriend | ||
| 2012 | Stand Up Guys | Oxana | ||
| data-sort-value="Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III, A" | A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III | Ivana | ||
| 2013 | data-sort-value="Art of the Steal, The" | The Art of the Steal | Lola | |
| 2017 | data-sort-value="Dark Tower, The" | The Dark Tower | Laurie Chambers | |
| 2018 | Speed Kills | Emily Gowen | ||
| 2019 | Polar | Vivian | [16] | |
| 2020 | Wander | Elsa Viceroy | [17] | |
| 2021 | data-sort-value="Marksman, The" | The Marksman | Sarah Pennington | |
| Flag Day | Patty Vogel | Also co-producer[18] [19] |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Suzie | Episode: "Sacrifices" | ||
| Student Bodies | Holly Benson | Recurring role, 5 episodes | ||
| 2000 | Relic Hunter | Roselyn | Episode: "Nine Lives" | |
| 2001 | Screech Owls | Brianna Styles | Episode: "Face Off" | |
| 2002 | Tracker | Laura | 2 episodes | |
| Karyn Bennett | Episode: "Seizure" | |||
| 2003 | Oz | Liesel Robson | Episode: "4giveness" | |
| Wild Card | Kendall | Episode: "Hell Week" | ||
| Lucy Johnson | Episode: "Lucy in the Sky" | |||
| 2004 | Nicole Harjo | Episode: "Rap Sheet" | ||
| 1-800-Missing | Julie Snyder | Episode: "In the Midnight Hour" | ||
| 2005 | Lisa Kay | Episode: "Corporate Warriors" | ||
| Trump Unauthorized | Ivana Trump | Television film | ||
| 2006 | Criminal Minds | Maggie Lowe | Episode: "Somebody’s Watching" | |
| 13 Graves | Amy | Television film | ||
| 2007 | House | Eve | Episode: "One Day, One Room" | |
| Tipping Point | Nina Patterson | Television film | ||
| Law Dogs | Lisa Bennett | Television film | ||
| 2008 | Law & Order | Sarah Shipley | Episode: "Excalibur" | |
| Carrie Conlon | Episode: "Faithfully" | |||
| 2009 | Maureen Martin | Episode: "One to Go" | ||
| 2010 | data-sort-value="Gates, The" | The Gates | Kat Russo | Episode: "Identity Crisis" |
| 2010–2011 | Bones | Hannah Burley | Recurring role, 11 episodes | |
| 2011 | data-sort-value="Glades, The" | The Glades | Valerie Dorman | Episode: "Lost and Found" |
| Nikita | Kelly | Episode: "Partners" | ||
| 2012 | Darcy Daniels | Episode: "Hot Ice" | ||
| 2013–2020 | Vikings | Lagertha | Main role | |
| 2015 | Person of Interest | Frankie Wells | Episode: "Skip " | |
| 2019 | Wu Assassins | Christine "C.G." Gavin | Main role and also co-executive producer | |
| 2020–2023 | Big Sky | Jenny Hoyt | Main role |
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Refs. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Beverly Hills Film Festival | Best Actress | Children of the Air | |||
| 2014 | Canadian Screen Award | Best Performance by an Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role | Vikings | [22] | ||
| Women's Image Network Awards | Best Actress in a Drama Series | Vikings | [23] | |||
| 2015 | Critics' Choice Television Award | Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series | Vikings | [24] | ||
| Golden Maple Awards | Best Actress in a TV series broadcast in the U.S. | Vikings | [25] [26] | |||
| Women's Image Network Awards | Best Actress in a Drama Series | Vikings | ||||
| 2016 | Women's Image Network Awards | Best Actress in a Drama Series | Vikings |