Kate French
Encyclopedia
Kate Lauren French is an American
television and film actress and model
. She is perhaps best known for her role as Niki Stevens on The L Word
.
to fashion models Joan (née Gocha) and William Robinson "Rob" French. Her mother was signed to the prestigious Ford modeling agency. French spent her early childhood years in Saunderstown
, Rhode Island
before her family returned to New Jersey, where they lived in West Amwell
. Her family then moved to New York
where they settled in Quogue on Long Island
. Her parents divorced and her mother remarried to fashion photographer Jim Reiher. French attended Westhampton Beach High School
where she was a member of the track and field
team. French has a younger brother, Scott, as well as a younger half-brother, Hunter, from her mother's remarriage. French is of German, French
, English
and Irish
descent.
, and later had a starring role as Brooke Crawford in the prime-time soap opera Wicked Wicked Games
, an Americanized telenovela
, which was French's first appearance on the small screen. In 2007 she landed her breakout role when she joined the cast of The L Word
playing closeted
lesbian
actress, and girlfriend of Jenny Schecter
, Niki Stevens, appearing in seasons 5 and 6. French also had a role in South of Nowhere
as Sasha Miller, a love interest of Aiden Dennison. French then appeared in two episodes of the teen drama Gossip Girl
as Elle, a mysterious nanny. Roles in other television series' including CSI: Miami
,One Tree Hill
and the Hawaii
-set teen drama
Beyond The Break soon followed. In 2009 French played a supporting role in the independent
horror
film Sutures and then had a leading role in the independent romantic comedy
Language of a Broken Heart, which was selected for the Hollywood Film Festival
in 2011. French features in the upcoming rock musical
film
Girltrash: All Night Long
which is due to be released in 2012. French starred alongside Jason Ritter
in the short film, Atlantis, a romance film
centered around two strangers who fall in love in the lead up to the final launch of the NASA
space shuttle
Atlantis
. French also has leading roles in the independent thriller The Red House and the psychological thriller
Liquorice, written and directed by Natalie Bible'.
magazine numerous times and has also been featured in Maxim
magazine.. In 2010 French appeared in television advertisements for Bud Light and 7 Up. In 2011 she appeared in advertisements for sunglasses
brand RAEN Optics.
but dropped out in order pursue an acting career. An aspiring writer, French is currently working on her first young-adult fiction novel. After dropping out of college, French lived in San Diego briefly before moving to Los Angeles to start her acting career. French is good friends with her L Word
co-stars, Clementine Ford
and Malaya Drew
, as well as writers Angela Robinson
and Alex Kondracke. In her spare time, French enjoys surfing
, water skiing
and hiking
with her pet dogs. On September 25, 2010, French married her longtime partner, photographer Jonathan Johnson, in her parents' backyard in Quogue. French is sometimes featured in his work. They live in Silver Lake, Los Angeles.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television and film actress and model
Model (person)
A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....
. She is perhaps best known for her role as Niki Stevens on The L Word
The L Word
The L Word is an American co-production television drama series originally shown on Showtime portraying the lives of a group of lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people and their friends, family and lovers in the trendy Greater Los Angeles, California city of West Hollywood...
.
Early life
French was born in Flemington, New JerseyFlemington, New Jersey
Flemington is a borough in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2010 Census, the borough population was 4,581. It is the county seat of Hunterdon County....
to fashion models Joan (née Gocha) and William Robinson "Rob" French. Her mother was signed to the prestigious Ford modeling agency. French spent her early childhood years in Saunderstown
Saunderstown, Rhode Island
Saunderstown is a small village and historic district in the towns of Narragansett and North Kingstown in Washington County, Rhode Island, United States....
, Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
before her family returned to New Jersey, where they lived in West Amwell
West Amwell Township, New Jersey
The Delaware River separates West Amwell from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 2,383 people, 949 households, and 696 families residing in the township. The population density was 109.7 people per square mile . There were 984 housing units at an...
. Her family then moved to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
where they settled in Quogue on Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
. Her parents divorced and her mother remarried to fashion photographer Jim Reiher. French attended Westhampton Beach High School
Westhampton Beach High School
Westhampton Beach High School is a public four-year high school for grades 9-12 in Westhampton Beach, New York, which is located at the southeastern end of Suffolk county on Long Island.-Notable alumni:*Kate French, Actress...
where she was a member of the track and field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
team. French has a younger brother, Scott, as well as a younger half-brother, Hunter, from her mother's remarriage. French is of German, French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
, English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
and Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
descent.
Career
Following in her parents' footsteps, French pursued a career in modeling up until her senior year of high school but always had a passion for acting. She first appeared on the big screen in 2006 with a small role in the film AcceptedAccepted
Accepted is a 2006 American comedy film directed by Steve Pink and written by Adam Cooper, Bill Collage, and Mark Perez. The main plot centers around a group of would-be college freshmen who, after being rejected from all the colleges and universities to which they had applied, proceed to create...
, and later had a starring role as Brooke Crawford in the prime-time soap opera Wicked Wicked Games
Wicked Wicked Games
Wicked Wicked Games is a telenovela that debuted on December 6, 2006 on the American television network MyNetworkTV. Twentieth Television produced 63 episodes to air weekdays. The limited-run serial was directed by Terry Cunningham, Dennis Dimster, P. David Ebersole, Jeff Hare and Jeremy Stanford. ...
, an Americanized telenovela
Telenovela
A telenovela is a limited-run serial dramatic programming popular in Latin American, Portuguese, and Spanish television programming. The word combines tele, short for televisión or televisão , and novela, a Spanish or Portuguese word for "novel"...
, which was French's first appearance on the small screen. In 2007 she landed her breakout role when she joined the cast of The L Word
The L Word
The L Word is an American co-production television drama series originally shown on Showtime portraying the lives of a group of lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people and their friends, family and lovers in the trendy Greater Los Angeles, California city of West Hollywood...
playing closeted
Closeted
Closeted and in the closet are metaphors used to describe lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning and intersex people who have not disclosed their sexual orientation or gender identity and aspects thereof, including sexual identity and sexual behavior.-Background:In late 20th...
lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
actress, and girlfriend of Jenny Schecter
Jenny Schecter
Jennifer "Jenny" Schecter is a fictional character from the American Showtime television drama series The L Word, played by Mia Kirshner. Jenny debuted on-screen during the pilot episode and remained until the series' final episode. Jenny became well documented in the media for her outlandish plots...
, Niki Stevens, appearing in seasons 5 and 6. French also had a role in South of Nowhere
South of Nowhere
South of Nowhere is an American teen drama television series created by Thomas W. Lynch. Aimed primarily at teenagers, it first aired on November 4, 2005 and was one of six original series on The N. The second half of the third and final season aired October 10, 2008 and the final episode aired on...
as Sasha Miller, a love interest of Aiden Dennison. French then appeared in two episodes of the teen drama Gossip Girl
Gossip Girl
Gossip Girl is an American young adult novel series written by Cecily von Ziegesar and published by Little, Brown and Company, a subsidiary of the Hachette Group. The series revolves around the lives and romances of the privileged teenagers at the Constance Billard School for Girls, an elite...
as Elle, a mysterious nanny. Roles in other television series' including CSI: Miami
CSI: Miami
CSI: Miami is an American police procedural television series, which premiered on September 23, 2002 on CBS. The series is a spin-off of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation....
,One Tree Hill
One Tree Hill (TV series)
One Tree Hill is an American television drama created by Mark Schwahn, which premiered on September 23, 2003, on The WB Television Network. After its third season, The WB merged with UPN to form The CW Television Network, and, since September 27, 2006, the network has been the official broadcaster...
and the Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
-set teen drama
Teen drama
A teen drama is a dramatic television series with a major focus on teenage characters. The genre was relatively non-existent for the first 45 years of television; it came into prominence in the early 1990s...
Beyond The Break soon followed. In 2009 French played a supporting role in the independent
Independent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
horror
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
film Sutures and then had a leading role in the independent romantic comedy
Romantic Comedy
Romantic Comedy can refer to* Romantic Comedy , a 1979 play written by Bernard Slade* Romantic Comedy , a 1983 film adapted from the play and starring Dudley Moore and Mary Steenburgen...
Language of a Broken Heart, which was selected for the Hollywood Film Festival
Hollywood Film Festival
The Hollywood Film Festival is an annual Film festival which is located in Los Angeles, California, USA. The Festival was established in 1997 by Carlos de Abreu and his wife, model Janice Pennington....
in 2011. French features in the upcoming rock musical
Rock musical
A rock musical is a musical theatre work with rock music. The genre of rock musical may overlap somewhat with album musicals, concept albums and song cycles, as they sometimes tell a story through the rock music, and some album musicals and concept albums become rock musicals...
film
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
Girltrash: All Night Long
Girltrash: All Night Long
Girltrash: All Night Long is an upcoming rock musical film directed by Alexandra Kondracke. The screenplay was written by Angela Robinson and is a prequel to Robinson's Girltrash! web series...
which is due to be released in 2012. French starred alongside Jason Ritter
Jason Ritter
Jason Morgan Ritter is an American actor, son of the late actor John Ritter and actress Nancy Morgan. Ritter is probably best known for his role as Kevin Girardi in the television series Joan of Arcadia and as Sean Walker in the NBC series The Event.-Early life:Ritter was born in Los Angeles,...
in the short film, Atlantis, a romance film
Romance film
Romance films are love stories that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate involvement of the main characters and the journey that their love takes through courtship or marriage. Romance films make the love story or the search for love the main plot focus...
centered around two strangers who fall in love in the lead up to the final launch of the NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
space shuttle
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...
Atlantis
Space Shuttle Atlantis
The Space Shuttle Atlantis is a retired Space Shuttle orbiter in the Space Shuttle fleet belonging to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration , the spaceflight and space exploration agency of the United States...
. French also has leading roles in the independent thriller The Red House and the psychological thriller
Psychological thriller
Psychological thriller is a specific sub-genre of the broad ranged thriller with heavy focus on characters. However, it often incorporates elements from the mystery and drama genre, along with the typical traits of the thriller genre...
Liquorice, written and directed by Natalie Bible'.
Other work
French has featured on the cover of Women's HealthWomen's Health (magazine)
Women's Health, published by Rodale in Emmaus, Pennsylvania, is a magazine focusing on health, nutrition, fitness, sex, and lifestyle. It's published 10 times a year in the United States and has a circulation of 1.5 million readers...
magazine numerous times and has also been featured in Maxim
Maxim (magazine)
Maxim is an international men's magazine based in the United Kingdom and known for its pictorials featuring popular actresses, singers, and female models, sometimes pictured dressed, often pictured scantily dressed but not fully nude....
magazine.. In 2010 French appeared in television advertisements for Bud Light and 7 Up. In 2011 she appeared in advertisements for sunglasses
Sunglasses
Sunglasses or sun glasses are a form of protective eyewear designed primarily to prevent bright sunlight and high-energy visible light from damaging or discomforting the eyes. They can sometimes also function as a visual aid, as variously termed spectacles or glasses exist, featuring lenses that...
brand RAEN Optics.
Personal life
French attended the University of California, Santa BarbaraUniversity of California, Santa Barbara
The University of California, Santa Barbara, commonly known as UCSB or UC Santa Barbara, is a public research university and one of the 10 general campuses of the University of California system. The main campus is located on a site in Goleta, California, from Santa Barbara and northwest of Los...
but dropped out in order pursue an acting career. An aspiring writer, French is currently working on her first young-adult fiction novel. After dropping out of college, French lived in San Diego briefly before moving to Los Angeles to start her acting career. French is good friends with her L Word
The L Word
The L Word is an American co-production television drama series originally shown on Showtime portraying the lives of a group of lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people and their friends, family and lovers in the trendy Greater Los Angeles, California city of West Hollywood...
co-stars, Clementine Ford
Clementine Ford
Clementine Ford is an American actress who is perhaps best known for her appearance as Molly Kroll on the fourth, fifth & sixth seasons of Showtime's The L Word...
and Malaya Drew
Malaya Drew
Malaya Drew is an American stage, film and television actress.Drew is most well known for her role as Adele Channing on the cable television series The L Word and for her role as Katey Alvaro on NBC's long-running ER...
, as well as writers Angela Robinson
Angela Robinson
Angela Robinson is an American film and television director, screenwriter and producer.-Early life:Robinson was born in San Francisco, California and later grew up in Los Angeles. Robinson completed a B.A...
and Alex Kondracke. In her spare time, French enjoys surfing
Surfing
Surfing' is a surface water sport in which the surfer rides a surfboard on the crest and face of a wave which is carrying the surfer towards the shore...
, water skiing
Water skiing
thumb|right|A slalom skier making a turn on a slalom waterski.Waterskiing is a sport where an individual is pulled behind a boat or a cable ski installation on a body of water, skimming the surface.-History:...
and hiking
Hiking
Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...
with her pet dogs. On September 25, 2010, French married her longtime partner, photographer Jonathan Johnson, in her parents' backyard in Quogue. French is sometimes featured in his work. They live in Silver Lake, Los Angeles.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Accepted Accepted Accepted is a 2006 American comedy film directed by Steve Pink and written by Adam Cooper, Bill Collage, and Mark Perez. The main plot centers around a group of would-be college freshmen who, after being rejected from all the colleges and universities to which they had applied, proceed to create... |
Glen's Party Girl # 2 | |
| 2009 | Fired Up Fired Up (film) Fired Up! is a 2009 teen comedy film produced and directed by Will Gluck and written by Freedom Jones. The main plot revolves around two popular high school football players who create their lie to attend cheerleading camp for the summer and get close to its female cheerleaders.-Plot:Nick Brady... |
Cute Captain | |
| 2010 | Sutures | Shannon | Supporting role |
| 2010 | K Citizen | Mindy | Short film Leading role |
| 2010 | Language of a Broken Heart | Emma | Leading Role Nominated - California Independent Film Festival Best Actress |
| 2011 | Atlantis | Allison Talbot | Short film Leading role |
| 2012 | Girltrash: All Night Long Girltrash: All Night Long Girltrash: All Night Long is an upcoming rock musical film directed by Alexandra Kondracke. The screenplay was written by Angela Robinson and is a prequel to Robinson's Girltrash! web series... |
Sid | Supporting role |
| 2012 | The Red House | Shelby Gordon | Leading role |
| 2012 | Liquorice | Jade Moretti | Straight-to-DVD release Leading role |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Wicked Wicked Games Wicked Wicked Games Wicked Wicked Games is a telenovela that debuted on December 6, 2006 on the American television network MyNetworkTV. Twentieth Television produced 63 episodes to air weekdays. The limited-run serial was directed by Terry Cunningham, Dennis Dimster, P. David Ebersole, Jeff Hare and Jeremy Stanford. ... |
Brooke Crawford | Telenova Major role |
| 2007-2008 | South of Nowhere South of Nowhere South of Nowhere is an American teen drama television series created by Thomas W. Lynch. Aimed primarily at teenagers, it first aired on November 4, 2005 and was one of six original series on The N. The second half of the third and final season aired October 10, 2008 and the final episode aired on... |
Sasha Miller | Recurring guest role 5 Episodes: "Spencer's New Girlfriend", "The Truth Hurts", "Fighting Crime", "Career Day" and "Love and Kisses". (Season 3) |
| 2008-2009 | The L Word The L Word The L Word is an American co-production television drama series originally shown on Showtime portraying the lives of a group of lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people and their friends, family and lovers in the trendy Greater Los Angeles, California city of West Hollywood... |
Niki Stevens/Jesse | Recurring guest role 15 episodes Seasons 5 and 6 |
| 2009 | Gossip Girl Gossip Girl Gossip Girl is an American young adult novel series written by Cecily von Ziegesar and published by Little, Brown and Company, a subsidiary of the Hachette Group. The series revolves around the lives and romances of the privileged teenagers at the Constance Billard School for Girls, an elite... |
Elle | Guest role 2 Episodes: "Carnal Knowledge" and "The Age of Dissonance". (Season 2) |
| 2009 | CSI: Miami CSI: Miami CSI: Miami is an American police procedural television series, which premiered on September 23, 2002 on CBS. The series is a spin-off of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.... |
Rita | Guest role Episode: "Chip/Tuck" (Season 7) |
| 2009 | Beyond the Break | Riley Westlake | Recurring guest role 4 episodes: "All Riled Up", "Would I Lie to You?", "Wronged" and "Worked". (Season 3) |
| 2009 | One Tree Hill One Tree Hill (TV series) One Tree Hill is an American television drama created by Mark Schwahn, which premiered on September 23, 2003, on The WB Television Network. After its third season, The WB merged with UPN to form The CW Television Network, and, since September 27, 2006, the network has been the official broadcaster... |
Renee | Recurring guest role 7 episodes (Season 7) |
| 2011 | Up All Night Up All Night (TV series) Up All Night is an American television comedy series created by Emily Spivey that premiered on NBC on September 14, 2011, at 10 p.m. , before assuming its regular time slot on Wednesday, September 21, 2011, at 8 p.m.... |
Jessie | Guest role "Hiring and Firing" (Season 1) |