Stana Katic (ˈstɑːnə ˈkætɨk; born April 26, 1978) is a film and television actress. She is best known for her portrayal of Detective

Detective

A detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person. The latter may be known as private investigators or "private eyes"...

 Kate Beckett

Kate Beckett

Katherine "Kate" Beckett is a fictional character portrayed by Stana Katic in the ABC crime series Castle.-Background:Beckett is a detective with the Twelfth Precinct Homicide Squad of the New York City Police Department, where she worked with fellow detectives Javier Esposito and Kevin Ryan and...

 in ABC's

American Broadcasting Company

The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...

 Castle

Castle (TV series)

Castle is an American comedy-drama television series, which premiered on ABC on March 9, 2009. The series is produced by Beacon Pictures and ABC Studios. On January 10, 2011, Castle was renewed for a fourth season...

.

Early life

Katic was born in Hamilton

Hamilton, Ontario

Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...

, Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, to a Serbian father and Croatian mother, who both immigrated from Yugoslavia. Her father is from Vrlika

Vrlika

Vrlika is a small town and municipality in inland Dalmatia, Croatia. The closest large towns are Sinj, Knin, and Drniš. The town of Vrlika has a population of 959, while the municipality has a population of 2,705 . There are 2,670 Croatian speakers, 16 Serbian speakers and 19 speakers of other...

, and her mother is from the surrounding area of Sinj

Sinj

Sinj is a town in the continental part of Split-Dalmatia County, Croatia. The town itself has a population of 11,448, while the population of the administrative municipality which includes surrounding villages is 24,832 ....

. Katic later moved with her family to Aurora, Illinois

Aurora, Illinois

Aurora is the second most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois, and the 112th largest city in the United States. A suburb of Chicago, located west of the Loop, its population in 2010 was 197,899. Originally founded within Kane County, Aurora's city limits have expanded greatly over the past...

. She spent the following years moving back and forth between Canada and the United States. After graduating from West Aurora High School

West Aurora High School

West Aurora High School, or WAHS, is a public four-year high school located in Aurora, Illinois. It is part of West Aurora Public School District 129. The school is also referred to as "West," and "West High,".- History :...

 in 1996, she studied acting at Chicago's Goodman School of Drama

Goodman School of Drama

The Goodman School of Drama is now renamed The Theatre School at DePaul University. Founded in 1925 in Chicago, Illinois, a city with a rich theatrical heritage, the Goodman School became part of DePaul University in 1978 and was renamed The Theatre School at DePaul University in 1982...

. She has four brothers and one sister.

In addition to English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

, she speaks Croatian

Croatian language

Croatian is the collective name for the standard language and dialects spoken by Croats, principally in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Serbian province of Vojvodina and other neighbouring countries...

, Serbian

Serbian language

Serbian is a form of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language, spoken by Serbs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and neighbouring countries....

, Slovene, French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

 and Italian

Italian language

Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...

.

Career

Katic played the character of Hana Gitelman in Heroes

Heroes (TV series)

Heroes is an American science fiction television drama series created by Tim Kring that appeared on NBC for four seasons from September 25, 2006 through February 8, 2010. The series tells the stories of ordinary people who discover superhuman abilities, and how these abilities take effect in the...

, Collette Stenger in 24

24 (TV series)

24 is an American television series produced for the Fox Network and syndicated worldwide, starring Kiefer Sutherland as Counter Terrorist Unit agent Jack Bauer. Each 24-episode season covers 24 hours in the life of Bauer, using the real time method of narration...

's season 5

24 (season 5)

Season Five, also known as Day 5 of the television series 24 premiered on January 15, 2006 and aired its season finale on May 22, 2006.The Season Five storyline starts and ends at 7:00 a.m. It is the same time frame as the previous season....

, and Jenny in the Morgan Freeman

Morgan Freeman

Morgan Freeman is an American actor, film director, aviator and narrator. He is noted for his reserved demeanor and authoritative speaking voice. Freeman has received Academy Award nominations for his performances in Street Smart, Driving Miss Daisy, The Shawshank Redemption and Invictus and won...

-starring film Feast of Love

Feast of Love

Feast of Love is a 2007 American drama film directed by Robert Benton, starring Morgan Freeman, Greg Kinnear, Radha Mitchell, Billy Burke and Selma Blair...

. She also played Morgenstern in Frank Miller

Frank Miller (comics)

Frank Miller is an American comic book artist, writer and film director best known for his dark, film noir-style comic book stories and graphic novels Ronin, Daredevil: Born Again, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Sin City and 300...

's film The Spirit

The Spirit (film)

The Spirit is a 2008 American superhero noir film, written and directed by Frank Miller and starring Gabriel Macht, Eva Mendes, Sarah Paulson, Dan Lauria, Paz Vega, Jaime King, Scarlett Johansson, and Samuel L. Jackson. The film is based on the newspaper comic strip The Spirit by Will Eisner...

, Corrine Veneau in the Bond

James Bond (film series)

The James Bond film series is a British series of motion pictures based on the fictional character of MI6 agent James Bond , who originally appeared in a series of books by Ian Fleming. Earlier films were based on Fleming's novels and short stories, followed later by films with original storylines...

 movie Quantum of Solace (though she was originally up for the role of Strawberry Fields in the film), and Simone Renoir in the third installment of The Librarian franchise

The Librarian franchise

The Librarian is a series of made-for-TV original movies from Turner Network Television starring Noah Wyle as a librarian who protects a secret collection of artifacts.-Origin:...

, The Librarian: Curse of the Judas Chalice

The Librarian: Curse of the Judas Chalice

The Librarian: Curse of the Judas Chalice is the third in The Librarian franchise of movies starring Noah Wyle as a librarian who protects a secret collection of artifacts...

.

In August 2008, ABC

American Broadcasting Company

The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...

 announced acquisition of the television series Castle

Castle (TV series)

Castle is an American comedy-drama television series, which premiered on ABC on March 9, 2009. The series is produced by Beacon Pictures and ABC Studios. On January 10, 2011, Castle was renewed for a fourth season...

, starring Katic as Kate Beckett and Nathan Fillion

Nathan Fillion

Nathan Fillion is a Canadian actor, currently starring as Richard Castle on the ABC series Castle. He is also known for his portrayal of the lead role of Captain Malcolm Reynolds in the television series Firefly and its feature film continuation, Serenity.He has acted in traditionally distributed...

 as Rick Castle.

In 2008, Katic established her own production company, Sine Timore Productions, which in Latin means "without fear."

In the summer of 2010 Katic filmed For Lovers Only

For Lovers Only (film)

For Lovers Only is a romance film directed by Michael Polish, written by Mark Polish and produced by The Polish brothers and Sean O'Grady. The film stars Stana Katic and Mark Polish. The film was expected to be released in theaters in the United States in June, but eventually adopted an online...

with the Polish brothers

The Polish brothers

The Polish brothers are twin filmmakers named Mark Polish and Michael Polish. They began their film career with the 1999 Sundance debut of their first feature, Twin Falls Idaho....

 in France and The Double

The Double (film)

The Double is a 2011 spy film, starring Richard Gere and Topher Grace, released on October 28, 2011.-Plot:A retired CIA operative is paired with a young FBI agent to unravel the mystery of a senator's murder, with all signs pointing to a Soviet assassin....

with Richard Gere

Richard Gere

Richard Tiffany Gere is an American actor. He began acting in the 1970s, playing a supporting role in Looking for Mr. Goodbar, and a starring role in Days of Heaven. He came to prominence in 1980 for his role in the film American Gigolo, which established him as a leading man and a sex symbol...

.

At the third annual Shorty Awards

Shorty Awards

The Shorty Awards, also known as the Shorties, are an awards event that honors top short-form content creators on the micro-blogging website Twitter. The awards have primarily been sponsored by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, and are organized by the co-founders of the Brooklyn-based...

 held on March 28, 2011, she won the actress category. In May 2011, she won the Most Glamourous Actress online ballot for the Monte-Carlo Television Festival. She received 17.3% of the 3,641 votes against a field of 15 finalists.

She served as a jury member at the May 29 – June 5, 2011 Film Festival Zlín

Film Festival Zlín

Zlín International Film Festival for Children and Youth is a film festival for young audiences, and is one of the oldest festivals of its kind in the world. Due to the dramatic expansion of its scope over the last few years, it can also be counted among the largest film events of its kind worldwide...

, where For Lovers Only made its world premiere. She is currently working on another film, Big Sur, in which she plays Lenore Kandel

Lenore Kandel

Lenore Kandel was an American poet.Kandel was briefly notorious as the author of a short book of poetry, The Love Book...

. In conjunction with the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con International, there was an official announcement in Entertainment Weekly

Entertainment Weekly

Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...

that she would become the voice for Talia al Ghul

Talia al Ghul

Talia al Ghul is a fictional character in the DC Comics universe, the now-estranged daughter of the supervillain Ra's al Ghul, a love interest of Batman, and the mother of his son Damian Wayne, the fifth Robin...

 in Batman: Arkham City.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1999	Acid Freaks	Annie
2003	Shut-Eye	Angela
2005	Pit Fighter Pit Fighter (film) Pit Fighter is a 2005 action movie directed by Jesse Johnson. The film stars Dominique Vandenberg, Steven Bauer and Stephen Graham and also Scott Adkins. The film is in no way related to the 1990 arcade videogame Pit-Fighter.-Plot:...	Marianne
2006	Faceless	Diana Palos	Television film
2006	Dragon Dynasty	Ava	Television film
2007	Feast of Love Feast of Love Feast of Love is a 2007 American drama film directed by Robert Benton, starring Morgan Freeman, Greg Kinnear, Radha Mitchell, Billy Burke and Selma Blair...	Jenny
2008	Would Be Kings Would Be Kings Would Be Kings is a Canadian 4-hour television mini-series directed by David Wellington which aired on CTV on January 27 and January 28, 2008.- Plot :...	Julianna Martinelli	Television mini-series
2008	Stiletto	Raina
2008	Quantum of Solace	Corinne Veneau
2008		Simone Renoir	Television film
2008		Morgenstern
2008	Truth About Kerry Truth About Kerry Truth about Kerry is a 2011 suspense film. It was written by Shaun O'Sullivan and Katherine Torpey, directed by Katherine Torpey, produced by Shaun O'Sullivan, Katie Torpey & Tony Zanelotti, and stars Stana Katic, Jessica Dean and Darren Keefe. The film was shot in County Kerry, Ireland , and in...	Emma
2010	For Lovers Only For Lovers Only (film) For Lovers Only is a romance film directed by Michael Polish, written by Mark Polish and produced by The Polish brothers and Sean O'Grady. The film stars Stana Katic and Mark Polish. The film was expected to be released in theaters in the United States in June, but eventually adopted an online...	Sophia
2011		Emma
2012	Big Sur Big Sur (film) Big Sur is an upcoming film, based on the autobiographical novel Big Sur by Beat Generation poet and novelist Jack Kerouac. The director is independent filmmaker Michael Polish...	Lenore Kandel Lenore Kandel Lenore Kandel was an American poet.Kandel was briefly notorious as the author of a short book of poetry, The Love Book...	Post-production

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2004		Mariella	1 episode: "Bleak House"
2004	Alias Alias (TV series) Alias is an American action television series created by J. J. Abrams which was broadcast on ABC for five seasons, from September 30, 2001 to May 22, 2006...	Flight Attendant	1 episode: "Façade"
2004	L.A. Dragnet Dragnet (series) Dragnet is a radio and television crime drama about the cases of a dedicated Los Angeles police detective, Sergeant Joe Friday, and his partners...	Miriam Nelson	1 episode: "Retribution"
2004		Ayla	2 episodes: "All In" and "On Tilt"
2004	JAG JAG (TV series) JAG is an American adventure/legal drama television show that was produced by Belisarius Productions, in association with Paramount Network Television and, for the first season only, NBC Productions...	Lucienne Charmoli	1 episode: "This Just in from Baghdad"
2005		Nadia	1 episode: "The Big Picture"
2005	ER ER (TV series) ER is an American medical drama television series created by novelist Michael Crichton that aired on NBC from September 19, 1994 to April 2, 2009. It was produced by Constant c Productions and Amblin Entertainment, in association with Warner Bros. Television...	Blaire Collins	2 episodes: "Blame It on the Rain" and "Wake Up"
2006	24 24 (TV series) 24 is an American television series produced for the Fox Network and syndicated worldwide, starring Kiefer Sutherland as Counter Terrorist Unit agent Jack Bauer. Each 24-episode season covers 24 hours in the life of Bauer, using the real time method of narration...	Collette Stenger	3 episodes: "Day 5: 7:00 – 10.00 p.m."
2006	Brothers & Sisters	Karen Wells	1 episode: "Patriarchy"
2007	Company Man	Donna Baker	1 episode: "Pilot"
2007	Heroes Heroes (TV series) Heroes is an American science fiction television drama series created by Tim Kring that appeared on NBC for four seasons from September 25, 2006 through February 8, 2010. The series tells the stories of ordinary people who discover superhuman abilities, and how these abilities take effect in the...	Hana Gitelman	2 episodes: "Unexpected Unexpected (Heroes) "Unexpected" is the sixteenth episode of the first season of the NBC science fiction drama series Heroes.Regular cast members Noah Gray-Cabey , Ali Larter and Leonard Roberts do not appear in this episode. Stan Lee makes a cameo appearance in the episode as the driver of the bus Hiro gets on... " & "Five Years Gone Five Years Gone "Five Years Gone" is the twentieth episode of the first season of the NBC science fiction drama series Heroes. It is the last episode before the three-part finale of season one.... "
2007	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 Sullivan	1 episode: "Deep Freeze"
2007		Special Agent Debra Lane	1 episode: "Binary Explosion"
2009–present	Castle Castle (TV series) Castle is an American comedy-drama television series, which premiered on ABC on March 9, 2009. The series is produced by Beacon Pictures and ABC Studios. On January 10, 2011, Castle was renewed for a fourth season...	Detective Kate Beckett Kate Beckett Katherine "Kate" Beckett is a fictional character portrayed by Stana Katic in the ABC crime series Castle.-Background:Beckett is a detective with the Twelfth Precinct Homicide Squad of the New York City Police Department, where she worked with fellow detectives Javier Esposito and Kevin Ryan and...	58 episodes TV Guide Award for Favorite Couple Who Should TV Guide TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...   Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama

Video games

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2011	Batman: Arkham City	Talia al Ghul Talia al Ghul Talia al Ghul is a fictional character in the DC Comics universe, the now-estranged daughter of the supervillain Ra's al Ghul, a love interest of Batman, and the mother of his son Damian Wayne, the fifth Robin...	Voice role

External links