Kathleen Robertson

Kathleen Robertson (born July 8, 1973) is a Canadian actress and writer. She is best known for her roles as Tina Edison in the Canadian sitcom Maniac Mansion (1990–1993) and as Clare Arnold in the Fox teen drama series Beverly Hills, 90210 (1994–1997). Robertson also starred in a number of films, and from 2011 to 2012 played the role of Kitty O'Neill in the Starz political drama series Boss. From 2014 to 2016, Robertson starred as homicide detective Hildy Mulligan in the TNT series Murder in the First. In 2019, she played a main character in the series Northern Rescue.

Kathleen Robertson
Robertson at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival
Born	(1973-07-08) July 8, 1973 Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Nationality	Canadian
Occupation	Actress, producer
Years active	1985–present
Spouse(s)	Chris Cowles ( m. after 2004)
Children	1

Early life

Robertson was born in Hamilton, Ontario[1] and attended Sherwood Secondary School and Hillfield Strathallan College, a local private school. She started taking acting classes when she was ten and had roles in local theatre productions. Her first television appearances were in The Campbells, My Secret Identity and E.N.G.[2]

Career

Acting

Kathleen Robertson at 2008 Emmy Awards

From 1990 to 1993, Robertson starred as Tina Edison, the eldest of three children of Dr. Fred Edison (Joe Flaherty), on the Canadian sitcom Maniac Mansion. This role earned her two nominations for Young Artist Awards.[3] She appeared in several small films and television shows, and did not debut on the big screen until her small role in the 1992 thriller film Blown Away, opposite Corey Haim and Nicole Eggert.[4] She also made her American debut in the 1992 made-for-television movie, Quiet Killer, co-starring Kate Jackson.

In 1994, Robertson was cast in the series regular role of Clare Arnold in the Fox teen drama Beverly Hills, 90210. She starred in the show from 1994 to 1997, during seasons four to seven.[5] In 1997, her ex-boyfriend, director Gregg Araki cast her as Lucifer, one of a group of bored, alienated, and very horny Los Angeles teens in the black comedy drama film Nowhere.[4][6] She later had a role in his other film, called Splendor (1999).[5] Robertson also has appeared in several films during her career. She appeared opposite Luke Wilson in romantic comedy Dog Park (1998), in Sally Field's directed comedy-drama Beautiful (2000), and the parody movie Scary Movie 2 (2001). She later had more serious roles with the 2002 independent drama film XX/XY, opposite Mark Ruffalo. In the same year, Robertson played the role of Evelyn Dick, a Canadian convicted murderer, whose trial remains the most sensationalized event in Canadian criminal history, in the made-for-television movie, Torso: The Evelyn Dick Story.[4] Robertson was nominated for a Gemini Award for her performance in the film.[4]

Kathleen Robertson in 2014

In 2002, Robertson starred as one of the leads in the short-lived Fox legal drama series Girls Club created by David E. Kelley.[5][7] She later appeared in a number of independent films, and had guest-starring roles on Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Medium, CSI: Miami, and Rookie Blue. In 2006, she appeared in Hollywoodland opposite Adrien Brody. From 2006 to 2007, she had the leading role in the Canadian comedy series, The Business. In 2007, she starred in the Syfy miniseries Tin Man as the primary antagonist of the story.[4]

In 2011, she was cast as Kitty O'Neill, Tom Kane's personal aide alongside Kelsey Grammer in the Starz original drama series Boss.[8] The series was cancelled after two seasons in late 2012.[9] Robertson also starred in a number of made-for-television movies in recent years, primarily for Lifetime network, including Last Exit (2006), and Time of Death (2013).[10] In 2013, Robertson portrayed the wife of hockey legend Gordie Howe in the made-for-television movie, Mr. Hockey: The Gordie Howe Story.[11] The biopic first aired in late April on CBC, and then made its US debut on the Hallmark Channel the first week in May.

In 2013, Robertson was cast as a lead in the TNT detective drama series Murder in the First co-created by Steven Bochco which debuted on June 9, 2014.[12][13][14][15] She plays the role of Hildy Mulligan, a homicide detective and single mother. In the same year she starred in the thriller film The Vatican Tapes that was released on February 27, 2015,[16] and was cast in recurring role as Jodi Morgan for the second season of A&E drama series Bates Motel.[17] In 2015, Robertson had the leading role alongside Eric Dane in the four-hour miniseries The Fixer.[18]

In 2018, Robertson was cast in the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and Netflix co-production drama series Northern Rescue. It was released on CBC GEM on March 1, 2019.[19]

Writing

In 2010s, Robertson switched from acting to screenwriting. In 2015, Robertson completed the Writers Guild’s Showrunners Training Program, where she was mentored by former WGA West president John Wells.[20] In 2017 she began adapting The Possibilities, Kaui Hart Hemmings’ follow up novel to The Descendents about a grieving Colorado mother whose son was killed in a skiing avalanche and then starts a friendship with a mysterious young girl.[21] She writing feature drama film based on Chris Cleave’s novel, Little Bee starring Julia Roberts.[22][23] In 2016, she began developing Swimming With Sharks, a series based on the 1994 Hollywood satire film.[24] The series set to debut in 2020 on Quibi.[25] She also created comedy-drama pilot Your Time Is Up for Lifetime with Christina Applegate was attached to star.[20]

Personal life

Robertson dated director and independent filmmaker Gregg Araki from 1997 to 1999.[26][27]

Robertson has been married to film producer Chris Cowles since 2004. She gave birth to her first child, a son named William Robert Cowles, on July 9, 2008, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.[28]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1985	Left Out
1992	Lapse of Memory	Patrick (Melody)
1992	Liar's Edge	Bobby Swaggart
1992	Quiet Killer	Sara Dobbs	Television film
1993	Survive the Night	Julie	Television film
1993	Blown Away	Darla Hawkes
1994	In the Line of Duty: The Price of Vengeance	Susan Williams	Television film
1997	Nowhere	Lucifer
1998	I Woke Up Early The Day I Died	Ticket Girl	Cameo
1998	Dog Park	Cheryl
1999	Splendor	Veronica
2000	Psycho Beach Party	Rhonda
2000	Beautiful	Wanda Love, Miss Tennessee
2001	Scary Movie 2	Theo	Nominated — Canadian Comedy Award for Best Female Performance
2001	Speaking of Sex	Grace
2001	I Am Sam	Big Boy Waitress
2002	XX/XY	Thea
2002	Torso: The Evelyn Dick Story	Evelyn Dick	Television film Nominated — Gemini Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
2003	I Love Your Work	Swoosh Journalist
2003	In the Dark	Rachel Speller	Television film
2004	Until the Night	Elizabeth
2004	Control	Eden Ross
2005	51/50 Mall Cop	Donna
2006	Last Exit	Beth Welland	Television film Nominated — Gemini Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
2006	Hollywoodland	Carol Van Ronkel
2008	Player 5150	Ali
2008	The Terrorist Next Door	Nicole	Television film
2008	Glitch	Lee	Television film
2009	Not Since You	Amy Smith
2010	A Night for Dying Tigers	Jules
2011	Losing Control	Leslie
2011	Down the Road Again	Betty-Jo
2012	Three Days in Havana	Emily
2012	Seal Team Six: The Raid on Osama Bin Laden	Vivian Hollins
2013	Mr. Hockey: The Gordie Howe Story	Colleen Howe	Television film
2013	Time of Death	Jordan Price	Television film
2015	The Vatican Tapes	Dr. Richards

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1986	The Campbells	Dorothea Spencer	Episode: "A Man of Means"
1988	My Secret Identity	Jennifer	Episode: "Grounded"
1990	C.B.C.'s Magic Hour	Cynthia Bundy	Episode: "The Prom"
1990–1993	Maniac Mansion	Tina Edison	Series regular, 65 episodes Nominated — Young Artist Award for Best Young Actress Co-starring in an Off-Primetime or Cable Series (1991–92)
1993	The Hidden Room	Anne Morrison	Episode: "Passages"
1994	Heaven Help Us		Episode: "Upstairs, Upstairs"
1994–1997	Beverly Hills, 90210	Clare Arnold	Series regular, 99 episodes
1995	Burke's Law	Tracy Bird	Episode: "Who Killed the World's Greatest Chef?"
2002	Girls Club	Jeannie Falls	Series regular, 9 episodes
2005	Law & Order: Criminal Intent	Darla Pearson	Episode: "View from Up Here"
2006	Medium	Diana Marvin / Kathy	Episode: "Ghost in the Machine"
2006–2007	The Business	Julia Sullivan	Series regular, 12 episodes Nominated — Gemini Award for Best Ensemble Performance in a Comedy Series (2007)
2007	Tin Man	Azkadellia	TV miniseries
2009	Flashpoint	Helen Mitchell	Episode: "Custody"
2010	CSI: Miami	Kayla Pennington	Episode: "Meltdown"
2011	Rookie Blue	Leslie Atkins	Episode: "Best Laid Plans"
2011–2012	Boss	Kitty O'Neill	Series regular, 18 episodes
2013	Cracked	Erin	Episode: "White Knight"
2014	Bates Motel	Jodi Morgan	Recurring role, 5 episodes
2014–2016	Murder in the First	Hildy Mulligan	Series regular, 32 episodes Nominated – Golden Maple Award for Best Actress in a TV series broadcast in the U.S. (2015)
2015	The Fixer	Ellie	TV miniseries
2019	Northern Rescue	Charlie Anders	Series regular

References

1. "Kathleen Robertson Biography". Tvguide.com. Retrieved 2014-01-03.
2. "Kathleen Robertson". IMDb. Retrieved 2018-01-15.
3. "Kathleen Robertson biography and filmography". Tribute.ca. 1973-07-08. Retrieved 2014-01-03.
4. "Kathleen Robertson - Biography - Movies & TV". NYTimes.com. 1973-07-08. Retrieved 2014-01-03.
5. "Kathleen Robertson Biography - Yahoo! Movies".
6. Holden, Stephen (1997-05-09). "Movie Review - Nowhere - Teen-Agers Who Have Too Much Free Time". NYTimes.com. Retrieved 2014-01-03.
7. Susman, Gary (2002-10-30). "Clubbed". EW.com. Retrieved 2014-01-03.
8. Andreeva, Nellie. "Starz Sets Production Start And Remaining Cast For Kelsey Grammer Series 'Boss'". Deadline.com. Retrieved 2014-01-03.
9. "Boss: Cancelled; No Season Three But... | canceled + renewed TV shows". TV Series Finale. Retrieved 2014-01-03.
10. "The Web's Best Television Resource". TheFutonCritic.com. Retrieved 2014-01-03.
11. "Gordie Howe Movie: 'Mr Hockey' Biopic Focuses On 1973-74 WHA Season With Sons". Huffingtonpost.com. 2013-05-02. Retrieved 2014-01-03.
12. Robyn Ross (2014-05-01). "Take a Stab at TNT's Murder in the First - Today's News: Our Take". TVGuide.com. Retrieved 2014-05-30.
13. "TNT Greenlights Steven Bochco's 'Murder In The First' For Summer 2014". Deadline.com. 2013-07-19. Retrieved 2013-09-20.
14. "Steven Bochco's 'Murder in the First' Gets Series Order at TNT". Hollywoodreporter.com. 2011-11-17. Retrieved 2013-09-20.
15. Friedlander, Whitney (2013-09-19). "Steven Bochco's 'Murder in the First' Greenlit at TNT". Variety. Retrieved 2013-09-20.
16. Creepy, Uncle (2013-06-28). "Cast Recorded on The Vatican Tapes". Dread Central. Retrieved 2014-01-03.
17. Slezak, Michael (2013-08-13). "Kathleen Robertson Checks Into Bates Motel". TVLine. Retrieved 2014-01-03.
18. "Eric Dane, Kathleen Robertson Board Canadian Miniseries 'The Fixer'". The Hollywood Reporter. July 16, 2014. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
19. "About the show". CBC. 4 February 2019. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
20. Andreeva, Nellie (August 4, 2015). "Kathleen Robertson Writing Dramedy For Lionsgate TV With Christina Applegate Attached To Star".
21. https://deadline.com/2017/04/kathleen-robertson-adapting-the-possibilities-jason-reitman-fox-searchlight-1202068267/
22. N'Duka, Amanda (June 11, 2018). "Julia Roberts Attached To Star In Amazon's 'Little Bee' Film Adaptation; Kathleen Robertson Scripting".
23. McNary, Dave (June 11, 2018). "Julia Roberts to Produce, Star in Drama 'Little Bee' for Amazon".
24. Andreeva, Nellie (December 2, 2016). "Kathleen Robertson Sells 'Swimming With Sharks' Series Adaptation To E!, Dramedy Starring Christina Applegate To Lifetime".
25. "'Swimming With Sharks' Update From Kathleen Robertson Set at Quibi". The Hollywood Reporter.
26. Szymanski, Michael (1997-07-20). "Having It Both Ways". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2016-04-23.
27. Turner, Megan. "STRANGE BEDFELLOWS: GAY DIRECTOR FALLS FOR '90210' BABE". New York Post. Retrieved 2016-04-23.
28. "Kathleen Robertson gives birth to son William". Retrieved 5 August 2014.

External links

• Kathleen Robertson on IMDb
• Kathleen Robertson on Twitter