Kathleen Erin Walsh (born October 13, 1967 in San Jose, California) is an American film and television actress, currently known for her role as Dr. Addison Montgomery on the ABC dramas Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice. GutterUncensored.com
Walsh was a model in Japan during the 1980s. When Walsh moved to Chicago, she began working with the Piven Theatre Workshop. She performed on National Public Radio in the production of the radio play Born Guilty. Walsh subsequently moved to New York City and joined the comedy troupe Burn Manhattan on June 27, 1987, performing in a number of Off-Broadway plays. GutterUncensored.com
After playing Cathy Buxton in the "Stakeout" episode of Homicide: Life on the Street in 1996, her first major television appearance was in 1997, when she appeared on The Drew Carey Show as Carey's character's girlfriend Nicki. She wore a fatsuit in some episodes of the show, as the Nicki character was a formerly obese woman who lost weight & slowly started to gain it back. She went on to portray Carol Nelson in HBO's The Mind of the Married Man television series, and played Norm Macdonald's romantic interest in the sitcom "The Norm Show". Walsh also made a notable guest appearance on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation as Mimosa, a transsexual. She sometimes appeared in sketches on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. She had a recurring role on Karen Sisco as Detective Marley Novak in 2003 and 2004.
In 2005, she was cast in the ABC hit, Grey's Anatomy, as Dr. Addison Montgomery, the estranged spouse of Derek Shepherd ("Dr. McDreamy", played by Patrick Dempsey). The role of Addison was originally conceived as a short-term role (five episodes) but audience response the Derek/Meredith/Addison triangle, and to Walsh in particular, convinced series creator Shonda Rhimes to expand the role and make Walsh a series regular. As she noted in an interview she's "The house guest who never leaves" referring to her extended role on both Grey's Anatomy & The Drew Carey Show. GutterUncensored.com
It was announced in February 2007 that Walsh's
Grey's Anatomy character Addison would be in a spin-off of
Grey's Anatomy that began airing in September 2007. Taye Diggs,
Tim Daly, Amy Brenneman, Chris Lowell and Audra McDonald have been cast in the spin-off, which has been given the name
Private Practice. Kate Walsh returned to Seattle Grace as a guest star for episode thirteen in Season 4 of
Grey's Anatomy, she is currently set to shoot the second season of
Private Practice.
GutterUncensored.com
