Katherine McNamara

Acting

McNamara began her acting career on stage in Kansas City.^[5][11][12] She then participated in motion picture productions filmed in the Kansas City area, such as Matchmaker Mary in 2008 and the short film "Get Off My Porch".^[13][14] In 2010, she appeared in the 2009 Broadway revival of A Little Night Music with Catherine Zeta-Jones and Angela Lansbury.^[5][15][16] She began making guest appearances in television series, including Law & Order: SVU, 30 Rock, and Drop Dead Diva. McNamara appeared in theatrical movies such as New Year's Eve and in the Disney Channel original movie Girl vs. Monster, playing the role of Myra Santelli.^[17][18] She co-starred in the film Tom Sawyer & Huckleberry Finn, playing the role of Tom's girlfriend Becky Thatcher.^[19] McNamara also appeared in the independent films Contest^[20] and A Sort of Homecoming.^[21]

She appeared on three episodes of the Disney XD series Kickin' It, in which she had a recurring role as Claire, Kim's rival, and in two episodes of the Disney Channel series Jessie, playing Bryn Brietbart, a rival to Emma Ross. She also appeared as Myra Santelli in Girl vs. Monster, and as Tara Campbell in an episode of the Nickelodeon series The Thundermans. McNamara was cast in the MTV series Happyland as Harper Munroe, a theme park photographer.^[22] It was announced that McNamara would playing the recurring role of Kat on the third season of The Fosters in 2015.^[23]

On May 6, 2015, ABC Family (now Freeform) announced that McNamara would be playing the lead character Clary Fray in Shadowhunters, a television adaptation of Cassandra Clare's bestselling book series The Mortal Instruments.^[24][25] McNamara appeared in The Maze Runner film sequel, Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials, as Sonya, a co-leader of Group B.^[26] She reprised the role in the 2018 sequel, Maze Runner: The Death Cure.^[27]

In September 2018, McNamara was cast in the seventh season of Arrow as the recurring character of Mia Smoak, the daughter of Oliver Queen and Felicity Smoak;^[3][4] McNamara was later promoted to a series regular for Arrow's eighth and final season.^[28] In October 2019, The CW announced plans for a potential Arrow spin-off featuring Mia Smoak.^[29] A backdoor pilot for the spin-off aired as the ninth episode of Arrow's final season.^[30] However, in January 2021, The CW passed on ordering the spin-off to series.^[31] In August 2021, The CW announced that McNamara would return as Mia Queen in the five-episode "Armageddon" storyline at the beginning of The Flash Season 8.^[32][33]

In October 2019, McNamara was cast as Julie Lawry in the CBS All Access limited series adaptation of Stephen King's The Stand.^[34] Principal photography on the limited series was completed in March 2020, and CBS All Access announced a premiere date of December 17, 2020.^[35][36][37]

In November 2018, McNamara joined the cast of a Charlie Day film, formerly known as El Tonto, and eventually retitled Fool's Paradise before a release in 2023.^[38][39] During May and June 2020, McNamara participated in the making of Untitled Horror Movie, a movie that was shot by cast members receiving direction from Nick Simon via remote videoconferencing. This was due to restrictions necessitated by COVID-19 distancing protocols.^[40][41] In 2021, QCode released The Burned Photo, a horror podcast, with McNamara as a member of the voice cast.^[42] The same year, she was also added to the voice cast of the animated film The Adventures of Bunny Bravo.^[43]

In March 2022, McNamara was cast in the lead role in the pilot to Walker: Independence, a planned prequel series to Walker. She portrays Abby Walker, the ancestor of Jared Padalecki's Cordell Walker.^[44] The same month, she was added to the cast of the film Jade, which is stuntman James Bamford's directorial debut.^[45] On April 11, 2022, she began hosting a Shadowhunters rewatch podcast with co-star Dominic Sherwood called Return to the Shadows.^[46] McNamara also starred as Chloe Belle in the Amazon Prime film Sugar (marketed on Lifetime as Danger Below Deck) alongside Jasmine Sky Sarin which was loosely based on the real-life story of the Cocaine Cowgirls.^[47]

McNamara starred as a rookie U.S. Secret Service agent in the 2024 film Air Force One Down.^[48] In December 2024, McNamara wrapped production on the film Coyotes in Colombia.^[49]

Singing

During the course of her career, McNamara has sung songs that were used in movies or television series in which she appeared. She wrote and sang "Chatter" for Contest, and she also appeared in a music video for that song.^[50] She wrote "My Heart Can Fly", which her character sings during a talent competition in Little Savages.^[51] She sang "Wait for You", the end credits song for A Sort of Homecoming.^[52][53] She also sang "Stay True", the end credits song for R.L. Stine's Monsterville: Cabinet of Souls.^[54] Her song "Ember" was played during the 20th episode of the second season of Shadowhunters.^[55]

In December 2019, McNamara was featured as the voice of singer Sally Jessup in the animated Christmas special episode of the DreamWorks series Spirit Riding Free entitled "Spirit of Christmas", which premiered on Netflix. She also provided the vocals for several songs featured in the special.^[56] In November 2020, McNamara released "What Do We Got to Lose" on digital music platforms.^[57][58] Her song "Making a Monster Out of Me" became available on digital music platforms on December 17, 2020.^[59] She released "Love Me Like That" across various digital music platforms on February 14, 2021.^[60][61] All of these songs were recorded several years earlier, when McNamara was building a music portfolio.^[62]

Film

Television

Theater

Podcasts

Short stories