Katheryn Winnick

Katheryn Winnick was born on December 17, 1977 in Etobicoke, Ontario, and is of Ukrainian descent.^[1] She spoke Ukrainian as her first language and did not begin speaking English until she was eight years old.^[2][3] She has two brothers.^[4]

She began training in martial arts at age seven, and obtained her first black belt at 13. By age 21, she had started three Taekwondo schools.^[5][6] She taught Taekwondo and self-defense to actors while completing her degree in kinesiology at York University, Toronto.^[7] Winnick studied at and is an alumnus of the William Esper Studio.^[8]

Winnick started acting as a young girl at her community centre in Toronto. She had directed plays in her high school and won a scholarship for drama and directing while attending Richview Collegiate Institute.^[9]

Winnick entered the film industry by teaching martial arts to actors on movie sets; the experience inspired her to pursue professional acting. She was then cast as a series regular on Student Bodies.^[9]

Since then, she has appeared in many films, including Stand Up Guys, Failure to Launch, Love & Other Drugs, and Killers. She has guest-starred in numerous television shows, most notably House,^[10] The Glades, Bones, Law & Order, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, CSI, CSI: NY, CSI: Miami, Criminal Minds, Person of Interest,^[11] and Nikita.

In 2010, she joined the cast of Bones, in the recurring role of Hannah Burley, a glamorous war correspondent and love interest for main character Seeley Booth.

Winnick starred in the comedy-drama film Cold Souls, which had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival 2009. In 2011, she was cast in a guest role on The CW's spy drama Nikita. In 2013, she starred in A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III and appeared in the comedy The Art of the Steal. She also joined History Channel's Vikings, starring in the role of Lagertha, a legendary figure in Viking history.^[5][12] In July 2017, Winnick stated on her Twitter account that she had been cast for a role in what was thought to be a film project, and that it would be announced at San Diego Comic-Con.^[13] She was later revealed to be cast as a main character in the Nazi Zombies mode of the video game Call of Duty: WWII.^[14]

In July 2018, it was announced that Winnick had been cast in the series regular role of Christine "C.G." Gavin on the Netflix series, Wu Assassins.^[15] In February 2020, Winnick was announced to play the starring role of Jenny Hoyt on the ABC crime drama series Big Sky.^[16]

In 2015, Winnick said she has dual American and Canadian citizenship.^[17] Her brothers have made appearances on Vikings.^[4]

In March 2022, Winnick, together with her mother, created the charity "The Winnick Foundation" to raise funds for the needs of Ukraine during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.^[18][19] In November 2022, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs banned Winnick from entering Russia, along with 99 other Canadians, in response to international sanctions.^[20]