Katherine Moennig
Moennig at the White House in 2023
Born
Katherine Sian Moennig

(1977-12-29) December 29, 1977 (age 46)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
OccupationActress
Years active2000–present
Spouse
​
(m. 2017)​
[1]
RelativesBlythe Danner (paternal aunt)
Harry Danner (paternal uncle)
Gwyneth Paltrow (paternal cousin)
Jake Paltrow (paternal cousin)

Katherine Sian Moennig (/ˈmɛnɪɡ/;[2] born December 29, 1977)[3][4] is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Shane McCutcheon on The L Word (2004–2009), as well as Jake Pratt on Young Americans (2000). Moennig played the role of Lena in the Showtime series Ray Donovan from 2013 to 2019. She played a recurring role on Grown-ish on Freeform as Professor Paige Hewson in season 2 and 3. She reprised her role as Shane McCutcheon in The L Word: Generation Q in 2019. Moennig currently hosts podcast PANTS with close friend and L Word co-star, Leisha Hailey.

Personal life

Moennig was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,[3] the daughter of Broadway dancer Mary Zahn and violin-maker William H. Moennig III.[5] Her father's maternal half-sister is actress Blythe Danner, making her a half-first cousin of Gwyneth Paltrow and Jake Paltrow.[6]

Moennig is a lesbian.[7] She is married to musician Ana Rezende.[1]

Career

Moennig moved to New York City at the age of 18 to study at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.[8]

In 1999, she had the central role in the Our Lady Peace video "Is Anybody Home?".[9] She also took a role in a Fleet Bank commercial,[10] and appeared in a Red Cross Campaign benefiting victims of Hurricane Katrina. Moennig was a presenter at the 17th annual GLAAD awards and appeared at the 10th annual Ribbon of Hope Celebration.[11]

Moennig's first major role was in the television series Young Americans, playing Jake Pratt. She has played multiple lesbian roles: Shane McCutcheon in The L Word; Rosie's (Drew Barrymore) partner Jilly in Everybody's Fine; Candace, the lesbian lover of Sophia Myles' character, in Art School Confidential; and Lena, a press agent who works for Liev Schreiber's character, in Ray Donovan. She has also pursued transgender roles, auditioning for the part of Brandon Teena in Boys Don't Cry,[12] and playing Cheryl Avery, a young transgender woman in the Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episode "Fallacy".

In April 2006, Moennig made her Off Broadway debut as "American Girl", opposite Lee Pace, in Guardians, by Peter Morris. The story is loosely based on that of Lynndie England.[13]

In 2007, the Hetrick-Martin Institute (HMI) produced the documentary My Address: A Look At Gay Youth Homelessness in cooperation with Moennig. Directed by Gigi Nicolas, the documentary explored the experiences of homeless gay youth and the work of the HMI.

In 2009, Moennig joined the cast of the TV series Three Rivers.[14] On November 30, 2009, it was announced that CBS had pulled Three Rivers from the schedule, with no plans to return it. Moennig appeared in an episode of This Just Out in 2010.[15]

In 2013, tomboy clothing range Wildfang launched in America. Moennig was an ambassador for the brand,[16] appearing in the launch video and designing a limited edition pair of boots.[17]

Also in 2013, Moennig joined the cast of the Showtime drama Ray Donovan, starring as Lena, Ray Donovan's assistant.[18]

In 2017, Moennig narrated her first audiobook, The Late Show by Michael Connelly.[19]

In 2019, Moennig reprised her role as Shane McCutcheon in The L Word sequel, The L Word: Generation Q.[20]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2000 The Ice People Wanja Kasczinsky Short film
2001 Slo-Mo Raven Short film
2001 Love the Hard Way Debbie
2001 The Shipping News Grace Moosup
2004 Invitation to a Suicide Eva
2006 Art School Confidential Candace
2009 Everybody's Fine Jilly
2010 Lez Chat Athletic Woman Short film
2011 The Lincoln Lawyer Gloria
2012 Gone Erica Lonsdale
2014 Default Juliana
2016 My Dead Boyfriend Zoe
2017 Lane 1974 Hallelujah
2023 Squealer Earline

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2000 Young Americans Jacqueline "Jake" Pratt Main role (8 episodes)
2001 Law & Order Melissa Cobin Episode: "For Love or Money" (S12E03)
2003 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Cheryl Avery Episode: "Fallacy" (S4E21)
2004–2009 The L Word Shane McCutcheon Main role (70 episodes)
2008 CSI: Miami Mary Landis Episode: "Rock and a Hard Place" (S6E19)
2009–2010 Three Rivers Dr. Miranda Foster Main role (13 episodes)
2010 Dexter Michael Angelo Episode: "First Blood" (S5E05)
2013–2019 Ray Donovan Lena Burnham Main role (65 episodes)
2019 Grown-ish Professor Paige Hewson Recurring role (8 episodes)
2019–2023 The L Word: Generation Q Shane McCutcheon Main role
2022 Ray Donovan: The Movie Lena Burnham Television film

Theatre

Title Role
Guardians American Girl
As You Like It Shepherdess
The Theory of Total Blame Irene
Comedy of Art Isabella
Morning in the City
Nolan Karen
Love Letters Dr. Melissa
The Shadow Box Felicity
The Murder of Lidice Byeta
The Two Gentlemen of Verona Lucetta
A Late Show Pat
Burn This Anna
Alone at the Beach Chris
Lovers Maggie
Anna K Anna[21][22]

References

  1. ^ a b "Episode 221: Kate Moennig". RuPaul: What's The Tee?. September 4, 2019.
  2. ^ Moennig, Katherine [@katemoennig] (May 7, 2014). "@BrienneHarris Men-ig thank you for asking" (Tweet). Retrieved December 22, 2021 – via Twitter.
  3. ^ a b "Katherine Moennig". TVGuide.com. Retrieved October 19, 2014.
  4. ^ "Katherine Moennig Questions / Answers". thelword-fr.net. January 19, 2007. Archived from the original on February 3, 2008. I've noticed my birth year is 1976 online, when it's really 1977
  5. ^ Gross, Dan (April 28, 2011). "Gwyneth Paltrow slurs late local grandma on "Chelsea Lately"". Philadelphia Daily News. Retrieved October 18, 2014.
  6. ^ Traister, Rebecca (October 9, 2000). "Androgynous Actress Kate Moennig Is 'Alt.Gwyn,' Paltrow's Cousin". New York Observer. London, England: Observer Media. Retrieved October 18, 2014.
  7. ^ Gilmour, Paisley (September 9, 2019). "The L Word's Katherine Moennig realised she was a lesbian while working on the show". Cosmopolitan. New York City: Hearst Communications.
  8. ^ "Alumni News". aada.org. March 2012. Archived from the original on 2014-01-01.
  9. ^ Bolonik, Kera; Chaiken, Ilene (7 March 2006). The L Word:Welcome to Our Planet. Google Books: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9780743291330.
  10. ^ Fleet Bank ad at YouTube
  11. ^ 10th annual Ribbon of Hope Celebration at IMDb
  12. ^ Pacetta, Christopher (2005-02-20). "Five things you didn't know about Katherine Moennig". NY Daily News. Archived from the original on 2016-01-01. Retrieved 2016-09-13.
  13. ^ Isherwood, Charles (April 13, 2006). "'Guardians' Evokes Abuses of Abu Ghraib and of Fleet Street". The New York Times. Retrieved December 28, 2006.
  14. ^ Martin, Denise (October 11, 2009). "Katherine Moennig on 'The L Word,' 'Three Rivers' and cousin Gwyneth Paltrow (2009-10-10)". Los Angeles Times.
  15. ^ "Liz Feldman Returns With New Episodes of "This Just Out"". Autostraddle.com. 2010-10-11. Retrieved 2016-02-04.
  16. ^ Bendix, Trish (2013-02-02). "Wildfang employs Kate Moennig, Megan Rapinoe and Hannah Blilie to bring you tomboy fashion". AfterEllen. Retrieved 2016-02-04.
  17. ^ Kate Moennig x Wildfang Archived May 11, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
  18. ^ Bendix, Trish (June 28, 2013). "Kate Moennig plays a hot new lesbian character with questionable morals on "Ray Donovan"". After Ellen.
  19. ^ "The Late Show". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2017-10-07.
  20. ^ Romano, Nick (January 31, 2019). "The L Word sequel ordered to series for 2019 premiere on Showtime". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 14, 2019.
  21. ^ "Katherine Moennig". Olniclo's Movie World. 7 July 2006. Retrieved 2016-09-13.
  22. ^ "Knowing more to... Kate Moennig". Les Planet. 2008. Retrieved 2016-09-13.

External links

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