Who is Kathy Najimy? Everything You Need to Know

Quick Facts

Also Known As: Kathy Ann Najimy

Age: 67 Years, 67 Year Old Females

Family:

Spouse/Ex-: Dan Finnerty (m. 1998)

father: Fred Najimy

mother: Samia Massery

children: Samia Finnerty

Actresses Comedians

Height: 5'6" (168 cm), 5'6" Females

Ancestry: Lebanese American

U.S. State: California

Notable Alumni: San Diego State University

City: San Diego, California

More Facts

education: San Diego State University

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Childhood & Early Life

Kathy Najimy was born in San Diego, California, on February 6, 1957. Her father Fred Najimy and mother Samia Massery are Catholics of Lebanese descent. She studied at ‘Crawford High School’.

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Career

Kathy Najimy started her acting career on stage, and she soon found national fame with the hugely popular comedy play with feminist undercurrents ‘The Kathy and Mo show’ (1986). But this was not her first encounter with fame, as she had been seen on TV before.

The young actress had appeared on the TV show ‘Family Feud’ in 1981, alongside her family. She won the prize money of $10,000. In 1985, she also participated as a contestant on the game show ‘$25,000 Pyramid’. In the same year, she played a small role in the TV movie ‘Walls of Glass’.

The year 1991 became Kathy’s breakthrough year. She presented a show alongside Mo Gaffney called ‘The Kathy & Mo Show: Parallel Lives’. The duo won a ‘CableAce’ award for best performance in a comedy special. She made her official movie debut in the buddy cop action drama ‘The Hard Way’ (1991) and was also seen in the comedy film ‘The Fisher King’ (1991).

Kathy then landed her most famous role of Sister Mary Patrick in ‘Sister Act’ in 1992. She reprised her role in ‘Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit’ a year later. She followed it up with the hugely successful and critically acclaimed role of Mary Sanderson in the 1993 comedy-horror movie ‘Hocus Pocus’.

In 1994, she portrayed different characters on the Ellen DeGeneres-starring sitcom ‘Ellen’. However, she also starred in her worst-rated movie ‘It’s Pat’ that year. Thereafter, she continued to oscillate between movie and TV shows.

The year 1995 saw the return of ‘The Kathy & Mo Show: The Dark Side’. In 1996, she starred in the critically acclaimed role of Dr. Barbara ‘Bix’ Konstadt in the medical series ‘Chicago Hope’.

In 1997, Kathy landed a leading role in the sitcom ‘Veronica’s Closet’ (1997 - 2000), and her portrayal of Olive Massery earned her two ‘OFTA Television Awards’. She next dabbled in voice acting with the animated series, ‘Hey Arnold’ (1997 – 1999) and the animated movie ‘Cats Don’t Dance’ (1997). She also lent her voice to the award-winning character of Peggy Hill in the animated show ‘King of the Hill’ (1997 – 2010).

Although she appeared in several movies like ‘Nevada’ (1997) and ‘Hope Floats’ (1997), none of them were major box-office blockbusters. But 2001 proved to be slightly more successful for her with movies like ‘The Wedding Planner’ and ‘Rat Race’ doing well commercially.

In the 2000s, Kathy established herself as a powerhouse performer in the voice acting department. She lent her voice to series like ‘Stuart Little’ (2003); and movies like ‘Balto III: Wings of Change’ (2005), ‘Scooby-Doo! Pirates Ahoy!’ (2006), and ‘Tom and Jerry: Shiver Me Whiskers’ (2006).

Her biggest box-office blockbuster animated movie ‘WALL-E’ released in 2008. Some of her most notable movies in recent years have been ‘Step Up 3D’ (2010), ‘The Guilt Trip’ (2012), ‘Descendants’ (2015) and ‘Dumplin’’ (2018).

Kathy has enjoyed a very successful career on TV. ‘Veep’ (2014 – present), ‘Younger’ (2015 – present), ‘Unforgettable’ (2015 – 2016), ‘The President Show’ (2017) and ‘Good Witch’ (2019) are some of her critically acclaimed TV shows.

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Major Works

Kathy Najimy is most recognized for her portrayal of Sister Mary Patrick in the movie franchise ‘Sister Act’ (1992) and ‘Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit’ (1993). The movies earned millions of dollars at the box office. Her comic timing won her the ‘American Comedy Award for Funniest Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture’ in 1993.

As far as her voice acting is concerned, she is best known for portraying Peggy Hill in the animated series ‘King of the Hill’ (1997 – 2010). She won an ‘Annie’ award for her performance, while she also got multiple award nominations.

The ‘Academy Award’ winning ‘WALL-E’ (2008) is her highest-rated movie to date. Grossing over $533 million, it is also her highest grossing movie.

Kathy was awarded ‘Humanitarian of the Year’ by PETA in 2000. In recognition of her work for women’s rights, anti-domestic violence, etc., ‘Ms. Magazine’ named her its ‘Woman of the Year’ in 2004.

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Family & Personal Life

Kathy Najimy got married to actor and singer Dan Finnerty on August 8, 1995. They welcomed a daughter named Samia in 1996.

Kathy served as a spokesperson for the ‘PFLAG’, ‘Human Rights Campaign’ and ‘Planned Parenthood’. She has also taken interest in animal welfare issues and modelled for PETA’s ‘I'd Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur’ campaign.

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