Kaitlin Persson Hopkins (born February 1, 1964) is an American actress and singer, the daughter of actress
Shirley Knight
Shirley Knight Hopkins (July 5, 1936 – April 22, 2020) was an American actress who appeared in more than 50 feature films, television films, television series, and Broadway and Off-Broadway productions in her career, playing leading and charac ...
and stage producer/director
Gene Persson
Eugene Clair "Gene" Persson (January 12, 1934 – June 6, 2008) was an American actor, theatrical and film producer, best known for his work as the co-producer and co-creator of the original 1967 production of the Broadway musical comedy, ''You ...
.
Biography
Hopkins was born in New York City to actress
Shirley Knight
Shirley Knight Hopkins (July 5, 1936 – April 22, 2020) was an American actress who appeared in more than 50 feature films, television films, television series, and Broadway and Off-Broadway productions in her career, playing leading and charac ...
and actor producer
Gene Persson
Eugene Clair "Gene" Persson (January 12, 1934 – June 6, 2008) was an American actor, theatrical and film producer, best known for his work as the co-producer and co-creator of the original 1967 production of the Broadway musical comedy, ''You ...
. After her parents' divorce, Hopkins was raised in London by her mother and stepfather,
John Hopkins, and returned to New York in 1976, at the age of 12. The following year she began her career in a
summer stock
In American theater, summer-stock theater is a theater that presents stage productions only in the summer. The name combines the season with the tradition of staging shows by a resident company, reusing stock scenery and costumes. Summer stock the ...
production of ''
The Children's Hour'' starring her mother and
Joanne Woodward
Joanne Gignilliat Trimmier Woodward (born February 27, 1930) is an American actress. A star since the Golden Age of Hollywood, Woodward made her career breakthrough in the 1950s and earned esteem and respect playing complex women with a charact ...
.
In 1982, at the age of 18, Hopkins graduated from the
Williston Northampton School
Williston Northampton School (simply referred to as Williston) is a private, co-educational, day and boarding college-preparatory school in Easthampton, Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1841.
History
Williston Seminary wa ...
, where she was a member of the Williston Widigers.
Hopkins attended the musical theater program at
Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...
and studied acting at the
Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts
The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Senat ...
in London.
Hopkins' first television credit was an appearance on the soap opera ''
One Life to Live
''One Life to Live'' (often abbreviated as ''OLTL'') is an American soap opera broadcast on the ABC television network for more than 43 years, from July 15, 1968, to January 13, 2012, and then on the internet as a web series on Hulu and iTunes ...
'', followed by a regular role on ''
Another World''. In 1993, she moved to Los Angeles, where she joined
The Matrix Theatre Company
The Matrix Theatre Company is a theatre company located in Los Angeles, California.
The Matrix was opened in 1977 by producer Joseph Stern.
In 2018 it hosted The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals by Starkid Productions.
Awards and nominations
...
. She spent weekends singing at The Pink in
Santa Monica
Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...
, and later performed at The Cinegrill, The Gardina, and At My Place. During this period, her television credits included ''
Beverly Hills, 90210
''Beverly Hills, 90210'' (often referred to by its short title, ''90210'') is an American teen drama television series created by Darren Star and produced by Aaron Spelling under his production company Spelling Television. The series ran fo ...
'', ''
Murder, She Wrote
''Murder, She Wrote'' is an American crime drama television series, created by Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson and William Link, starring Angela Lansbury, and produced and distributed by Universal Television for the CBS network. The series f ...
'', ''
The Practice
''The Practice'' is an American legal drama television series created by David E. Kelley centering on partners and associates at a Boston law firm. The show ran for eight seasons on ABC, from March 4, 1997, to May 16, 2004. It won an Emmy in 1 ...
'', ''
Diagnosis: Murder'', ''
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'', ''
Star Trek: Voyager'', ''
Spin City
''Spin City'' is an American sitcom television series that aired from September 17, 1996 to April 30, 2002, on ABC. Created by Gary David Goldberg and Bill Lawrence, the show is set in a semi-fictionalized version of the New York City mayor's ...
'', and ''
Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman
''Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman'' is an American Western drama television series created and executive produced by Beth Sullivan and starring Jane Seymour, who plays Dr. Michaela Quinn, a physician who leaves Boston in search of adventure in the O ...
''.
In 1994, at the age of 30, Hopkins was cast in the
rock opera
A rock opera is a collection of rock music songs with lyrics that relate to a common story. Rock operas are typically released as concept albums and are not scripted for acting, which distinguishes them from operas, although several have been ad ...
''
I Was Looking at the Ceiling and Then I Saw the Sky
''I Was Looking at the Ceiling and Then I Saw the Sky'' is a 1995 "song play" with music composed by John Adams and a libretto by June Jordan.
Summary
The story takes place in the aftermath of the 1994 earthquake in Los Angeles, and covers the r ...
'' by
Peter Sellars
Peter Sellars (born September 27, 1957) is an American theatre director, noted for his unique contemporary stagings of classical and contemporary operas and plays. Sellars is professor at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where ...
. She spent the next year traveling the world with the production, performing in Paris,
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
,
Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
, and
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
, as well as at the
Edinburgh Festival
__NOTOC__
This is a list of arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland.
The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh Fe ...
, among other locales.
In 2002, aged 38, Hopkins made her
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
debut in ''
Noises Off
''Noises Off'' is a 1982 play by the English playwright Michael Frayn. Frayn conceived the idea in 1970 while watching from the wings a performance of ''The Two of Us'', a farce that he had written for Lynn Redgrave. He said, "It was funnier f ...
''.
She has also appeared in the
Lincoln Center
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 millio ...
benefit performance of ''
Anything Goes
''Anything Goes'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The original book was a collaborative effort by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse, heavily revised by the team of Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. The story concerns madcap ant ...
'' with
Patti LuPone
Patti Ann LuPone (born April 21, 1949) is an American actress and singer best known for her work in musical theater. She has won three Tony Awards, two Olivier Awards, two Grammy Awards, and was a 2006 inductee to the American Theater Hall of Fa ...
[ and '']How the Grinch Stole Christmas
''How the Grinch Stole Christmas!'' is a Christmas children's story by Theodor "Dr. Seuss" Geisel written in rhymed verse with illustrations by the author. It follows the Grinch, a grouchy, solitary creature who tries to cancel Christmas by st ...
''.
Hopkins has performed in numerous live radio plays for LA Theater Works, including '' Proof'' with Anne Heche
Anne Celeste Heche ( ; May 25, 1969August 11, 2022) was an American actress, known for her roles in a variety of genres in film, television, and theater, receiving numerous accolades, including a National Board of Review Award and multiple Emmy ...
and ''The Heidi Chronicles
''The Heidi Chronicles'' is a 1988 play by Wendy Wasserstein. The play won the 1989 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
Production history
A workshop production at Seattle Repertory Theatre was held in April 1988, directed by Daniel J. Sullivan, starrin ...
'' with Martha Plimpton
Martha Plimpton (born November 16, 1970) is an American actress. Her feature-film debut was in '' Rollover'' (1981); she subsequently rose to prominence in the Richard Donner film ''The Goonies'' (1985). She has also appeared in '' The Mosquito ...
.
In 2009, Hopkins was named the new Head of Musical Theatre at Texas State University
Texas State University is a public research university in San Marcos, Texas. Since its establishment in 1899, the university has grown to the second largest university in the Greater Austin metropolitan area and the fifth largest university ...
under the Department Chair, Dr. John Fleming. Her husband, Jim Price, is also on the faculty at Texas State, where he is the Head of Playwriting.
Discography
* Make Me Sweat (2004)
Acting credits
Theatre
*'' Bare: A Pop Opera''
*''The Great American Trailer Park Musical
''The Great American Trailer Park Musical'' is a two-act musical, written by David Nehls and Betsy Kelso. It explores the relationships between the tenants at the Armadillo Acres Trailer Park in Starke, Florida, particularly between Pippi, "the s ...
''
*'' Bat Boy: The Musical''
*'' Come Back, Little Sheba''
*'' Disney's On the Record''
*''Present Laughter
''Present Laughter'' is a comic play written by Noël Coward in 1939 but not produced until 1942 because the Second World War began while it was in rehearsal, and the British theatres closed. The title is drawn from a song in Shakespeare's ''T ...
''
*''The Philanderer
''The Philanderer'' is a play by George Bernard Shaw.
It was written in 1893 but the strict British censorship laws at the time meant that it was not produced on stage until 1902.
It is one of the three plays Shaw published as ''Plays Unpleasa ...
''
*''She Loves Me
''She Loves Me'' is a musical with a book by Joe Masteroff, music by Jerry Bock, and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick.
The musical is the third adaptation of the 1937 play '' Parfumerie'' by Hungarian playwright Miklós László, following the 1940 fil ...
''
Film and television
*'' Confessions of a Shopaholic''
*''The Nanny Diaries
''The Nanny Diaries'' is a 2002 novel by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus, both of whom are former nannies. The book satirizes upper-class Manhattan society as seen through the eyes of their children's caregivers.
Writing
The writers were studen ...
''
*''How to Kill Your Neighbor's Dog
''How to Kill Your Neighbor's Dog'' is a 2000 American black comedy film written and directed by Michael Kalesniko. It stars Kenneth Branagh and Robin Wright Penn.
Plot
Peter McGowan is a chain-smoking, impotent, insomniac British playwright who ...
''
*''Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles
''Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles'' (also known as ''Crocodile Dundee III'') is a 2001 action comedy film directed by Simon Wincer and starring Paul Hogan. It is the sequel to ''Crocodile Dundee II'' (1988) and the third and final film of the ...
''
“Diagnosis Murder“: By Reason of Insanity
*''Little Boy Blue
"Little Boy Blue" is an English-language nursery rhyme. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 11318.
Lyrics
A common version of the rhyme is:
Little Boy Blue,
Come blow your horn,
The sheep's in the meadow,
The cow's in the corn.
Where is ...
''
*''As Good as It Gets
''As Good as It Gets'' is a 1997 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by James L. Brooks, who co-wrote it with Mark Andrus. The film stars Jack Nicholson as a misanthropic, bigoted, and obsessive–compulsive novelist, Helen Hunt ...
''
*'' Rescue Me''
*''Providence
Providence often refers to:
* Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion
* Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity
* Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...
''
*'' Star Trek: Voyager''
*'' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine''
*''The Division
''The Division'' is an American police procedural drama television series created by Deborah Joy LeVine starring Bonnie Bedelia. The series focuses on a team of female detectives and police officers in the San Francisco Police Department. The ...
''
*''Wings
A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expresse ...
''
References
External links
Official website
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hopkins, Kaitlin
1964 births
Actresses from New York City
American film actresses
American musical theatre actresses
American stage actresses
American television actresses
Alumni of RADA
Carnegie Mellon University College of Fine Arts alumni
Texas State University faculty
Living people