Katherine Bailess (born April 24, 1980) is an American

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

singer Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

, and dancer best known for playing the role of Erica Marsh on the CW's hit show ''

One Tree Hill One Tree Hill may refer to: * "One Tree Hill" (song), a 1987 song by U2 referencing One Tree Hill, New Zealand volcanic peak * ''One Tree Hill'' (TV series), a 2003–2012 American drama series named for the U2 song ** ''One Tree Hill'' (soundtr ...

'', Life and Death Brigade member Stephanie on ''

Gilmore Girls ''Gilmore Girls'' is an American Comedy drama, comedy-drama television series created by Amy Sherman-Palladino and starring Lauren Graham (Lorelai Gilmore) and Alexis Bledel (Rory Gilmore). The show debuted on October 5, 2000, on The WB and beca ...

'', and Kyle Hart on the VH1 series '' Hit the Floor''.

Early life

Bailess was born in

Vicksburg, Mississippi Vicksburg is a historic city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the county seat, and the population at the 2010 census was 23,856. Located on a high bluff on the east bank of the Mississippi River across from Louisiana, Vi ...

to Natalie and Bobby Bailess. Her father is an attorney and was a former linebacker for the

Ole Miss Rebels football The Ole Miss Rebels football program represents the University of Mississippi, also known as "Ole Miss". The Rebels compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Western Division of ...

team at the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi ( byname Ole Miss) is a public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a medical center in Jackson. It is Mississippi's oldest public university and its largest by enrollment ...

and was a teammate of

Archie Manning Elisha Archibald Manning III (born May 19, 1949) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily with the New Orleans Saints. He played for the Saints from 1971 to 1982 and al ...

. She began training classically in dance at age 4. She also participated in competitive gymnastics and cheerleading throughout her childhood. At age 11, Bailess performed on the televised

Miss Mississippi Miss Mississippi is a scholarship pageant and a preliminary of Miss America. The contest began in 1934, has been held in Vicksburg since 1958, and provides more money than any other scholarship pageant in the Miss America Organization. Four M ...

Pageant as a dancer, and continued to perform for the pageant for 7 years. She won scholarships to study dance at both the Broadway Dance Center in New York City and Ann Reinking's Broadway Theater Project in Florida. She was a debutante. She attended St. Francis Xavier Convent School and later St. Aloysius Catholic High School, from which she graduated in 1998 before going on to attend

Marymount Manhattan College Marymount Manhattan College is a private college on the Upper East Side of New York City. As of 2020, enrollment consists of 1,571 undergraduates with women making up 80.1% and men 19.9% of student enrollment. The college was founded in 1936. Hi ...

where she studied musical theatre and dance. After college, Bailess went on to study at the

William Esper Studio The William Esper Studio was founded in 1965 as a school for the performing arts in Manhattan, New York. The school is dedicated to the acting technique of Sanford Meisner. Its founder, William "Bill" Esper, is often referred to as the best-kno ...

's two-year intensive program.

Career

Bailess starred in the 2003 film ''

From Justin to Kelly ''From Justin to Kelly'' is a 2003 American musical romantic comedy film written by Kim Fuller and directed by Robert Iscove. The film, starring ''American Idol'' first season winner Kelly Clarkson and runner-up Justin Guarini, won the Golde ...

'', playing the role of Alexa, and in Universal’s 2004 film ''

Bring It On Again ''Bring It On Again'' is a 2004 American cheerleading comedy film directed by Damon Santostefano and starring Anne Judson-Yager and Bree Turner. This film is a sequel to '' Bring It On'', but there are no recurring cast members or canonical ref ...

'', playing the role of Colleen Lipman. Her TV credits include recurring roles on the popular WB shows ''Gilmore Girls'' and ''One Tree Hill''. Kat also recurred on Fox’s '' The Loop'', ''Sordid Lives'' the Series and guest starred on '' NCIS''. Bailess starred in the

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

comedic series ''Shit Southern Women Say'' written and directed by Julia Fowler. She co-produced the film '' Elle: A Modern Cinderella Tale''. Bailess was also featured on the soundtrack for ''

'' on the tracks "The Luv' (The Bounce)", "Wish Upon a Star", "That's the Way I Like It", and "Brighter Star". Bailess played the role of Kyle Hart in the VH1 scripted series '' Hit the Floor''.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

Katherine Bailess
Official Website * *
Katherine Bailess
as Kyle Hart on VH1's

Hit the Floor (TV series) ''Hit the Floor'', originally titled ''Bounce'', is an American sports drama television series that debuted on VH1 on May 27, 2013. Created by James LaRosa, the series chronicles the off-the-court drama surrounding the Los Angeles Devil Girls, t ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bailess, Katherine 1980 births Living people 21st-century American women singers 21st-century American actresses Actresses from Mississippi American country singer-songwriters American debutantes American women country singers American female dancers American women singer-songwriters American film actresses American people of Welsh descent American television actresses American television hosts American YouTubers Dancers from Mississippi Female models from Mississippi Marymount Manhattan College alumni Musicians from Vicksburg, Mississippi Singer-songwriters from Mississippi William Esper Studio alumni American women television presenters