42-year-old actress Bianca Kajlic has spent the past 20 years building a reputation as one of the most dependable actresses on the small screen. Whether it’s as Jennifer Morgan on Rules of Engagement, Natasha Kelly on Dawson’s Creek, or Leslie Burton on Undateable, if you see Kajlic’s name pop up on the credits, you know you’re in for a good time. Her latest project is the police drama, Bosch, which sees her in typically fine form as Christina Henry. To find out more about the popular actress, keep reading.
1. She began her career as a ballet dancer
Before she was an actress, Kajlic was a ballet dancer. After graduating from Washington State University, she joined the Olympic Ballet Theater in Edmonds, Washington, where she performed and trained for 7 years. Some of her most notable performances during that time included lead roles in The River, Swan Lake, and The Nutcracker. Eventually, she decided to give in to the siren call of the screen, getting her first taste of acting in an advertisement for Kragen Auto Parts.
2. Her film debut was in 10 Things I Hate About You
1999 marked the year Kajlic won her first role in a film. The film in question was 10 Things I Hate About You, the romantic comedy that took the premise of William Shakespeare’s comedy The Taming of the Shrew and re-set it in a typical 1990s American High School. The film provided a breakthrough for its stars, Julia Stiles, Heath Ledger, and Joseph Gordon Levitt, and was successful enough to spawn a 20-episode TV series of the same name. While the comedy may not have provided Kajlic with the same kind of breakthrough role as her fellow actors, it did at least give her a foot in the door.
3. She’s best known for her recurring roles
As well as making one-off appearances in several features, Kajlic is best known for the recurring characters she’s played, including Lisa Grier on Boston Public (2000-01), Natasha Kelly on Dawson’s Creek (2002-03), Beth Cox on Rock Me Baby (2003-04), Quinn Keeler on Vanished (2006), Jennifer Morgan on Rules of Engagement (2007-13), Leslie Burton on Undatable (2014-16), and Christina Henry on Bosch (2019).
4. She’s been married twice
Kajlic has been married twice: her first marriage to association football player Landon Donovan took place on December 31, 2006. The marriage lasted until late 2009, at which time the couple announced their separation, with divorce following at the end of 2010. In 2012, the actress married again, this time to the radio personality, “Psycho” Michael Catherwood (you may know him best as the co-host of “Loveline” alongside Dr. Drew Pinsky). The marriage was 2nd time lucky for both parties, with Catherwood’s previous marriage ending in divorce several years before.
5. She had her first child in 2014
In 2013, Kajlich was photographed sporting a prominent baby bump. Her first child with husband Michael Catherwood, a baby daughter named Magnolia, was born in April of the following year. At the time of the birth, Kajlich was 37 years old.
6. She’s a tattoo addict
According to her IMDB profile, Kajlich is a massive fan of body art. During an interview on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, the host asked about the tattoo she has on her wrist. When asked if she had any others, she replied in the affirmative, saying “I’ve got them all over the place”. When Ferguson asked if that was a good thing, the actress replied with a cheeky “I guess it is to the people who get to see them”.
7. She doesn’t take anything for granted
Despite her many achievements as an actress, Kajlich never allows herself to become complacent, remaining thankful for every opportunity. Her attitude is down to her brother, who suffered a major accident in 2003 that changed his life forever. “In 2003 he was hit by a subway in Prague and lost both of his legs,” she told the Seattle Times. “It made me realize that we take for granted every step we take, and my brother now has to physically challenge himself to take each step in his prosthetic.”
8. She’s a millionaire
Given that she’s worked in the industry for 20 years (and has starred in some pretty big-hitting TV shows in that time), you’d expect Kajlich to not be short of a dollar or two by this stage. And you’d be right. As of 2019, Celebrity Net Worth estimates the actress’s worth to be in the region of $3 million. The role that really marked the changing point for Kajlich was Jennifer Morgan on Rules of Engagement, a part that took her from bit roles and minor characters to a fully-fledged star.
9. She likes to engage with her fans
Kajlich isn’t averse to the odd tweet and has even taken to social media during episodes of her shows to give (and get) real-time reactions. It’s an experience she enjoys but finds slightly exhausting, as she shared with The PC Principle. “It’s a lot of fun, but also so exhausting! I don’t know how people manage to watch a show and tweet at the same time. It’s really cool because you have such immediate gratification of people enjoying what you’ve created. I know every week we were trending and that was awesome because it felt like what we were doing was relevant enough that people wanted to get online and talk about it. Also, it gives people a chance to connect with us and it’s always fun to get feedback from your fans and I love it”.
10. Some of her fondest memories are of Boston Public
While she’s appeared in numerous shows over the years, some of her fondest memories come from her time on the set of Boston Public, the show she’s described as her first “legitimate gig”. “That show was fantastic! First of all, to do anything that was written by David E. Kelley was such a treat. The writing was so excellent and one of the coolest things as an actor, especially working for David E. Kelley, when you go and do your first and second episode, after that, you realize he is writing based on what he sees you doing and he gets you. I would really love to get back to drama at some point because I really enjoyed doing that,” she told The PC Principle.
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