Biography
Montreal-native Katherine Cleland is a trained lawyer. Since childhood, she equally took to performing through pair's figure skating, theatre and then film and television. Katherine first stepped onto stage at age 14, when she got her feet wet in comedic theatre and musical performances. No stranger to performing, Katherine came from a competitive figure skating background, in pairs ice dancing, where she reached Skate Canada's Senior Level tests, and competed in provincial and American competitions throughout the ages of 9 to 15. She went on to complete academic studies in law at 18, and was sworn-in to the Quebec Bar at age 22, having pursued two law degrees, as well as all of her schooling, in French. Discovering her passion for the entertainment industry at a young age, she completed her legal articling at Canada's most prestigious Intellectual Property firm, Robic, LLP. She has a background in not only Intellectual Property law and Entertainment law, but also film and television production to feed her thirst for industry knowledge.
She gained vast field exposure in the entertainment industry, landing roles in television, film, video games, voice work, interviewing and theatre (performing at National Theater School, Theatre LaChapelle). Highlights include guest-staring roles on CTV's series The Listener, Saving Hope and Played; performing opposite Mischa Barton in the feature thriller 'Apartment 1303 3D'; and playing one of the principal characters in the 70's disco-era flick 'Discopathe' (American Cinemateque's Beyond Fest (Los Angeles); Les Rendez-Vous du Cinéma Québecois and Comic-Con to name a few nods) that made the festival rounds across Europe, the States and South America. Propelling her career into the entertainment industry, she equally acted during that time as a legal consultant to production companies. Owing to her know-how in Media law, she went on to subsequently act as a Content and Development Producer for Bell Media for their factual television shows. Amongst others, she has interviewed and featured in her shows the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, as well as the Mayor of Montreal, Quebec, Denis Coderre, on several occasions.
A bilingual Montrealer, Katherine has worked on Canadian, American and European productions in both the Toronto and Quebec markets. When not immersing herself in all things entertainment and production related, she gets a kick out of maintaining a fit and healthy lifestyle through running, tennis and group training, giving back to her elementary school and high school as the youngest member of the Corporation; and learning passed down family traditions in her Italian grandmother's cherished kitchen.
