Biography
Kristen, the eldest of two children, was born in Akron, Ohio. At the age of 4, she began modeling and was quickly featured on the cover of the international trade magazine Tire Review. In elementary school, Kristen began acting in plays, but stopped after deciding to compete nationally in gymnastics. Relocating to Dublin, Ohio, during her high school years, she reignited her "acting bug" by taking a few theatre classes at Dublin Coffman High School. It paid off: At eighteen years old, Kristen won a national online casting call for the film Tomcats, starring Jerry O'Connell, Shannon Elizabeth, and Jake Busey. She portrayed a "High Roller", which was filmed in Las Vegas, NV.
Deciding to pursue a college degree rather than "run to LA", Kristen attended The Ohio State University and obtained her B.A. in Criminology. Upon graduation, she moved to Greenwich, Connecticut where she worked for the organization Young Life. While there, Kristen wrote and performed live sketch comedy, sharpening her acting and improv chops. After awhile, she decided to relocate to Knoxville, Tennessee to be closer to family. Almost immediately, Kristen signed with Talent Trek Agency and continued studying acting under Jayne Morgan.
During this time, she obtained her M.S. in Counseling at Carson-Newman College. Kristen discovered in her studies an interest in Cinematherapy (Counseling through Cinema). This also made her aware that she could not counsel someone to pursue their dreams if she herself was not. With that, she started studying Acting for Film under noted character actor and teacher David Dwyer and joined the sketch comedy troupe "Juvenile Minds". In the Fall of 2009, she and her classmates entered their first "competition shootout" for the Seven Day Shootout, sponsored by The Secret City Film Festival in Oak Ridge, TN. It was her first starring role, Stuck in Reverie.
Since then, Kristen has worked on countless television shows, films, and commercials as an actress, producer, and/or director. She has been, and will always be, passionate about the art of storytelling. Kristen is married to Luke Dye.
