You may know Katherine McNamara from the hit Freeform series Shadowhunters, but she’s also starred in a bunch of other shows you might not even know about! From Freeform‘s The Fosters to her character on CW’s Arrow, the actress has had a huge career starring in hit TV shows — and been in the acting world since she was a young teen. Throughout her career, she has drastically changed from budding teen star to mature adult actress.
Katherine won a 2018 People’s Choice Award for Top Female Television Actress for her leading role of Clary Fray in the Freeform series, Shadowhunters, which is the role she is most well known for. The show, which is based on the popular young adult book series The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare, follows the life of Clary as she is thrust into a world of demon hunting and fantasy.
“It’s so interesting because I never expected it when I first started the show. I was so excited,” said Katherine about the series in an interview with Collider. “Being a fan of YA as a kid, I know the responsibility of taking on a story like that and taking on a character like Clary, that people are so attached to and a world that people relate to so much and love. The Shadowfam is so special. We love to call them the Shadowfam because from the creatives to the fandom, it’s all one big family. We really all have the same passion for the story.”
Shortly after starring in Shadowhunters, the actress jumped into the Arrow universe to play Mia Smoak, daughter of Arrow himself, Oliver Queen and Felicity Smoak.
“Joining the Arrow-verse, in and of itself, was such a pleasure. Coming off of Shadowhunters, I was so bummed thinking that my next job probably wouldn’t be as active or as stunt heavy, and I wouldn’t have a chance to use those fighting skills at work every day, or to be immersed in a fandom and a world like Shadowhunters,” said the actress in the same interview. “And then, Arrow happened and I was so thrilled to be able to dive in head-first.”
She also spoke about the disappointment of her character in Arrow‘s failed spinoff: “The one thing you’re always sure of in the entertainment industry is that, eventually, a job will come to a close, but the great thing about the Arrow-verse and the great thing about Mia is that the Arrow-verse still exists and Mia lives on in comic-cons and as people rewatch the show. As much as I would’ve loved to continue her story, I was just so grateful to be a part of it.”
Scroll through our gallery to see Katherine’s total transformation over the years.
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