Katharine McPhee

Katharine McPhee was born on March 25, 1984 in Los Angeles, California. She moved to Sherman Oaks in the San Fernando Valley when she was 12 years old. Her father, Daniel, was a Television producer and her mother, Patricia, was a vocal coach and talented cabaret singer. She had a sister, Adriana, who is two years older. Her mother recognized her talent at a very early age, and coached and encouraged her. McPhee graduated from Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks. Notre Dame is a Catholic Co-ed Preparatory High School. Katharine McPhee was involved with her sister in theatrical productions in high school, but also served as student body vice president and was on the varsity swimming team. Both Katharine and her old sister were nominated as Homecoming princesses in their senior years. After graduation, she attended Boston Conservatory intending to major in Musical Theater. After 3 semesters, her manager encouraged her to quit school and begin auditioning for TV pilots in Los Angeles. She was not an instant success. She was quoted in a People magazine article telling of almost two hundred failed auditions. During this period, she did perform in some local professional theater productions including the lead role in “Annie Get Your Gun.”

Katharine McPhee may have had a string of failed auditions, but she also had way too much talent to go too long unnoticed. She received a Los Angeles Ovation Award for her performance in “Annie Get Your Gun.” She finally began to get some small roles. She was cast for a small part in the 2006 Musical Film, “Crazy”, which was a biography about Nashville star, Hank Garland. She also had a role in a short lived soap opera on MTV called “You are Here.” Her career turning point came when she was convinced to audition for the 5th season of the Hit TV show, “American Idol” in San Francisco. She was a hit on the show from the very beginning. Her first performance totally wowed all three judges. She quickly gained a fan following as she moved through the competition. She quickly became a celebrity not only in the LA area, but all over the country. Two of her competition songs were released as a two sided CD and were extremely well received. In a very tight and emotional final round, she lost to Taylor Hicks. Although the result surprised and even angered her legions of fans and followers, the defeat was not the end of Katharine McPhee. It was really more of a jumping off point for what should be a promising career.