Birth Name: Katherine Evelyn Anita Cassidy
Date of Birth: November 25, 1986 (Los Angeles, CA)
Family: David Cassidy and Sherry Williams (parents), Jack Cassidy and Evelyn Ward (grandparents), Shaun Cassidy, Patrick Cassidy and Ryan Cassidy (uncles), Beau Cassidy (half-brother), Jenna Cassidy and Jamie Cassidy (older half-sisters)
Height: 5′ 7½” (1.71 m)
Hair Color: Blonde
Eye Color: Green
Star Sign: Sagittarius
Katherine Evelyn Anita Cassidy (born November 25, 1986) is an American actress. She began her acting career by appearing in minor television roles, before making her film debut in When a Stranger Calls (2006) and Black Christmas (2006). In 2007, Cassidy gained attention for her role as Ruby on the supernatural-horror television series Supernatural, during its third season.
Katie‘s breakthrough role came in 2012, after being cast as Laurel Lance / Black Canary, one of the main protagonists on the television series Arrow, which spawned an entire franchise known as the Arrowverse. Cassidy reprises her role in The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, and voiced the character in the animated web series Vixen. Following her character’s death, Cassidy began playing Laurel Lance / Black Siren, an antagonistic version of her character from a parallel universe, starting in The Flash and continuing to Arrow.
Early Life
Katie Cassidy was born on November 25, 1986, in Los Angeles. She is the only daughter from the short-lived relationship of actor and singer David Cassidy and fashion model Sherry Williams. Her paternal grandparents were actors Jack Cassidy and Evelyn Ward and she is the niece of teen idol and television producer Shaun Cassidy and actor Patrick Cassidy. Katie has a younger half-brother named Beau and 2 half-sisters named Jenna and Jamie. After her parents ended their relationship, she was raised by her mother and stepfather Richard Benedon. In her youth, Katie was on the competitive cheerleader team the California Flyers. A resident of Bell Canyon, California, she attended Calabasas High School.
Career
Beginnings
Katie began her career with her debut performance in one episode of the Lifetime drama series “The Division” (2003). She went on to make guest appearances in the television shows “Celebrity Apprentice 4“, “Listen Up!” and “New Girl“. Then she got the recurring role of Zoe in the WB TV series “7th Heaven” (2005) for 4 episodes. Also in 2005, she appeared in the UPN teen drama series, “Sex, Love & Secrets.” The following year, she made her film debut as Tiffany Madison in “When a Stranger Calls” (2006). She went on to have notable supporting roles in the films “Click“, “Taken” and “Live!.”
2006 – 2007
Katie was cast as Kelli Presley in the Dimension Films remake of the 1974 horror-slasher film, “Black Christmas”. The following year, she was cast in The CW Network’s supernatural drama series “Supernatural“. She made her debut in the show’s third season in the role of a demon named Ruby for 6 episodes.
2008 – 2009
Cassidy returned for the 4th season of “Supernatural” in 2008, she was replaced by actress Genevieve Cortese. The next year, she was cast in CBS’s limited horror mystery series “Harper’s Island.” Katie played the character Patricia “Trish” Wellington, a bride-to-be in the series. Also in 2009, she was cast in the lead role of character Ella Simms for the drama series “Melrose Place”, it was a reboot of the 1990s series. New York magazine cited Katie as being “the best thing about the Melrose reboot.” The series was canceled by The CW in May 2010 due to low ratings.
2010 – 2012
Katie appeared in the role of Kris Fowles in the remake of the 1984 horror classic film, “A Nightmare on Elm Street.” She got nominated for a Teen Choice Award in the Horror/Thriller Actress category for her role in the film, which she lost to actress Megan Fox. Cassidy went on to play the role of Juliet Sharp in a big recurring arc for the 4th season of the teen drama series “Gossip Girl.” She first appeared in the season premiere and went on to be in 11 episodes. In 2011, she was cast in the adventure comedy film “Monte Carlo“. The following year, she was cast as the title character Suki in the “Scribbler“, a film adaptation of the graphic novel.
Arrow Breakout Role
In February 2012, Katie Cassidy landed the main cast role of character Laurel Lance / Black Canary in The CW Network’s TV series “Arrow“, which is loosely based on the Green Arrow comic books. On April 6, 2016, her character was killed off in the 18th episode of season 4 titled “Eleven-Fifty-Nine“. She left the show as a series regular after. In 2017, Katie became a series regular for Arrow‘s 6th season, she portrays Black Siren.
The Flash Guest Appearance
Katie guest-starred for a 2nd time in the Arrowverse spin-off series The Flash, this time as the metahuman Black Siren, Laurel’s Earth-2 doppelgänger, in the 2nd season episode “Invincible“.
2016 – 2017 – 2018
Cassidy signed a deal with Warner Bros. to appear across multiple CW shows including “Arrow“, “The Flash” and “Legends of Tomorrow“. That same year, she played the character of Sharon (a character inspired by late fashion model and actress Sharon Tate) in the horror film “Wolves at the Door” (2016), which released direct-to-digital-HD. She went on to star in the mystery film, “Cover Versions” (January 3, 2018) as the character Jackie (sings herself in the film).
Upcoming Roles
Katie will continue her role as metahuman Black Siren / Laurel Lance in the 7th season of “Arrow“. She will also be starring as Dawn Walsh in the comedy, crime, romance film, “Grace” (2018), which is in post-production at this time.
Voice Acting
Katie voiced the motion-captured character, Becky Marney, in the PS4 video game, “Hidden Agenda‘ in 2017.
Music
In 2002, she recorded a cover version of “I Think I Love You” which was a hit from her father David Cassidy’s made-for-television band, “The Partridge Family“. She was 15 years old at the time, 5 years younger than her father when he recorded his version. It was the only song she released. She went on to have a role in Eminem’s 2004 music video, “Just Lose it“. Katie also had a role in Jesse McCartney’s (her boyfriend at the time) 2005 music video, “She’s No You.”
Personal Life
Cassidy has a tattoo on the side of her left hand with the word “Warrior” inked in cursive, a tattoo of a circular line around her left forearm, a tattoo with the word “Kizuna” inked on her left ribs, a tattoo inked on her right hip that reads “Just Breathe”, a tattoo inked on her right wrist with the message “We got each other”, a tattoo inked on her left wrist with the words “I got you”, a tattoo of a flock of birds inked on her index finger on her right hand, has matching tattoos of anchors on both of her ankles, has a tattoo of 3 black stars on top of her right foot, a tattoo wrapped around her left ankle that reads “Know Thyself Be Thyself Love Thyself” in cursive, and a tattoo of a pair of wings inked on the center of her back with the Latin words “Alis volat propriis”, which means “she flies with her own wings.” All total Katie Cassidy has 11 tattoos so far.
Katie supports the charities H.E.L.P. Malawi and The Cybersmile Foundation.
In 2016, Katie Cassidy began dating Matthew Rodgers. The couple announced their engagement on June 5, 2017. Katie and Matthew Rodgers wed on December 8, 2018.
Cassidy later filed for divorce on January 8, 2020, in Los Angeles, California.