Kate Rockwell is an American actress, dancer, and singer. She is known for her work on Broadway and for originating the roles of Skylar in in 2011 and of Karen Smith in the 2018 musical, Mean Girls, for the latter of which she received Drama Desk Award and Helen Hayes Award nominations.
Early life and education
Rockwell was born in Connecticut and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. She is the eldest child born to Charles Wilfong and Linda Warner. She has two younger siblings, Elizabeth and William. She graduated from Sycamore High School in 2002. During her freshman year, Rockwell was cast as Grandma Tzeitel in her high school's staging of Fiddler on the Roof, her first on-stage theatre experience. She has said in interviews that this production made her first realize her desire to pursue musical theatre as a career. In 2002 during her time at Sycamore High School, she helped found the New Stage Collective, a local Cincinnati theater company. Rockwell then attended Baldwin Wallace University and earned a BM in musical theatre in 2006.
Career
Soon after graduating from college, Rockwell was cast in her first professional production as Philia in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum at the Idaho Shakespeare Festival in Boise, Idaho under the direction of her former Baldwin Wallace professor, Victoria Bussert. The production later transferred to the Great Lakes Theater with Rockwell continuing as Philia. In 2007, Rockwell was one of the final 12 contestants on NBC's ', a televised reality competition designed to cast the lead roles of Sandy Dumbrowski and Danny Zuko for the Broadway revival of Grease directed by Kathleen Marshall. She was nicknamed "Serious Sandy" and was ultimately eliminated, placing fifth to eventual winner, Laura Osnes. Rockwell made her Broadway debut as Margot in Legally Blonde on May 15, 2008, replacing Haven Burton. She later joined the U.S. national touring production of Legally Blonde for 3 months as a replacement for the role of Margot. In March 2010 she joined the cast of 2009 Broadway production of Hair and remained with the production until its closing on June 27, 2010. Rockwell then continued on as a Member of the Tribe in the U.S. national touring production of the musical. In January 2011 at the Alliance Theatre, Rockwell starred as Skylar in the world premiere of ', loosely based on the 2000 film of the same name. She remained part of the production through its national tour in 2011 and limited engagement on Broadway from August to December 2012. In January 2013, she returned to Broadway as Sherrie in Rock of Ages, replacing fellow competitor, Ashley Spencer. During the days surrounding her debut as Sherrie, Rockwell filmed a series of video blogs for Broadway.com entitled "Oh, Sherrie! Backstage at Rock of Ages with Kate Rockwell." She left the production on April 20, 2014 and was replaced by Carrie St. Louis. After completing her run in Rock of Ages, Rockwell, "left the business," for about two years; stating in interviews, "I needed perspective. I needed some change. I needed to see what it was like to do something else." During this time, she worked in the wine industry in a shop in the Lower East Side for about 18 months. Rockwell further solidified her passion for wine and went on to earn an advanced certification from the Wine & Spirit Education Trust in 2016. She gradually grew to miss performing and the theater community and began auditioning occasionally. In the summer of 2014, Rockwell portrayed Jane, opposite Nicholas Rodriguez, in The Muny's production of Tarzan. She returned to The Muny the following summer, starring as Belle in the company's production of Beauty and the Beast. In the fall of 2016, Rockwell appeared in the Arena Stage's regional production of Carousel as Carrie Pipperidge. She was later nominated for a Helen Hayes Award in the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Musical category for this role. After the closing of Carousel, Rockwell decided to pursue musical theatre as her sole career for one year, "to see if it right." It was during this time that she booked the role of Karen Smith in Mean Girls. Beginning in 2017, Rockwell starred as Karen Smith in the Tony Award-nominated Broadway musical, Mean Girls, written by Tina Fey with music and lyrics by Jeff Richmond and Nell Benjamin, respectively. The show had its world premiere as an out-of-town tryout at the National Theatre in Washington, D.C. from October 31, 2017 to December 3, 2017 in which Rockwell originated the role of Karen Smith. The musical, which is based on the film of the same name, began previews on March 12, 2018, and officially opened on Broadway on April 8, 2018 at the August Wilson Theatre in New York City. For this role she received a nomination for the Helen Hayes Award in the Outstanding Performer in a Visiting Production category and a nomination for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical. Rockwell left the production on March 8, 2020 and was replaced by Laura Leigh Turner.
Personal life
In 2008, Rockwell met actor, Spencer Howard, when he was preparing Rockwell for her entry into the Legally Blonde national tour as a replacement for an injured performer. In February 2009, they began a relationship. Rockwell and Howard then married on September 8, 2014 in Marblehead, Massachusetts. The couple now reside in New York City with their two dogs, Mabel and Bessie.
