And, then again, if you haven’t seen her on television or in a play, you might have seen her run in the Endeavor Games, the Paralympic National Championships, or the Parapan American Games. If you did see her, you‘d remember. Her flaming red hair, green eyes, and the two titanium “Terminator” legs she wears make her difficult to ignore or to forget. She is certainly interesting - and unique two great qualities for an actor, athlete, motivational speaker or spokesperson.
just like everyone else that day, she might not have caught Jay’s eye and ended up marrying the man she calls “the sweetest guy in the world.”
Bitten by the acting bug
When sports didn’t seem to be her forte as a child, Katy turned her energy toward
Growing up without legs
Katy, the youngest of three, was born without legs in Alabama. As a child, she swam, did gymnastics, and participated in the things her siblings were doing. Unfortunately, it wasn’t easy for her to keep up with the other kids who had two legs. In those days, she’d often play with her prosthetic legs off, and children would ask her what happened to her legs, presumably because they wanted to avoid whatever it was. Having already developed a flair for the dramatic, she’d tell them that she’d been attacked by a shark. “That was so much more dramatic,” she says with a smile, “than just telling them that I was born without my legs.” Her parents encouraged her to have a sense of humor about her situation, and she has lived by that advice, although there were periods when it was difficult to do so. “Body image was a huge challenge for me growing up,” she says. “The moment you notice boys, you want boys to notice you because you’re beautiful not because you have metal sticks for legs.” She laughs about that situation today, although it’s clear that it was a painful experience at the time. Today, comedian Jay Cramer, who uses a wheelchair, says that the first time he saw her in what he calls her “sexy, titanium Terminator legs,” he couldn’t take his eyes off of her - another example of Katy’s strong belief that everything happens for a reason, even though we might not know it at the time. If she’d looked
acting. “I wanted to be an actor before I knew what that was,” Katy says. “I saw the movie “Annie” as a child and was hooked.” Since that time, she began trying to figure out how to get there and considers herself fortunate that others did not try
to discourage her. “Although my parents would probably have liked me to have chosen a more stable career like teaching or being a doctor, they have always believed in me and encouraged me to do what makes me happy,” Katy says. “If people have discouraged me, it just fell on deaf ears.” She was also not discouraged by the lack of roles for actors with disabilities. “I guess in my younger years, I was slightly naive in thinking that it didn’t matter,” she says. “I don’t feel disabled so why would I have to play characters that are disabled? In fact, in most of my career, I have played characters who are people not only people with disabilities. But it is challenging at times.” No matter what the obstacles, she persevered and was willing to do whatever it took to get her prosthetic foot in the proverbial door. She went on to earn a bachelor of fine arts degree in acting from Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri, and then got a job at the prestigious Goodman Theatre in Chicago. Her performing career has since taken her all over the country. She says that she hasn’t faced any more rejection than any other actor. “I think I have been lucky, and if there has been rejection, it’s happened behind closed doors,“ she says. “Anyway, I believe that we are exactly where we are meant to be in our lives, and if I missed out on a role, then it wasn’t meant to be mine. It’s hard sometimes, but that’s the game I signed up to play.” She says that she has sought to work with people who can see past her physical situation and just look at her as an actor. “When I was cast in a Philip Seymour Hoffman production at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago, my greatest challenge was dealing with the weather – not my disability,” she says. “I love being an actor,“ she continues. “I’m very proud of the work I have done in my career, and I’m looking forward to the experiences that are waiting in the wings. MAY/JUNE/JULY 2012 Amp it up! magazine
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