The Biography

Katharine Towne (born Katharine Payne Towne, July 17, 1978, in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California) is an American actress, 5′ 7″ (170 cm) tall, the daughter of Academy Award-winning screenwriter Robert Towne and actress Julie Payne, and granddaughter of actors John Payne and Anne Shirley. She initially wanted to be a writer, inspired by her father's legacy, before realizing she was a born actor. She made her screen debut in Girl (1998) and was married to actor Charlie Hunnam from 1999 to 2002. Her most notable film credits include Cynthia Jenzen in Mulholland Drive (2001, directed by David Lynch), Caitlin Spencer in What Lies Beneath (2000, with Halle Berry and Mateo Velasco), Nadine in Evolution (2001, with David Duchovny and Sean William Scott), Sinead in But I'm a Cheerleader (1999), Savannah in She's All That (1999, with Freddie Prinze Jr.), Monique in The Bachelor (1999, with Ben Stiller), Leah Cahan in Something New (2006, with Ginnifer Goodwin and Cameron Diaz), and a role in Blades of Glory (2007, with Will Ferrell and Jonah Hill). On television she is best known as Mason in Tell Me You Love Me (2007, 9 episodes, HBO), with additional credits in Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1999), M.Y.O.B. (2000, 4 episodes), Undeclared (2001), and CSI: NY (2011).