A multilingual, Canada-born up-and-comer, this athletic beauty is skilled at playing mysterious, exotically named and accented characters. In the '00s, Katic worked steadily in a slew of TV guest spots, putting in brief appearances on action series such as
Alias and
24 before landing the role of vengeful, motorcycle-riding warrior Hana Gielman on
Heroes. Blessed/cursed as a human transmitter and receiver capable of intercepting all kinds of electronic signals, Katic's imposing alter ego was also a whiz with firearms. But she gained greater recognition beginning in 2009, as Kate Beckett in the ABC series
Castle, a
Moonlighting-esque drama in which Katic's straightlaced homicide detective trades barbs and one-liners with Nathan Fillion's mystery novelist Richard Castle.
Stana Katic Fast Facts:
- First TV role came with a part in a 2004 episode of the short-lived FBI drama The Handler.
- Is fluent in numerous languages, including Bosnian, Croatian, French, Italian, Serbian and Slovenian.
- Is trained in Isshinryu Karate, stage and film combat, and belly dancing.
- Established her own production company, Sine Timore, in 2008.
- College:
- Attended DePaul University, The Theatre School, Chicago, IL