Katharine McPhee

Katharine Hope McPhee (born March 25, 1984) is an American pop singer, songwriter, and actress. She gained fame as a contestant on the fifth season of the Fox reality show American Idol in 2006, eventually finishing as the runner-up. Since 2012, McPhee was one of the lead actors on Smash, but the show was canceled after its second season. Her self-titled debut album was released on RCA Records on January 30, 2007 and debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, selling 381,000 copies (as of December 2010). The album's first single, "Over It", was a Pop Top 30 hit and was certified gold in 2008. Her second album, Unbroken, was released on Verve Forecast Records on January 5, 2010 and debuted at number 27 on the Billboard 200. The album featured the single "Had It All", which peaked at number 22 on the Billboard AC chart. It has sold 45,000 copies as of January 2011. Her third album, the holiday-themed Christmas Is the Time to Say I Love You, was released on October 12, 2010. The album debuted at number eleven on the Billboard Top Holiday Albums chart while the single "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" peaked at number sixteen on the Billboard AC chart. As of January 2011, this album has sold 23,000 copies. McPhee has also established an acting career, co-starring in The House Bunny and Shark Night 3D, and in a starring role in the NBC series Smash. --- McPhee was born in Los Angeles, California. Her father, Daniel McPhee, is a television producer. Her mother Patricia (née Burch) (stage name Peisha Arten), is a vocal coach and accomplished cabaret singer, and has been a vocal coach on American Idol since 2011. The family moved to Sherman Oaksin L.A. when Katharine was 12 years old. Katharine's mother recognized her daughter's musical talent and decided to train her. McPhee's older sister, Adriana, has been a vocal coach on American Idol since 2012. McPhee is of Irish, Scottish, and German descent. McPhee attended Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, where she performed in school plays and musicals. She graduated in 2002. She attended Boston Conservatory for three semesters, majoring in musical theater. She left college on the advice of her manager and returned to Los Angeles to try out for television pilots. McPhee was cast (during the time she had dropped out of college and was auditioning in Los Angeles) in a mall-based MTV soap opera pilot, You Are Here, playing the older sister of a more popular younger sister. MTV never aired the pilot and did not pick up the series. In March 2005, McPhee starred as Annie Oakley in a Los Angeles-based production of the musical Annie Get Your Gun. McPhee was nominated for an L.A. Stage Ovation Award in the category of "Lead Actress in a Musical". McPhee had a small role as Paramount Girl in the 2007 musical film Crazy, based on the life of Hank Garland. McPhee filmed the role in early 2005, before she auditioned for American Idol. McPhee has struggled with eating disorders. She told People that at age 13, she began starving herself and exercising compulsively and at age 17, became bulimic. McPhee gained weight in college due to her binging. After seven years of illness, McPhee finally entered a three-month rehabilitation program for her eating disorder after successfully passing her American Idol audition; her rehab stint ended just before the Idol semifinals started in February 2006.[ During her run on American Idol, she lost 30 lb (14 kg) due to eating better as part of her treatment. She told Teen Vogue in May 2007 that "I eat whatever I crave — I'm just really careful about portions." McPhee and her sister appeared on the debut of The Dr. Keith Ablow Show on September 18, 2006, to discuss her struggles with bulimia and her childhood fear of her father. Also on the show, McPhee stated that she was misdiagnosed with a learning disability during her middle school years but was finally correctly diagnosed with a vision problem that caused her to have trouble reading in class. McPhee claimed she was known as the "pretty but stupid" girl in school because she had trouble reading. --- In 2005, McPhee was persuaded by now-husband Nick Cokas and her parents to try out for the television series competition American Idol. She auditioned in San Francisco and sang "God Bless the Child", originally performed by Billie Holiday and was selected to be a participant in the fifth season, which aired in 2006. After the first round of Hollywood week, she sang "I'll Never Love This Way Again" by Dionne Warwick which earned favorable comments from the judges. During the second round, she performed in a group, singing "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)" by the Four Tops, forgetting the words, but the judges decided to advance the entire group. During the third round, she sang "My Funny Valentine" a cappella and advanced to the top 40. She was angered when fellow group member Crystal Stark did not make the top 24. McPhee's run on American Idol led to the use of the term "McPheever". The inclusion of producer David Foster and singer Andrea Bocelli as guest mentors for Top 6 Week turned out to be a fortuitous introduction for McPhee, as she has worked on various music projects with both men post-Idol. On June 6, 2006, Sony BMG announced that McPhee had signed to American Idol series creator Simon Fuller's 19 Recordings Limited and Sony BMG's RCA Records. Also in June, McPhee performed at the J.C. Penney Jam: Concert for America's Kids, soloing with "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and performing a duet with Andrea Bocelli on "Somos Novios". --- On February 2, 2008, the then 23-year-old McPhee married 42-year-old Nick Cokas at Beverly Hills Presbyterian Church.