American acting star Katherine McNamara won awards for her starring role as Clary Fray in the supernatural drama series Shadowhunters, which ran for three seasons between 2016 and 2019. She won a People’s Choice Award for Favourite Female TV Star and a Teen Choice Award for Choice Female Actress. Her other leading roles include playing Mia Smoak in the final two seasons of Arrow (a role she reprised in episodes of The Flash, Batwoman, and Supergirl). She played a supporting role in the post-apocalyptic miniseries The Stand in 2021 but returned to a leading role in 2022 when she starred as Abby Walker in The CW’s new Western series, Walker: Independence.
McNamara was born in Kansas City in November 1995, and that’s where she began her acting career, making small and sometimes even uncredited appearances in films as a teenager. Between 2009 and 2011, she appeared on Broadway in a production of A Little Night Music. Her film breakthrough came when she was cast as Sonya. in the second and third instalments of the Maze Runner films in 2015 and 2018. Along with her work on Shadowhunters, these catapulted her to stardom. Today, she enjoys a social media following of over 5.4 million fans across Instagram and Twitter.
Her role as Mia Smoak in the DC Comics universe helped to solidify her reputation as a fantasy actress. Her diverse roles in shows such as The Stand and Walker: Independence have stopped her being typecast, however. She is also appearing in the new comedy film by It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia star Charlie Day.