Producer, Author and Hilarious Actress from Sister Act

(Copyright, Lebanese Imprints on the Twentieth Century, Volume I, Asma Freiha and Viviane Ghanem, 2006)

Kathy Najimy was born on the 6th of February 1957 in San Diego, California. Her father Farid Najimy was an official of the US Postal Service and her mother Samia brought up her four children, of whom the youngest was Kathy.

Actress, producer and successful director, Kathy has seen her name in bright lights, in great part due to her role as Sister Mary Patrick when she starred alongside Whoopee Goldberg in Sister Act. She won Best Supporting Actress for that role at the 1992 American Comedy Awards and earned a Best Newcomer mention by the Hollywood Press Club.

She also won the Obie prize in 1989 for her appearances on the Kathy and Mo Show. In 1993, she received the Cable Ace Award for the Kathy and Mo Show: Parallel Lives, which she wrote and starred in. In 1995 she again won the Cable Ace Award for best comedy and best performance, this time for the Kathy and Mo Show: Dark Side, which she produced and starred in.

Spirited and intelligent, she has played a huge range of female roles in television series including Chicago Hope, Fool for Love, Ellen and Veronica’s Closet.

She has lent her voice to cartoon characters in Sissy Duckling, Hey Arnold, Pepper Ann, Hercules and Little Bill.

She has acted in a dozen musical comedies including God spell and Grease and had a hugely popular one-woman show: lt’s my Party. She has also produced some very successful plays such as Back to Bacharach and David, Don’t Get me started and l Can Put my Fist in my Mouth.

She has starred alongside Bette Midler in Hocus Pocus, Sandra Bullock in Hope Floats, and has acted in Nevada, Cats don't Dance, Zack and Reba with Debbie Reynolds, This is my Life, The Fisher King, Soap Dish, The Hard Way and Sister Act ll. She has also had supporting roles in The Wedding Planner With Jennifer Lopez, in Jeffrey and in The Big K.

She Works with many charitable causes and is a member of several organizations, including Aids Activists. A committed supporter of women's and animal right, she has been given the Peta Humanitarian of the Year Award by Paul Mc Cartney.

During her rare quiet moments, she lives between Los Angeles and New York with her husband, actor and singer Dan Finnerty, and her daughter Samia.