https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katie_Stevens
Katherine Mari Stevens (born December 8, 1992) is an American actress and singer, known for finishing in eighth place on the
ninth season of
American Idol and starring as Karma Ashcroft in
Faking It and Jane Sloan in
The Bold Type.
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Early life[edit]
Stevens grew up in
Middlebury, Connecticut, the daughter of Mark and Clara (née Francisco) Stevens.
[1] She graduated from
Pomperaug High School in Southbury in June 2010.
[2] She was named the 2009 Westbury Outstanding Teen at the Greater Watertown Scholarship Pageant.
[3]
Stevens is of
Portuguese descent on her mother's side and speaks
Portuguese. She was instrumental in the creation of the Evan Gagnon Memorial Scholarship Fund, which gives college scholarships to the seniors of Pomperaug High School (Evan Gagnon, who died in January 2009 at the age of two, was the son of Stevens' Spanish teacher.)
[4] She was a member of Pomperaug High School's varsity swim team for four years. Stevens first performed for an audience at the age of five years, when she sang the national anthem at a party for a politician in her hometown.
[5]
When she was seven years old, she sang "
From This Moment On" at an aunt's wedding. She has long been active in her local theater community. She played Dorothy in both BSS Children's Theater and Main Street Theater's production of
The Wizard of Oz. At Main Street Theater Stevens also played the role of Sharpay in
High School Musical and "The Cat" in
Honk. She played Nellie Forbush in Pomperaug High School's
South Pacific alongside Gary Dwyer as Emile DeBeque.
[6][7] She performed at
Carnegie Hall at the age of 13.
[8]
Career[edit]
2009–2010: American Idol
Stevens in July 2010
On August 13, 2009, she auditioned for
American Idol in
Boston, Massachusetts and sang "
At Last", where all four judges (including guest judge
Victoria Beckham) advanced her to Hollywood. At the Boston audition, judge
Kara DioGuardi called her one of the most talented 16-year-olds she had ever seen. In Hollywood, DioGuardi made the prediction, "You could be the potential winner." On March 24, 2010, Stevens landed in the bottom 3 during elimination night, along with
Paige Miles and
Tim Urban. She was proclaimed safe, giving her a spot on the
American Idol summer tour.
Most of the critiques the judges gave her had been with regard to her pitch, age, and song choice. In her performance of "
Chain of Fools", DioGuardi told her she had found where she belonged:
R&B-
pop, but she needed to work on being younger. She landed in the bottom three the following night but was declared safe, putting her into the Top 9.
In her Top 9 performance of "
Let It Be", all of the judges thought it was a huge improvement.
Ellen stated that she wouldn't be in the bottom 3 after that performance.
Simon said that she had done what she was told by being
Country, while
Kara and
Randy disagreed, opining that she has more of an R&B sensibility. Nonetheless, her performance secured her a position in the Top 8. However, the Top 9 remained intact for another week due to the judges' save of
Michael Lynche. She was eliminated from
American Idol the following week on April 14, along with
Andrew Garcia. Her elimination came second on the double elimination night. From July 1 to August 31, 2010 Stevens toured with the
American Idols LIVE! Tour 2010. On tour, she sang "
Here We Go Again" and "
Fighter".
Katie Stevens | |
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Stevens at the 2019 iHeartRadio Music Awards | |
Born | December 8, 1992 (age 28)
Southbury, Connecticut, U.S. |
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Occupation |
- Singer
- songwriter
- actress
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Years active | 2010–present |
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Spouse(s) | Paul DiGiovanni
(m. 2019) |
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Musical career | |
Genres | |
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Instruments |
- Vocals
- piano
- guitar
- cello
- flute
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