Growing up in St. Helens, Ore., Katee Sackhoff never imagined she’d one day be dubbed “the queen of Sci-fi” for her iconic roles in television shows including “The Mandalorian” and “Battlestar Galactica.” Sackhoff had hoped to become a competitive swimmer, until a knee injury sidelined her plans.
“It hurt to swim after my injury and I had to reevaluate what I wanted to do after high school,” Sackhoff, 43, says. “I was warmly welcomed by the theater kids in school, and after appearing in several productions, I started to seriously consider a career in acting.”
While her transition from swimmer to actress may have surprised some, Sackhoff’s mother, Mary, always knew her daughter had star potential.
“According to my mom, I was always a little performer,” Sackhoff says with a laugh. “She claims that from the moment I came out of the womb, I had to be the center of attention.”
When Sackhoff wasn’t entertaining her family by singing and dancing, she would often watch “Star Wars” movies with her father, Dennis.
Her family was thrilled when she was cast as Bo-Katan Kryze on the animated “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” in 2012, and it was a dream come true when she was asked to reprise her role as Kryze in the live action television series, “The Mandalorian,” eight years later.
The icing on the cake came when Sackhoff surprised her dad with a visit to the Mandalorian set. She shared the special moment by posting a photo on her Instagram account in December, 2020 with the caption, “My dad gave me my love of all things science fiction and to be able to take him to set was a dream come true for both of us.”
Photo By Dennys Ilic
Giving Back To The Community
While Sackhoff’s parents encouraged her to pursue her own acting dreams, they also emphasized the importance of helping others.
“My mom was a special education teacher and my dad has always been incredibly giving of his time and finances,” she says. “My parents both came from simple means and while they went on to make a very good living for themselves, they’ve always said, ‘If you’re doing better than the person standing next to you, think of how you can make their day easier.’”
Sackhoff took their advice to heart and over the years she has formed, not just one, but two charitable organizations.
While appearing as Lieutenant Kara “Starbuck” Thrace on “Battlestar Galactica,” Sackhoff bonded with her co-star Tricia Helfer over their shared love of motorcycles and charitable causes. The two formed the nonprofit Acting Outlaws in 2010 and embarked on a motorcycle trek from Los Angeles to New Orleans to raise money to benefit the Gulf Restoration Network.
“Tricia and I rode cross-country to raise money and help families and wildlife as cleanup efforts were still underway in Louisiana,” Sackhoff says, referring to the BP oil spill disaster that took place that same year. “We also ride for the Seattle Humane Society every year. They’re a great organization that takes in a lot of animals from other states — and we rode for PATH, an organization that works with homeless individuals here in Los Angeles.”
Sackhoff grew up riding four-wheelers, but always had a love for motorcycles. Both she and Helfer grew tired of riding on the back of their guys’ bikes and decided to buy their own motorcycles in 2007.
“I fell in love with the freedom of riding and the intense focus it takes, you really can’t get distracted on a motorcycle,” she says. “It really became almost meditative for me to the point where I could just ride and not think about anything other than what was right in front of me.”
Sackhoff says she and Helfer believe in lending their voices to a variety of charitable organizations that need publicity and funding. Although the two friends now live in different states, Sackhoff says they still hold one charitable ride each year.
In addition to Acting Outlaws, Sackhoff and her mom started Fly Free, a charity that sells memorabilia from “The Mandalorian” and “Battlestar Galactica” on her website (kateesackhoff.com) and then donates the proceeds to a nonprofit each year.
“Fly Free typically brings in at least $30,000 every year to benefit charity,” Sackhoff says. “We used to select a different charity each year, but after my daughter, Ginevra, had some health issues, we decided to make Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles our permanent beneficiary because they do such wonderful work.”
Sackhoff and her husband, writer, actor and producer, Robin Gadsby, also hope to instill in their daughter, who was born in December 2021, the importance of kindness and giving to others.
“I believe those lessons start really young,” she says. “I want her to be the child who shares really well and says ‘please’ and ‘thank you.’ She already has such a wonderful disposition and she’s a very sensitive, giving and headstrong little girl.”
Photo Courtesy of Lucasfilm LTD
From Mandalorian Princess To Podcaster
After graduating from high school, Sackhoff remembers renting a U-Haul and moving to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career. She quickly learned what it meant to work hard in a competitive industry and landed her first acting role in 1998 at the age of 18 in the TV movie, “Fifteen and Pregnant.” Since then, she’s worked steadily, appearing in a wide variety of television shows, including appearances on “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” and “The Big Bang Theory,” as well as feature films.
In addition to her sci-fi roles, Sackhoff has starred in television shows such as “Longmire” and “The Flash” and has voiced roles in animated shows including “Robot Chicken,” “Batman: The Long Halloween” and “Night of the Animated Dead.”
This year, Sackhoff added podcaster to her already impressive resume. As the host of “Blah, Blah, Blah with Katee Sackhoff,” she says her podcast was inspired by some of the conversations she’s had while filming.
“I wanted a podcast where I could have real authentic conversations with people you might not expect,” she says. “I hope listeners feel like they’re eavesdropping on two friends who are having a casual conversation about life.”
Because of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike (now resolved) and the Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) strike, Sackhoff says the podcast has paused its content and stockpiled episodes that will air when the current strike is over.
“There’s so many guests I hope to have on the podcast, I’m a huge fan of science, the human body and would love to talk to Andrew Huberman, a neuroscientist and professor at Stanford,” she says. “I strive to get an eclectic mix of authors, musicians, industry insiders and even other podcasters.”
Sackhoff would also love to have her father as a guest, to discuss resiliency, a gift she learned from her parents, and one she hopes to pass along to her own daughter.
“My dad grew up in a small town in Oregon, and his dad died when he was very young,” she says. “He enlisted in the military and has always been a hard worker. In 2008 when the real estate market and everything crashed, my dad was the only independent builder in the Pacific Northwest that didn’t go out of business.”
Like her father, Sackhoff also likes to think big and manifest her dreams. In the future, she would love to do an animated musical for Disney.
“I started my career as a singer, and originally thought I’d move to New York instead of Los Angeles, but I can’t dance, so I wasn’t a triple threat,” she says with a smile. “I thought that maybe if I could make it in Los Angeles first, I wouldn’t need to dance in order to be cast on Broadway.”
Sackhoff also hopes to join creative forces with her husband, whom she calls “a phenomenal writer.”
“Robin and I have had the joy of creating two projects together and we plan to continue collaborating,” Sackhoff says. “And maybe I’ll find the time to finish that children’s book I’ve been writing for the last five years!”
Photo By dennys ilic