By Mike Pearson
FightingIllini.com

As Kathy Christopherson reflects upon the origins of her acting career, the former Illinois graduate and Fighting Illini cheerleader sees the roots that formed during her time at the University.

"I was heavily influenced by my mother's love for the old classic movies," said Christopherson, a former Fighting Illini cheerleader from Arlington Heights. "I always thought my Mom (Sandra) had a sophisticated beauty about her and that she should be a movie star. While my Dad was downstairs watching a Bears game, my Mom and I would, for hours and hours, watch classic movie after classic movie."

"She would tell me who all the movie stars were," she continued. "We'd laugh and we'd cry. I became infatuated with the beauty of filmmaking, the storytelling, how it was all put together, and how it could affect people. That was probably my very first and most deeply rooted fascination in becoming an actress."

Christopherson's early roles included those in a puppet show, doing voiceovers, and serving as a replacement for a stage show. One day, Kathy's mother noticed a child actor training opportunity and quickly enrolled her young daughter.

"It was one of those 'give us your money, we're going to take pictures, and this and that'," Christopherson chuckled. "I think she just wanted to see if my bug to be an actress was real or whether it would just go away. I was like, 'Mom, I'm into this!'"

Years later, as a teenager, Kathy reluctantly accepted a dare from a friend to enter a Chicago beauty pageant.

"I didn't want to do it because I was such a tomboy." she said. "I couldn't have been less suited to enter a pageant. Anyway, I ended up winning ... which is absolutely hilarious!"

Christopherson was an academically gifted student at John Hersey High School and initially intended to become a Texas Longhorn in Austin.

"I looked at going to Texas as being adventurous," Christopherson said. "Then I panicked. I realized that I didn't know anything about Texas, and I instead decided that (the University of) Illinois was the obvious choice. It was just far enough away from home where I could have my independence, but just close enough where I could include my family."

"I'm a very creative person, but I'm also very academic," she said. "I know that's a bit of conflict of interest, but that's my personality. I'm interested in the law, in writing, in theater, in calculus. I was obsessed with calculus when I got to Illinois. It's a weird thing."

Ultimately, Christopherson earned her U of I bachelor's degree in advertising. Still, the yearning to be an actress remained.

"I went to the dean, and I said, look, I'm doing really well in advertising, but I also really like this acting thing," she said. "I want to take these courses in theater, but I have to fulfill all these literature courses. Why not let my literature requirements be fulfilled in these theater classes where I have to read all these plays and history of theater and everything instead? Well, I pitched it and he let me do it."

In addition to becoming a theater student, Christopherson captained the Illini cheerleading squad. Her team was one of the nation's best stunting squads and competed at the national championship.

"I grew up very athletic," she said. "I was a dancer, and I was a baseball player, so cheerleading was kind of like combining the two. I loved being a member of the Illini squad. There were so many exciting games. Even when the Illini lost, it was exciting. We were cheering for so many amazing fans."

Christopherson's well-rounded experience at the University of Illinois earned her offers from numerous companies. Yet, questions remained as to what path her career would take.

"I was like, 'What's the long game?'" she said. "Where do I see myself being able to continue to reinvent myself and stay stimulated and to take everything that I am as a human being and as a curious person. It was a hard decision. Two weeks after graduation, there I was ... packing my car up and driving out to California (to become an actress)."

One of Christopherson's first jobs was for a national McDonald's commercial, but her career was stalled a bit later by a writers' guild strike in 1988.

"When the strike ended, I did a couple of small roles in TV, then I began working on episodic television, commercials, theater, film, and indie (independent) stuff," she said.

Since then, she's had roles in Californication (an original series on SHOWTIME), American Badass, a TV episode of Lucifer, and a hugely successful national commercial series for Expedia.

Christopherson, who primarily resides in Santa Monica, Calif., purchased a farm a year ago near Santa Clarita with her partner, Chris Stone, an actor, director and set builder. Unfortunately, her new part-time home was ravaged by the West Coast's recent heavy rains and a resulting mud slide, delaying their wedding plans. They're still busy cleaning up the damage.

Kathy doesn't foresee slowing down with her career anytime soon.

"As we get older, especially for women in this business, it's really hard," Christopherson said. "I'm just going to fight harder and do whatever I have to do. If you love what you do, like I do, you have to figure out how to have longevity."

Her career might even evolve toward another one of her passionate interests: law.

"I'm completely obsessed with law," she said. "And it's not unlike what I already do in a way, because lawyers are actors, too, in a lot of ways. A lawyer friend of mine said, Kathy, if ever you wanna get out of that business, I will hire you in a second."

Christopherson believes that her University of Illinois education has benefitted her well.

"Acting is a very challenging, sometimes a heartbreaking business," she said, "because sometimes you don't get results for your hard work and dedication. You have to have a backbone. And, in many ways, Illinois gave me that backbone. In those four years, Illinois gave me the full package."