Katherine Langford

Born on April 29, 1996, in Perth, Australia, Katherine Langford grew up in a suburb called Applecross. Her father Stephen Langford is the director of medical services at the Royal Flying Doctor Service. Her mother’s name is Elizabeth Langford and she has a sister, Josephine Langford.

She went to Penrhos College for her primary studies and St. Hilda School for her secondary education. She studied music and drama at the Perth Modern School during her senior high years. In 2013, she appeared in the school's drama ‘Hotel Sorrento’ which kindled in her a deep interest in the acting profession. She was also the sports captain during her school years. She was good at swimming as well.

At the age of nine, Katherine Langford began taking classical, jazz, and contemporary vocal training, and by the time she reached high school, she was keen on musical theatre. Once she attended Lady Gaga's concert and was inspired to learn to play the piano. In 2013, she wrote an anti-suicide song ‘Young and Stupid’ after three teens in Perth committed suicide. She also wrote the songs ‘I've Got a Crush on Zoe Bosch’ and ‘3 Words’.

After high school, she was determined to pursue a career in acting. Unfortunately, many acting schools turned her down as she was too young and did not have much experience in life. Consequently, she enrolled herself in acting classes and started hunting for an agent, besides doing part-time jobs. She studied at the Principal Academy of Dance & Theatre Arts, with music theatre as a major. During this time, she appeared in a production of ‘Godspell.’

In 2015, she was selected to participate in the National Institute of Dramatic Arts Advanced Actors Residency. In the same year, she enrolled herself at Nicholson's Academy of Screen Acting, and landed the role of Juan Perón's mistress in the musical ‘Evita’.

In 2016, she took up some roles in independent films like ‘Imperfect Quadrant’ and ‘Daughter’. She played the lead role in ‘Daughter’, which was shown at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival. The same year, she auditioned for a role in ‘Will’, a drama television series about the life of William Shakespeare, but failed to bag the role. She later signed a contract with the William Morris Endeavor agency.

In 2017, she landed the role of an American high school student Hannah Baker in the teen web television series ‘13 Reasons Why’. After her Skype audition, she was selected for the role but had only ten days to apply and get an O-1 visa to work in the United States. She also researched for the role by speaking to a psychiatrist who specialized in adolescence cases, and also to a representative of ‘It's On Us’, a sexual assault awareness campaign. Her hard work paid off and her performance was critically acclaimed.