A comic character with big screen, television and stage experience, Kathy Najimy has excelled in a plethora of very unique and diverse roles. Najimy had a series of small outlandish movie roles in several films before her scene-stealing turn as the rotund, maniacally sunny-spirited Sister Mary Patrick, in the 1992 box office hit Sister Act. She followed Sister Act with a role as obsequious ever-hungry witch, Mary Sanderson, in Disney's Hocus Pocus. After production of the inevitable sequel, Sister Act 2, and Najimy's role in The Wedding Planner, her career really blossomed.
Najimy's TV career began as an extension of her stage work. She reprised her OBIE-winning performance in "The Kathy & Mo Show," in two HBO specials, Kathy & Mo: Parallel Lives and Kathy & Mo: The Dark Side, winning Cable ACE Awards along the way. With partner Maureen 'Mo' Gaffney, Najimy produced, wrote, and co-starred in the shows, which were tinged with feminist and Catholic humor. The pair portrayed a variety of characters ranging from teenagers to elderly women to angels.
In 1996, Najimy appeared in the recurring role of Dr Barbara Konstadt, a physician struggling with manic-depression, on the CBS medical drama Chicago Hope. For the past nine years she has been the voice of Peggy Hill, on FOX's TV hit King of the Hill. She received an Annie Award and two WIN awards for her work on the highly successful animated series. In addition to King of the Hill, she has spent three years starring opposite Kirstie Alley as Olive on Veronica's Closet, for which she received an American Comedy Award nomination. Najimy was director of the Off-Broadway production of the critical hit, "Back to Bacharach and David," as well as several other off off Broadway plays. She takes special pride in her four years as resident director of the Emmy Award-winning New Image Teen Theater. Her writing has been published in The New York Times as well as several national magazines. Furthermore, she was a contributing author to the Random House book The Choices We Made, which was released on the anniversary of Roe vs. Wade.
A talented actress with an accomplished track record, Najimy is a celebrated activist and public speaker. She is an AIDS activist and enthusiastic supporter of animal rights, women rights, and choice. Recently, Najimy was named Ms. Magazine's Woman of the Year.
