Profile Text
McNamara in 2016, photo by Prphotos
Birth Name: Katherine Grace McNamara
Place of Birth: Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.
Date of Birth: November 22, 1995
Ethnicity: German, English, Irish, Welsh, Swedish, Swiss-German, distant Dutch and French-Canadian
Katherine McNamara is an American actress and singer. Her roles include the series Kickin’ It , Jessie , The Haunting Hour: The Series , Transformers: Rescue Bots , Happyland , The Fosters , Shadowhunters , Arrow , The Flash , The Stand , Walker: Independence , and Égypte IV: Double Agenda ; the films Sam Steele and the Junior Detective Agency , New Year’s Eve (2011), Last Ounce of Courage , Contest (2013), Tom Sawyer & Huckleberry Finn , A Sort of Homecoming , Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials , and its sequel, Maze Runner: The Death Cure ; Natural Selection , Is That a Gun in Your Pocket? , Assimilate (2019), Trust , Finding You , Untitled Horror Movie (2021), Sugar (2022), Fool’s Paradise , Air Force One Down , Jade (2024), High Ground , and Coyotes (2025); and the made-for-tv movies Girl vs. Monster , A Wife’s Nightmare , Monsterville: Cabinet of Souls , Indiscretion (2016), Love, Classified ; Dance Dads , and True Justice: Family Ties , and its sequels.
Her father was in the U.S. military. Katherine was raised partly in Lee’s Summit, Missouri, before moving to Los Angeles, California, in 2011.
Katherine’s paternal grandfather is Thomas David McNamara (the son of Thomas Bernard McNamara and Sarah Day Jones). Katherine’s grandfather Thomas was born in Illinois. Katherine’s great-grandfather Thomas was the son of Leonard Francis McNamara, who was of three quarters Irish descent, and of Edith Rolling, whose grandparents were all German. Sarah was the daughter of John David Jones, Jr., who was of Welsh descent, and of Eleanor Chapman Day, who was of English ancestry, with deep roots in the U.S.
Katherine’s paternal grandmother is Carrie B. Baker (the daughter of Richard Arthur Baker and Della Magdalena Schult). Carrie was born in Wisconsin. Richard was the son of Arthur Raymond Baker, who was of English, and distant German and Dutch, descent, and of Helen M. Gronberg, whose parents were Swedish. Della was of German descent, and was the daughter of Martin John/Johann Carl Schult and Olga Anna Auguste Wiedow.
Katherine’s maternal grandfather is William Joseph Shaw (the son of James Donaldson Shaw and Emma Maxine Pohl). William was born in Missouri. James was the son of William Henry Shaw and Fannie Lenora “Nora” Barley, and had deep roots in the U.S. Emma was the daughter of Charles Ferdinand Pohl, whose parents were German, and of Jeanie Briley, who also had deep American roots.
Katherine’s maternal grandmother is Nickole Lucille Stauffacher (the daughter of Dr. Charles Gordon Stauffacher and Lucille Minnie Bush). Nickole was born in Missouri, and is of English, and one quarter Swiss-German, descent. Charles was the son of Samuel Jacob Stauffacher and Lottie Alice Gleason. Lucille was the daughter of David Wilbur Bush and Samantha Olivia Clark.
Sources: Obituary of Katherine’s paternal great-grandmother, Sarah Day (Jones) McNamara – https://lacrossetribune.com
Genealogies and obituaries of Katherine’s paternal great-grandparents, Richard Arthur Baker and Della Magdalena (Schult) Baker – https://www.findagrave.com