Katheryn Winnick

Katheryn Winnick is a Canadian actress born on December 17, 1977, in Toronto. She is best known for her starring roles as Lagertha in the television series Vikings (2013–2020), Christine "C.G." Gavin in Wu Assassins (2019), and Jenny Hoyt in Big Sky (2020–2023). She is also recognized for her recurring role as Hannah Burley on the television drama series Bones (2010–2011), as well as her performances in various feature films.

Winnick is of Ukrainian descent and spoke Ukrainian as her first language, not learning English until the age of eight. She has two brothers. At age seven, she began training in martial arts, earning her first black belt at age 13. By age 21, she had established three Taekwondo schools. While completing a degree in kinesiology at York University in Toronto, she taught Taekwondo and self-defense to actors. She also studied at and is an alumnus of the William Esper Studio. Her interest in acting began as a young girl at a local community centre in Toronto, and while attending Richview Collegiate Institute, she directed high school plays and won a scholarship for drama and directing.

Winnick entered the film industry through her work teaching martial arts to actors on movie sets, an experience that motivated her to pursue professional acting. Her early work included a series regular role on Student Bodies. She went on to guest-star in numerous television series, such as House, The Glades, Law & Order, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, CSI, CSI: NY, CSI: Miami, Criminal Minds, Person of Interest, and Nikita. In 2010, she joined the cast of Bones in a recurring role as Hannah Burley, a glamorous war correspondent and love interest for Seeley Booth.

Throughout her career, Winnick has appeared in a wide variety of films. She starred in the comedy-drama Cold Souls, which had its world premiere at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, and appeared in movies such as Failure to Launch, Love & Other Drugs, Killers, Stand Up Guys, Amusement (2008), Choose (2010), A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III (2012), and The Art of the Steal (2013). Her later film credits include Polar (2019) and The Marksman (2021).

In 2013, Winnick joined the History Channel series Vikings, starring as Lagertha, a legendary figure in Viking history. Following this success, she was cast in 2017 as a main character in the Nazi Zombies mode of the video game Call of Duty: WWII, after initial announcements on Twitter surrounding San Diego Comic-Con. In July 2018, she was cast as series regular Christine "C.G." Gavin in the Netflix series Wu Assassins, and in February 2020, she was announced in the lead role of Jenny Hoyt for the ABC crime drama series Big Sky.

In her personal life, Winnick stated in 2015 that she holds dual Canadian and American citizenship, and her brothers have made appearances on Vikings. In March 2022, she co-founded "The Winnick Foundation" with her mother to raise funds for Ukraine during the Russian invasion. In November 2022, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs banned Winnick from entering Russia alongside 99 other Canadians in response to international sanctions.