Katharine Hope McPhee (born March 25, 1984) is an American pop singer, actress, and model who was the runner-up on the fifth season of American Idol in 2006.

She’s 24!

Born in Los Angeles, California, McPhee moved with her parents and sister to the Sherman Oaks neighborhood at age 12.

McPhee has been singing since the age of two. Her mother, Patricia Burch McPhee (stage name Peisha Arten), a vocal coach and accomplished cabaret singer, recognized a talent for music in her daughter and decided to train her. Her father, Daniel McPhee, is a television producer and her older sister, Adriana Burch McPhee (born June 30, 1982) is an aspiring producer as well. McPhee has Irish, Scottish, and German ancestry.

McPhee graduated in 2002 from Notre Dame High School. At Notre Dame High School, McPhee was a swimmer and a thespian. She performed in school plays with her elder sister Adriana; both sisters were Homecoming Princess nominees in their senior year. Afterward, McPhee attended Boston Conservatory for three semesters, majoring in musical theater. McPhee left the college due to her manager’s suggestion that she try out for television pilots in Los Angeles. In a People news article, it was reported that she was rejected in “only 195 out of 200 auditions.” She was eventually cast as “Paramount Girl” in the 2006 musical film about the life of Hank Garland, Crazy. Other early acting endeavors included lead actress in local professional productions of Annie Get Your Gun and The Ghost and Mrs. Muir. She was nominated in 2005 for the Theatre L.A. Ovation Award for her lead role in Annie Get Your Gun. McPhee was also part of a failed mall-based MTV soap opera entitled You Are Here, playing the older sister of a more popular younger sister. In the soap opera, she was jealous of her popular younger sister.

McPhee was persuaded by Nick Cokas and her parents to try out for American Idol. She auditioned in San Francisco, and sang “God Bless the Child”, originally performed by Billie Holiday. Paula Abdul said that McPhee was “absolutely beautiful”, Randy Jackson hailed her audition as potentially the best so far that season, and Simon Cowell complimented her for being “current” and her audition being “absolutely fantastic”.

McPhee’s self-titled debut album sold 116,000 copies its first week, debuting at #2 on the Billboard 200 chart. The first single from the album was the Top 30 hit, “Over It”.

“Over It”‘s music video hit #1 on both TRL’s and VH1′s Top 20 countdown. “Over It” debuted at #1 on the VH1 top 20 countdown, and maintained the top position for three consecutive weeks. The song’s video also hit #1 on MTV Asia’s Pop 10 Chart for 12 consecutive weeks.

On February 2, 2008, McPhee married boyfriend Nick Cokas in a Beverly Hills Presbyterian Church with a gospel choir. There were about 300 guests in attendance, including I Know What Boys Like costar Rumer Willis. Fellow AI contestant Kellie Pickler was a bridesmaid. McPhee has stated she will release a new album in 2008 probably December

Other March 25th Birthdays:

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Bonnie Bedelia/Actress -60
James McDaniel/Actor -50
Brenda Strong/Actress -48
Marcia Cross/Actress -46
Sarah Jessica Parker/Actress -43
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