- Catherine stars as Emma in the new ABC series.
- Catherine is a former Miss Virginia.
- Catherine made her onscreen debut in 2007.
Catherine Haena Kim is winter TV’s newest star. The 38-year-old actress stars in the new ABC drama series The Company You Keep, which premiered on February 19. She and This Is Us alum Milo Ventimiglia are turning up the heat with Charlie and Emma’s onscreen romance.
You might be asking: who is Catherine Haena Kim? The Company You Keep is going to be your next TV obsession, so it’s time to get caught up. Here’s what you need to know about Catherine.
1. Catherine plays Emma in The Company You Keep.
Catherine stars as Emma Hill in the ABC series. She is a CIA officer who crosses paths with Milo’s character, Charlie Nicoletti, a con artist and criminal. They have an instant connection, but they’re both keeping secrets from each other.
HollywoodLife spoke EXCLUSIVELY with Milo about casting Catherine as Emma. He noted that Catherine was in the “first round” of submissions.
“I remember seeing her tape and just kind of thinking to myself, ‘Hey guys, let’s just make sure she stays involved because there’s something wonderful and natural about how she’s playing it.’ And then round after round after round, she was still there. Ultimately, when we read together, it was kind of undeniable. She won the role,” he said.
2. Catherine was Miss Virginia.
Catherine became Miss Virginia of the Miss United States pageant. Through the pageant, Catherine found a cool gig. “I got shipped off to Las Vegas for the national pageant after I graduated, where I found out about this really cool VJ job,” she told the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
3. Catherine has been in shows like Good Trouble and Mistresses.
Catherine’s first onscreen role was in the 2007 short film Roskosmos and an episode of Guiding Light. She’s appeared in films like Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, Inherent Vice, and more. Her other TV roles include Good Trouble, Mistresses, Hawaii Five-0, and more.
4. Catherine went to college in Virginia.
Catherine is a New York native, but she attended the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. She graduated from the esteemed college with a degree in psychology and a minor in drama.
5. Catherine is Korean American.
Catherine is a first-generation American-born Korean American. The actress revealed she was drawn to the role of Emma in The Company You Keep because of Emma’s background. What I love, and I’m not sure we’ve seen this on network TV as far as I know, she’s actually half-Korean, half-Chinese American,” Catherine told the Richmond Times Dispatch. “Her mom is third-generation Chinese American. Her dad is first-generation Korean American. So you get to see people who are at different stages immigrating and creating a life here and what that means for the family that they actually get to build together.”