Katharine McPhee

McPhee was born in Los Angeles and moved with her family to Sherman Oaks when she was 12. She attended Notre Dame High School and later studied musical theatre at Boston Conservatory for three semesters before leaving college on the advice of her manager.

She performed in musical productions while growing up and played Annie Oakley in a 2005 Cabrillo Music Theater production of Annie Get Your Gun. The performance earned her a nomination for a Los Angeles Stage Ovation Award. McPhee has also spoken publicly about her struggles with eating disorders and completed a three-month rehabilitation program after passing her American Idol audition.

In 2005, McPhee auditioned for the fifth season of American Idol in San Francisco, singing Billie Holiday's "God Bless the Child." She advanced through the competition with performances including "My Funny Valentine," "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," and "I Have Nothing."

McPhee finished as the runner-up to Taylor Hicks in May 2006. Her run on the program generated the term "McPheever," and her performances of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and "My Destiny" were released as an American Idol single. The release reached number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 for "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," while her later self-titled debut album reached number two on the Billboard 200.

David Foster and Andrea Bocelli served as guest mentors during the competition. McPhee subsequently performed with both artists, including a duet with Bocelli on "Somos Novios" and a recording of "Can't Help Falling in Love" for Bocelli's Under the Desert Sky album.

McPhee signed with 19 Recordings and RCA Records after American Idol. Her self-titled debut album was released in January 2007, with "Over It" becoming a Top 30 Billboard Hot 100 single and earning gold certification. She was released from her RCA contract in 2008 and later pursued recording projects with other labels.

Her early screen work included appearances on lonelygirl15 and Ugly Betty, followed by her feature-film debut as a member of a sorority in The House Bunny. She also recorded music connected to the film and appeared on projects involving David Foster, including the PBS concert special Hit Man: David Foster & Friends.

McPhee founded McPhee Outreach in 2006. The organization worked with the Lollipop Theater Network on music outreach for hospitalized children and with Global Compassion Services on a preschool project in Burkina Faso.

McPhee signed with Verve Forecast Records in 2009 and released her second album, Unbroken, in January 2010. The album reached number 27 on the Billboard 200, and its single "Had It All" peaked at number 22 on the Adult Contemporary chart. Her holiday album, Christmas Is the Time to Say I Love You, followed in October 2010.

During this period, McPhee appeared on CSI: NY, Community, and The Biggest Loser, and took part in the charity recording "We Are the World 25 for Haiti." She also performed at the White House for International Women's Day and appeared in the benefit play 110 Stories, which raised money for victims of the Haiti earthquake.

Her film work included You May Not Kiss the Bride, in which she played Masha, and Shark Night 3D, in which she played Beth. She also appeared in Peace, Love & Misunderstanding and filmed the television movie In My Dreams.

McPhee was cast as Karen Cartwright in NBC's musical drama Smash, which followed the creation of a Broadway musical inspired by Marilyn Monroe. The series premiered in 2012 and ran for two seasons, with McPhee appearing in the main cast alongside Megan Hilty, Debra Messing, Jack Davenport, Anjelica Huston, Christian Borle, and Brian d'Arcy James.

In 2011, McPhee signed a recording deal with Columbia Records connected to NBC's distribution of Smash music. She contributed performances to the show's soundtrack and later returned to American Idol to perform with OneRepublic in 2013.

McPhee also appeared in the films Shark Night 3D, Peace, Love & Misunderstanding, and You May Not Kiss the Bride. Smash was canceled in 2013 after two seasons.

McPhee starred as Paige Dineen in the CBS drama Scorpion from 2014 to 2018. The role followed her leading performance as Karen Cartwright in Smash and established her as a regular presence in television drama. She also appeared in the web series It Could Be Worse and the television film In My Dreams.

Her fourth studio album, Hysteria, was released in September 2015. The pop album included the singles "Lick My Lips," "Stranger Than Fiction," and "Love Strikes," with McPhee co-writing "Stranger Than Fiction" with Ryan Tedder.

In 2017, she released I Fall in Love Too Easily, a collection of jazz standards, and played Kathie Durst in The Lost Wife of Robert Durst. She also performed "Emotion" in the televised Bee Gees tribute Stayin' Alive: A Grammy's Salute to the Music of the Bee Gees.

McPhee made her Broadway debut as Jenna in Waitress, beginning performances at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre in April 2018. She later originated the role in the West End production at London's Adelphi Theatre in 2019 before returning to Broadway from November 2019 until the show's final performance in January 2020.

Her television credits during this period included the Lifetime film The Lost Wife of Robert Durst, the series Country Comfort, and the film The Tiger Rising. In 2021, she and her husband David Foster competed as the duo Banana Split on the sixth season of The Masked Singer. McPhee performed as the singing half of the costume while Foster played the instrumental half, and they were eliminated in the Group B finale.

McPhee and David Foster recorded the seven-song Christmas EP Christmas Songs. Its first single, "Jingle Bell Rock," was released digitally in October 2022, followed by the EP in November 2022.

McPhee launched KMF Jewelry in November 2022. She made her debut at the Grand Ole Opry in October 2024.