Katie stars as Joey Potter on Dawson's Creek and has also starred in several big screen movies, "Go", "Teaching Mrs.Tingle" and "Disturbing Behavior". Like Sarah Michelle Gellar, Katie was slated for stardom even before she left her teen years.

For her generation, Katie is considered among the most talented actresses, with the best chances of surviving the post-WB teenybopper years. With her strict upbringing, in the age of obsessed teenage celebrities, Katie playing an innocent young woman isn't much of a stretch. Her rise to fame coincided with the success of Dawson's Creek, where she plays the sweet and naïve Joey.

Katie is youngest of five children, with three older sisters and an older brother. She was born December 18, 1978, in Toledo, Ohio. Her mother, Kathy, enrolled her in the Margaret O'Brien's Modeling School in Toledo, which ultimately led Katie to her present career. Katie was educated at the Notre Dame Academy, an all girls Catholic high school.

Katie got her start by attending a modeling convention in New York City. During the convention, a talent scout from Los Angeles approached Katie and encouraged her to spend the rest of the summer in California auditioning. Katie was off to Hollywood with her mother, despite her father's skepticism. It took Katie only one audition before she was cast in "The Ice Storm", as Tobey Maguire's girlfriend.

Katie got her big break when she was immediately cast in the Dawson's Creek series that received rave reviews, even before its premiere. With the success of Dawson's Creek and its popularity among teens, Katie was then cast in the thriller "Disturbing Behavior" in 1998, and the following summer, two feature films, "Go", and as the heroine in "Teaching Mrs. Tingle".

Katie is currently living in Wilmington, NC, where the television series is filmed. She has deferred her acceptance to Columbia University until she has more time in her hectic acting schedule with Dawson's Creek. Katie received Sweden's Expressen Fredag's "Babe of the Year" in 1998