Kathy Najimy is known internationally for her portrayal of Sister Mary Patrick in the blockbuster hits “Sister Act” 1 and 2. As well as the Sister Act movies, she has appeared in over 20 films including a starring role in “Hocus Pocus” and “RatRace,” “Hope Floats,” “Nevada,” “Cats Don’t Dance,” “Zack And Reba,” “This Is My Life,” “The Fisher King,” “Say Uncle,” “Soapdish,” “The Hard Way” and “Step Up 3D,” with cameo appearances in “It's Pat,” “The Wedding Planner,” “Jeffrey,” “The Big K,” “Margaret Cho's: Bam Bam and Celeste” and “2 Sisters.” Kathy can also be heard in Pixar’s Oscar® winning hit “Wall¬E:” and in “Disney’s: Tinkerbell.”
Najimy starred on Broadway and was critically acclaimed for her portrayal of Mae West in Dirty Blonde and also appeared on Broadway in the first productions of V DAY (the Vagina Monologues). Her original Off¬Broadway hit: play The Kathy and Mo Show: Parallel Lives and The Dark Side garnered her Mo Obie Awards and Cable Ace awards for both the plays & the HBO specials.
For fourteen seasons Najimy provided the voice of “Peggy Hill,” on the Emmy® award winning FOX TV hit “King of the Hill,” for which she won an Annie award and two Women In Film awards. For three seasons she performed opposite Kirstie Alley as Olive on NBC's “Veronica’s Closet,” for which she won an American Comedy Award.
In 2008, she starred as series regular, Millie Finch the saucy head of the University on the CBS hour drama “Numb3rs.”
Most recently, she was seen on “Desperate Housewives,” “Drop Dead Diva,” “Ugly Betty” and the hysterical “RuPaul's Drag Race.”
Najimy has directed several projects including an off Broadway musical Back to Bacharach and David, which was recently produced in Hollywood to rave reviews. Kathy has also directed several one woman shows.
For her 20 years of AIDS activism, she has been honored with the L.A. Shanti’s Founder award as well as the L.A. Gay Center's Distinguished Achievement Award. As a proud Lebanese American, Najimy has received awards from the ACC and The ADC. She has posed twice for PETA's popular campaign, “I’d Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur,” and in 2000, she received PETA’s Humanitarian of the Year Award from Paul McCartney. And In 2005, she was voted Ms Magazine's’ “Woman of the Year 2005.”
Najimy contributed to the Random House book: The Choices We Made, and on tape, voiced Wally Lamb's novel She's Come Undone. She has been the keynote speaker for over 50 humanitarian organizations all across the country.
She currently lives in LA with her husband of 15 years, actor/singer Dan Finnerty of the Dan Band, their 13 year old daughter Samia, and their dogs: Petey and Princess.