Katy O'Brian (born February 12, 1989 in Indianapolis, Indiana) is an American actress, bodybuilder and martial artist.
She began training in karate early in her life, having earned her brown belt while just nine years old, later earning her black belt in hapkido while at university. Later she also trained in other martial arts styles as well. After she had graduated with degrees in psychology and Germanic studies, O'Brian switched to working in law enforcement briefly. She worked as a police officer in Carmel, Indiana before switching to acting.
After having minor roles in many films and TV shows, O'Brian's breakout came as she played a Savior on The Walking Dead. O'Brian went on to have larger roles in Z Nation, Black Lightning and The Mandalorian. She is also a lesbian who's married to writer Kylie Chi. O'Brian now lives in Los Angeles. Additionally, she's biracial (her dad's white, her mom's black) and she hopes to inspire fellow queer women of color by her career, having taken inspiration from Michelle Rodriguez herself.
Selected filmography:
- The Walking Dead (2017-18) as Katy
- Z Nation (2018) as Georgia "George" St. Clair
- Black Lightning (2019-20) as Major Sara Grey
- The Mandalorian (2020-) as Elia Kane
- The Rookie (2018) (2021) as Katie Barnes
- Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023) as Jentorra
- Love Lies Bleeding (2024) as Jackie
- Mission: Impossible 8 (2025)
Tropes in her works include:
- Action Girl: All of her prominent roles are as female fighters/military officers.
- Amazonian Beauty: Most of her characters are tough, muscular women fighters and attractive as well.
- Boyish Short Hair: Her characters usually have very short hair like her, which fits them being usually fighters and or tomboys.
- Cast the Expert:
- A former police officer, she played Katie Barnes, an LAPD officer, on The Rookie (2018).
- She's a bodybuilder, as is her character Jackie in Love Lies Bleeding.
- The Danza: In The Walking Dead and The Rookie (2018) she played characters with the same first name (albeit in the second spelled "Katie").
