Kay Panabaker Biography

Stephanie Kay Panabaker (born May 2, 1990), better known as Kay Panabaker, is a retired American film and television actress now working as a zoologist. She is the younger sister of fellow actress Danielle Panabaker.

Early years

Panabaker was born in Orange Grove, Texas, to Donna (née Mayock) and Harold Panabaker. Following in sister Danielle Panabaker's footsteps, she started acting at various community theatres in Chicago, Illinois; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Atlanta, Georgia. In Naperville, Illinois, Kay attended Crone Middle School for sixth grade, and moved to Los Angeles, California, at the start of seventh grade.

In between projects, Kay focuses on her academics. She graduated from high school as valedictorian when she was 13 years old and received her Associate's Degree at age 15. Kay received two academic scholarships from Glendale Community College, where she attended, studying acting, and where she was on the Dean's list, graduating with honors. She was accepted to the UCLA history program as a junior when she was 15 and completed her BA in History from UCLA before she turned 18.

Kay was inspired by an elementary school teacher who made learning exciting, and she wants to do the same for others, hoping to teach 4th or 5th grade once she finishes her teaching degree.

Career

Panabaker has guest-starred in several television dramas and soap operas. She portrayed "Alice Brand" in 7th Heaven; "Melissa Rue" in ER; "Sara" in Port Charles; "Carrie Bauer" in The Brothers García; "Ellisha" in Medium; "Lindsey Willows" in CSI: Crime Scene Investigation; to name a few. In film, she appeared in Dead Heat as "Sam LaRoche"; and did some voice work in the Disney/Pixar film, Monsters, Inc.. Panabaker's breakout role came when she starred in The WB's Summerland as "Nikki Westerly", in the 2004-2005 season. She also appeared as "George" in the 2007 Nancy Drew: The Mystery in Hollywood Hills alongside Emma Roberts and Amy Bruckner.

Panabaker had a recurring role in Phil of the Future as straight-laced Debbie Berwick, a friend of, and foil to, Pim Diffy (played by Amy Bruckner). She starred in Life Is Ruff as "Emily Watson" alongside Kyle Massey and Mitchel Musso. In July 2006 she starred in the Disney Channel Original Movie Read It and Weep (based on the book How My Private Personal Journal Became a Bestseller), in which her sister Danielle Panabaker also stars. In 2006 Panabaker was in the first ever Disney Channel Games, on the Red Team, with Zac Efron, Anneliese van der Pol, Moises Arias, Dylan Sprouse, and Shin Koyamada as part of the Disney Channel's So Hot Summer!. Her last movie was the Lifetime Television movie Custody which aired in September 2007. Her other recent movies include Moondance Alexander and The Prince and the Pauper with Dylan and Cole Sprouse. Panabaker starred in the remake of Fame as Jenny, an actress; the film was released in theaters on September 25, 2009. She also played the teenage Kitty Walker on Brothers and Sisters.

Panabaker recently starred in the ABC sci-fi drama series No Ordinary Family. It was cancelled after one season.

Most recently, Panabaker played Samantha Caldone in the ABC Family movie Cyberbully.

Is currently enrolled at Santa Fe College Teaching Zoo in Gainesville Florida where she now resides. (2013)

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role
2001	Monsters, Inc.	Additional voices
2002	Dead Heat	Sam
2007	Moondance Alexander	Moondance Alexander
2007	Nancy Drew	George Fayne
2007	'	Elizabeth
2009	Fame	Jenny Garrison
2010	'	Celia
2011	Little Birds	Alison
2012	Beverly Hills Chihuahua 3	Rosa (voice)

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2002	Port Charles	Sara	1 episode
2002	ER	Melissa Rue	Episode: "The Letter"
2002	7th Heaven	Alice Brand	Episode: "Regarding Eric"
2002	Angel	The Girl	Episode: "Forgiving"
2003			Episode: "Habeas Corpses"
2003	'	Susie Jenkins	Episode: "Cold Comfort"
2003	'	Carrie Bauer	Episode: "Moving On Up"
2004"2005	Summerland	Nikki Westerly	Main Cast
2004"2005	Phil of the Future	Debbie Berwick	Recurring; 13 episodes
2005	Mom at Sixteen	Young Macy (uncredited)	TV movie
2005	Medium	Elisha	Episode: "Penny for Your Thoughts"
2005	Life Is Ruff	Emily Watson	TV movie
2006	American Dragon: Jake Long	Cheerleader Lacey (voice)	Episode: "Bring It On"
2006	Read It and Weep	Jamie Bartlett	TV movie
2006"2011	CSI: Crime Scene Investigation	Lindsey Willows	6 episodes
2007	'	Vivica	Episode: "Single Dates"
2007	Two and a Half Men	Sophie	Episode: "Tucked, Taped and Gorgeous"
2007	The Suite Life of Zack & Cody	Amber	Episode: "First Day of High School"
2007	Custody	Amanda	TV movie
2007	Weeds	Amelia	Episode: "He Taught Me How to Drive By"
2007	Boston Legal	Abby Holt	Episode: "The Chicken and the Leg"
2007	Ghost Whisperer	Marlo Sinclair	Episode: "Bad Blood"
2008	Grey's Anatomy	Emma Anderson	Episode: "All by Myself"
2009	'	Maddy Gabriel	TV movie
2009	Lie to Me	Emily Lightman (scenes deleted)	Episode: "Pilot"
2009	Mental	Aysnley Skoff	Episode: "Manic at the Disco"
2010	Brothers & Sisters	Young Kitty Walker	Episode: "Time After Time: Part 1" Episode: "Time After Time: Part 2"
2010	Secrets in the Walls	Lizzie	TV movie
2010"2011	No Ordinary Family	Daphne Nicole Powell	Main Cast
2011	Cyberbully	Samantha Caldone	TV movie
2011	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Vicki Harris	Episode: "Spiraling Down"

Collaborations and other songs

Year	Artist	Song	Release
2006	Jordan Pruitt	"Outside Looking In"	in the album No Ordinary Girl and Read It and Weep (single to promote the movie)

Awards and honors

Panabaker holds a Seat on the National Board of the Coalition for Quality Children's Media.

Awards

Year	Award	Category	Result	Role
2003	Young Artist Award	Best Performance in a TV Drama Series - Guest Starring Young Actress	Nominated	Melissa Rue in ER For episode "The Letter"
2004	Young Artist Award	Best Performance in a Commercial	Nominated	Youth Anti-Smoking PSA
2005	Young Artist Award	Best Performance in a Television Series - Recurring Young Actress	Nominated	Debbie Berwick in Phil of the Future
	Young Artist Award	Best Performance in a TV Series (Comedy or Drama) - Leading Young Actress	Won	Nikki Westerly in Summerland
2007	Temecula Valley International Film Festival	Rising Star Award	Won
	Dixie Film Festival	Outstanding Actor/Actress in a Motion Picture	Won	Moondance Alexander in Moondance Alexander
2008	Young Artist Award	Best Performance in a Feature Film - Leading Young Actress	Nominated	Moondance Alexander in Moondance Alexander
	Young Artist Award	Best Performance in a Feature Film - Young Ensemble Cast	Nominated	George in Nancy Drew Shared with rest of cast