Kate Siegel

Not to be confused with Katey Sagal.

Kate Gordon Siegelbaum (born August 9, 1982), known professionally as Kate Siegel (/ˈsiːɡəl/ SEE-gəl), is an American actress and writer. Dubbed a scream queen for her extensive work in the horror genre, Siegel is known for her collaborations with her husband, Mike Flanagan. She has starred in the films Oculus (2013), Hush which she co-wrote, Ouija: Origin of Evil (both 2016), Gerald's Game (2017), and The Life of Chuck (2024), and the television series The Haunting of Hill House (2018), The Haunting of Bly Manor (2020), Midnight Mass (2021), and The Fall of the House of Usher (2023).

Kate Siegel
Siegel at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival
Born	Kate Gordon Siegelbaum[1] (1982-08-09) August 9, 1982 (age 42) Silver Spring, Maryland, U.S.
Education	Syracuse University (BFA)
Occupations	Actress writer
Years active	2006–present
Spouse	Mike Flanagan ​ (m. 2016)​
Children	2

Early life

Siegel was born in 1982 in Silver Spring, Maryland. She graduated from Syracuse University in 2004.^[1]

Career

Siegel made her acting debut in the film The Curse of The Black Dahlia, which was released on January 23, 2007.^[2] That year she went on to star in Hacia La Oscuridad, which had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 28, 2007.^[3] She also appeared in Steam alongside Ruby Dee and Chelsea Handler.^[4] In 2008, Siegel appeared in the short film Knocked Down, which was directed by Ted Collins.^[5] In 2009, she made her television debut in Ghost Whisperer as Cheryl. In 2010, she appeared in Numb3rs as Rachel Hollander. She then appeared in an episode of Castle. That same year she appeared in the drama-thriller Wedding Day.^[6]

In 2013, Siegel appeared in Man Camp.^[7] The same year, she appeared in Oculus, a horror film written and directed by Flanagan.^[8] The film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2013, and was released in April 2014.^[9][10] She also appeared in an episode of Mob City. In 2014, she appeared in Demon Legacy.^[11]

In November 2015, it was revealed that she and Flanagan would be adapting the young adult novel 13 Days to Midnight into a film.^[12]

In 2016, Siegel starred as a deaf-mute woman beset by a killer in the horror-thriller Hush, a film on which she also made her screenwriting debut, co-writing with Flanagan. The film had its world premiere at South by Southwest on March 12, 2016, and was released on Netflix on April 8, 2016.^[13][14] In July 2016, she starred in a commercial for Stelara psoriasis medication.^[15] That same year, Siegel appeared in Ouija: Origin of Evil, also directed by Flanagan, which was released on October 21, 2016.^[16][17]

In 2017, Siegel starred alongside Carla Gugino and Bruce Greenwood in the film adaptation of Stephen King's Gerald's Game, which was also directed by Flanagan.^[18] The film was released on September 29, 2017, by Netflix.^[19]

In 2018, Siegel had a starring role as Theodora Crain in the Netflix supernatural horror series The Haunting of Hill House, based on Shirley Jackson's 1959 novel of the same name. She also narrated the podcast Calling Darkness^[20][21] and has been a voice actor for The NoSleep Podcast.^[22]

Siegel portrayed Erin Greene in Netflix's Midnight Mass, which was written and directed by Flanagan, and co-starred her castmate from The Haunting of Hill House Henry Thomas.

In July 2024, she was confirmed to make her directorial debut, as she would direct a segment for V/H/S/Beyond, which was released exclusively on Shudder on October 4, 2024.^[23][24]

Personal life

Siegel is of Russian Jewish, Polish Jewish, and German Jewish descent.^[25][26][27] Siegel said in 2008 she is bisexual^[28] and had been in relationships with women before.^[29] She married director Mike Flanagan in early 2016.^[30] They have two children: a son, Cody, and a daughter, Theodora, named after Siegel's character in The Haunting of Hill House. She is stepmother to Flanagan's eldest son from a previous relationship.^[31][32]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2007	The Curse of the Black Dahlia	Jennifer	Direct-to-video film
	Total Darkness	Jenn
	Steam	Elizabeth
2008	Knocked Down	Lance's assistant	Short film
2009	Puke in My Mouth	Ms Taken 2
2012	Wedding Day	Erica
	The Collector	Jess	Short film
2013	Man Camp	Teresa
	Oculus	Marisol Chavez
2014	Demon Legacy	Jack
	Dead Room: Origins	Jade	Short film
2015	The Program	Natalie
	Wine Jabs	Vivian
2016	Hot	Beth
	Hush	Maddie Young	Also writer	[14]
	Ouija: Origin of Evil	Jenny Browning
2017	Gerald's Game	Sally Burlingame
2019	Let's Go Down	Ember	Short film
2021	Hypnotic	Jenn Tompson
2023	The Wrath of Becky	Agent Montana	Cameo	[33]
2024	The Life of Chuck	Miss Richards
	V/H/S/Beyond	None	Director of segment: "Stowaway"	[24]
TBA	The Room Returns!	Claudette	Post-production	[34]

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2009	Ghost Whisperer	Cheryl	Episode: "This Joint's Haunted"
2010	Numbers	Rachel Hollander	Episode: "And the Winner Is..."
2012	The Unknown	Evey Kyler	Episode: "Prime Cut"	[35]
	Castle	Nadia	Episode: "47 Seconds"
	Where Would We Be	Stephanie	Episode: "Pilot"	[36]
2013	Mob City	Tandy	Episode: "Stay Down"
2018	The Haunting of Hill House	Theodora "Theo" Crain	Main role; 10 episodes
2020	Hawaii Five-0	Leslie	Episode: "I ho'olulu, ho'ohulei 'ia e ka makani"
	The Haunting of Bly Manor	Viola Willoughby / The Lady of the Lake	2 episodes
2021	Midnight Mass	Erin Greene	Main role; 7 episodes
2022	The Time Traveler's Wife	Annette DeTamble	Recurring role; 3 episodes
2023	The Fall of the House of Usher	Camille L'Espanaye	Main role; 8 episodes	[37]

Podcasts

Siegel has appeared on the horror podcasts Calling Darkness^[20][21] and The NoSleep Podcast.^[22]