Katherine Langford is an Australian actress known for her standout performances in various projects. Born in Perth, Western Australia, she is the eldest daughter of Elizabeth Langford, a pediatrician, and Stephen Langford, a flying doctor and director of medical services at the Royal Flying Doctor Service Western Operations.
Langford's early life was marked by a strong interest in music and drama. She began voice lessons in 2005 and received classical, jazz, and contemporary vocal training. She was offered a place at Perth Modern School for her senior high years, where she studied music and drama, and was sports captain and a nationally ranked swimmer.
Initially, Langford was interested in medicine and politics, in addition to musical theatre. However, her attendance at Lady Gaga's concert, the Born This Way Ball, in 2012 inspired her to learn how to play the piano. She went on to write and perform original songs, including an anti-suicide song she wrote in 2013 after three Perth teens took their lives.
After graduating from high school, Langford was determined to become an actor. Despite being rejected from every acting school she applied to, she began enrolling in acting classes and workshops in Perth, juggling three part-time jobs, and later finding herself an agent.
Langford's early career was marked by various roles in productions such as Godspell, Evita, and a short film called Daughter, which debuted at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival. She also auditioned for roles in TV series Riverdale and Will, but did not secure either part.
Langford's breakthrough role came when she was cast as Hannah Baker in the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why. She auditioned for the role over Skype and had only 10 days to get an O-1 visa. Her portrayal of Hannah Baker received critical acclaim, and she researched the role by speaking with a representative of the sexual assault awareness campaign "It's On Us" and a psychiatrist who specializes in adolescence.
In 2018, Langford appeared in her first feature film, Love, Simon, an adaptation of the coming-of-age novel Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, by Becky Albertalli.
