Katherine Bailess

Katherine Bailess (born April 24, 1980) is an American actress, singer, and dancer best known for playing the role of Erica Marsh on the CW's hit show One Tree Hill, Life and Death Brigade member Stephanie on Gilmore Girls, and Kyle Hart on the VH1 series Hit the Floor.

Early life

Bailess was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi to Natalie and Bobby Bailess. Her father is an attorney and was a former linebacker for the Ole Miss Rebels football team at the University of Mississippi and was a teammate with Archie Manning. She began training classically in dance at age 4. She also participated in competitive gymnastics and cheerleading throughout her childhood. At age 11, Bailess performed on the televised Miss Mississippi Pageant as a dancer, and continued to perform for the pageant for 7 years. She won scholarships to study dance at both the Broadway Dance Center in New York City and Ann Reinking's Broadway Theater Project in Florida. She was a debutante. She attended St. Francis Xavier Convent School and later St. Aloysius Catholic High School, from which she graduated in 1998 before going on to attend Marymount Manhattan College where she studied musical theatre and dance. After college, Bailess went on to study at the William Esper Studio's two-year intensive program.