Kathy Najimy is a Lebanese-American by nationality.

The American actress and activist Kathy Najimy was born on February 6, 1957, in San Diego, California to Samia (née Massery; 1928-2015) and Fred Najimy, a postal worker.

Kathy’s mother immigrated from Lebanon to the United States in 1946. She was raised Maronite Catholic and attended Crawford High School. Her father died when she was 14. She is a 1995 graduate of San Diego State University.

She is best known for her roles in the films Soapdish (1991), Sister Act (1992), Hocus Pocus (1993), Hope Floats (1998), The Wedding Planner (2001), and Rat Race (2001), as well as her portrayal of Olive Massery on the NBC sitcom Veronica’s Closet (1997–2000) and for voicing Peggy Hill on the animated television series King of the Hill (1997–2010).

Kathy also starred in Disney and Pixar’s Academy Award-winning film WALL-E (2008), Step Up 3D (2010), The Guilt Trip (2012), Tyler Perry’s A Madea Christmas (2013), A Christmas Melody (2015), Dumplin’ (2018), Music (2021), and Single All the Way (2021).

She was first nationally known for her feminist play The Kathy and Mo Show, which she wrote and performed with Mo Gaffney.