Name Emily Kinney
Age 30
Hometown North Bend, Neb.
Now Lives In a small one-bedroom apartment near Lincoln Center, and in a cozy rental in West Hollywood, Calif.
Claim to Fame A television actress and indie rock singer, Ms. Kinney starred as the tenacious Beth in three seasons of the zombie TV drama “The Walking Dead.” She has also appeared in the TV series “The Knick” and “Masters of Sex.” A longtime singer-songwriter, she has released two albums of gentle, country-inflected pop-rock.
Big Break In 2007, after attending Nebraska Wesleyan University and New York University, Ms. Kinney auditioned on Broadway, eventually earning a leading role in the in the hip Broadway musical “Spring Awakening.” When the play closed the next year, she jumped back into Broadway auditions and joined the cast of “August: Osage County” for over 300 performances before getting her part, which was modest at the time, on the “The Walking Dead.” “I was happy and excited to get the job, but I had no idea it would be my life for the next five years,” she said. “I thought I was just doing a short recurring role. It’s hard for me to watch the show, though, because I don’t like that much violence.”
Latest Project Since Ms. Kinney’s character met her grisly end on “The Walking Dead,” she has focused on her music career. Her second album, “This Is War,” was released in October. “It’s an album that’s about standing up for myself, rather than being sad that some relationships have ended like before,” she said. In January, one song from the album, “Weapons,” was used in “Love on the Sidelines,” a Hallmark Channel romantic comedy that Ms. Kinney starred in.
Next Thing She is writing her next album. “Thematically, I’m looking more at identity this time,” she said. She is also performing concerts as part of the food charity WhyHunger’s Artists Against Hunger & Poverty program.
Ready for Battle Though she is no longer on “The Walking Dead,” reminders of her tenure still fill her Manhattan apartment. “The space is my guitars and zombie things everywhere, because people still send them to me,” she said. “I have survival kits everywhere.”
