Katt Shea was born in 1957 in Detroit, Michigan. She grew up in a quiet Detroit suburb and graduated from the University of Michigan with honors. Shea worked for a short spell as a teacher in the Detroit public school system. At age 19, Katt drove her Volkswagen to Hollywood, California. She did a fleeting stint as a model and briefly attended UCLA. Shea soon started acting in either small parts or more substantial co-starring roles in such movies as My Tutor (1983), Scarface (1983), Deux plombiers à Hollywood (1984), Barbarian Queen (1985), and the superior slasher sequel Psychose III (1986), making an especially memorable appearance in the latter as one of Norman Bates' victims. Shea made her promising debut as both writer and director with the sexy and stylish thriller Stripped to Kill (1987). She also did the equally solid sequel. Katt's finest cinematic achievement to date was the extremely thoughtful and touching vampire horror gem Dance of the Damned (1989). The gritty drama Streets (1990) and the gripping thriller Fleur de poison (1992) were likewise excellent and impressive. Last Exit to Earth (1996) was an entertainingly cheesy sci-fi hoot while the belated and unnecessary sequel Carrie 2 - La haine (1999) was regrettably lackluster. Katt Shea's last two pictures to date were a couple of made-for-TV affairs: the poignant and powerful teen drama Le poids du secret (2000) was a terrific return to form while the humdrum stalker outing L'ultime refuge (2001) was another unfortunate misstep in Shea's rather uneven, but overall quite sturdy and enjoyable career.
