Kay Linaker was educated at a private school in Connecticut and later attended New York University. While living in New York, she became interested in the stage and began attending the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Her work in several small Broadway roles brought her to the attention of screen scouts and she was signed for movie work. She appeared in many films of the 1930s and '40s (including a quintet of Charlie Chans and James Whale's final two films) before meeting and marrying singer-turned-writer Howard Phillips. She relocated to the East and, now calling herself Kate Phillips, began writing for television (her husband became an NBC-TV executive). In more recent years, Phillips taught at universities in Canada and New Hampshire.
