Mary Kate Schellhardt grew up in Chicago. She was raised by her journalist father and her mother who is an English teacher. Her siblings are all in the arts, sister Laura is a playwright, sister Eliza, a music teacher, and her brother Stephen is an actor. Mary Kate was discovered in Chicago by film casting director Gail Levin at the age of 13. Gail had looked in most major cities to cast the role, and Mary Kate auditioned towards the end of a long casting process. She was cast as Ellen Grape in "What's Eating Gilbert Grape," after being flown to Los Angeles to meet with director Lasse Hallstrom. Mary Kate then went on to work on other films, most notably "Apollo 13" and "Free Willy 2." She worked continuously throughout her high school years, commuting from Chicago to film sets. She flew home from a set to attend her high school prom.
At 18, Mary Kate attended the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama, and received her B.F.A.
Since then, she's performed in various theatre productions in Chicago, Scotland, Italy, and New York. Currently living in Los Angeles, Mary Kate has recently completed Jack Rio, Mr. Blue Sky, and has appeared on various television shows.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Cuj0NlpQz4
