Jennifer Mendenhall (born February 7, 1960), commonly known by the alias Kate Reading, is an American actress and audiobook narrator. She has won 6 Audie Awards and 46 Earphone Awards.

Personal life

Mendenhall was born on February 7, 1960, in Brooklyn, New York. Her parents moved to England when she was a baby. In 1978, she returned to the United States to attend the University of Virginia. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in French and Drama in 1983.

Mendenhall married Michael Kramer on October 24, 1992.[citation needed] They currently live in the Washington, D.C., area with their two children.

Awards and honors

Awards

YearTitleAwardResultRef.
1999Summer Sisters (1998) by Judy BlumeAudie Award for FictionFinalist
2004Blow Fly by Patricia CornwellAudie Award for Best Female NarratorFinalist
2006Fairy Tales (1835) by Hans Christian Andersen, translated by Tina NunnallyAudie Award for Short Stories or CollectionsFinalist
2007The Painted Veil (1925) by W. Somerset MaughamAudie Award for Literary Fiction or ClassicsFinalist
2010Bellwether (1996) by Connie WillisAudie Award for Science FictionWinner
2010The Gathering Storm (2009) by Robert Jordan and Brandon SandersonAudie Award for Science FictionFinalist
2011Among the Missing (2011) by Morag JossEarphone AwardWinner
2011The Book of Spies by Gayle LyndsAudie Award for Thriller or SuspenseFinalist
20121222 (2011) by Anne HoltEarphone AwardWinner
2012The Boy in the Snow (2012) by M.J. McGrathEarphone AwardWinner
2012The Thirteen Hallows (2011) by Michael Scott and Colette FreedmanEarphone AwardWinner
2012Trapeze (2012) by Simon MawerEarphone AwardWinner
2013Breasts by Florence WilliamsAudie Award for NonfictionWinner
2013The Last Runaway (2013) by Tracy ChevalierEarphone AwardWinner
2013A Memory of Light (2013) by Robert Jordan and Brandon SandersonEarphone AwardWinner
2014Words of Radiance (2014) by Brandon SandersonEarphone AwardWinner
2015My Life in Middlemarch by Rebecca MeadAudie Award for Autobiography or MemoirWinner
2015The Siege Winter (2015) by Ariana Franklin and Samantha NormanEarphone AwardWinner
2015Words of Radiance (2014)Audie Award for FantasyWinner
2016The Story of Egypt: The Civilization That Shaped the World (2016) by Joann FletcherEarphone AwardWinner
2016A Study in Scarlet Women (2016) by Sherry ThomasEarphone AwardWinner
2016The Velvet Hours (2016) by Alyson RichmanEarphone AwardWinner
2017A Conspiracy in Belgravia (2017) by Sherry ThomasEarphone AwardWinner
2017A Duke in Shining Armor: Difficult Dukes (2017) by Loretta ChaseEarphone AwardWinner
2017The Glass Town Game (2017) by Catherynne M. ValenteEarphone AwardWinner
2018The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter (2017) by Theodora GossAudie Award for FantasyWinner
2018The Tangled Lands (2010) by Paolo Bacigalupi and Tobias S. BuckellEarphone AwardWinner
2018When a Duke Loves a Woman (2018) by Lorraine HeathEarphone AwardWinner
2019The Art of Theft (2019) by Sherry ThomasEarphone AwardWinner
2019At the End of the Century (2019) by Ruth Prawer JhabvalaEarphone AwardWinner
2020Death and the Maiden (2020) by Samantha Norman and Ariana FranklinEarphone AwardWinner
2019European Travel for the Monstrous Gentlewoman by Theodora GossAudie Award for FantasyFinalist
2020Midnight Train to Prague (2020) by Carol WindleyEarphone AwardWinner
2020The Prophet (1923) by Kahlil GibranEarphone AwardWinner
2020Rhythm of War (2020) by Brandon SandersonEarphone AwardWinner
2020Ten Things I Hate About the Duke (2020) by Loretta ChaseEarphone AwardWinner
2022Rhythm of War (2020) by Brandon SandersonAudie Award for FantasyWinner
2021The Souvenir Museum (2021) by Elizabeth McCrackenEarphone AwardWinner

"Best of" lists

YearTitleAwardRef.
2008Captain's FuryAudioFile Best Fantasy of the Year
2009Cursor's FuryAudioFile Best Fantasy of the Year
2010Bright-SidedAudioFile Best Contemporary Culture of the Year
2012Bling GoddessAudioFile Best Mystery & Suspense of the Year
2012Mischief of the Mistletoe by Lauren WilligRUSA Listen List
2013The Garden Intrigue (2013) by Lauren WilligRUSA Listen List
2015Gretel and the Case of the Missing Frog PrintsAudioFile Best Mystery & Suspense of the Year
2015Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta ChaseRUSA Listen List
2016And Only to Deceive by Tasha AlexanderRUSA Listen List
2017A Conspiracy in BelgraviaAudioFile Best Mystery & Suspense of the Year

Stage performances

Performances listed alphabetically by show
ShowRoleCompany
After the FallHolgaTheater J
Andy and the ShadowsRayaTheater J
Angels in America: Millennium ApproachesEthel Rosenberg, Rabbi Chemelwitz, Hannah PittForum Theatre
Angels in America: PerestroikaEthel Rosenberg, Hannah PittForum Theatre
Apples from the DesertVictoriaTheater J
A Beautiful ViewLaneStudio Theatre
CherokeeJanineWooly Mammoth Theatre Company
Circle Mirror TransformationMartyStudio Theatre
Clybourne ParkBev/KathyWooly Mammoth Theatre Company
The Cripple of InishmaanKate OsbourneSCENA Theatre
Dead Man's Cell PhoneOther WomanWooly Mammoth Theatre Company
GraceSaraWooly Mammoth Theatre Company
Homebody/KabulMahalaWooly Mammoth Theatre Company
Imagining MadoffSecretaryTheater J
Legacy of LightWet Nurse, OliviaArena Stage
Lenny & LouJulie RiggioWooly Mammoth Theatre Company
Measure for MeasureLady Vanity LustforthWooly Mammoth Theatre Company
The New Electric BallroomAdaStudio Theatre
PlutoElizabeth MillerForum Theatre
The Rocky Horror ShowMagentaWooly Mammoth Theatre Company

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
1991The ArcSally
1992Literary VisionsActor1 episode: Artful Resonance: Theme in Poetry
1994Homicide: Life on the StreetKerry Weston1 episode: See No Evil
1994Serial MomReporter
1997FrontlineSelf / Narration1 episode: The Lost American
2013My Synthesized LifePhone operator1 episode: Freak