Katie Cassidy, the fresh-faced blonde beauty best known for playing Ella Simms on the CW’s popular Melrose Place reboot, is the daughter of David Cassidy and Sherry Williams. Born in 1986, her interest in show business began at age 7 when she began acting in community theater productions. Her parents would not allow her to pursue an acting career until she completed high school.
In addition to Melrose Place, Katie has had many television roles. She starred as Trish Wellington in Harper’s Island, ABC’s 2009 mini-series about a group of wedding guests on an island inhabited by a killer. In 2010, she undertook a recurring role on Gossip Girl, playing Juliet Sharp, a self-serving villain. In a smaller role on the CW’s Supernatural, Katie spent six episodes portraying Ruby, a reformed demon who eventually saves the main protagonist from more of her kind.
Her early career included a stint on the wildly popular family drama 7th Heaven, in which she played Zoe for four episodes. Katie has also guest starred on episodes of The Division, Listen Up!, Sex, Love and Secrets, and The New Girl. In 2011, she made a cameo appearance as herself on the popular reality show, Celebrity Apprentice 4.