Cindy Karr
- Actress
Cindy Karr's father, who was always known as "Happy," was killed in WWII and thus she was raised by a single parent. Her mother was an elementary teacher in West Virginia and because Cindy's fragile health couldn't handle the cold WV weather, the family doctor recommended moving to a warmer climate. So, Florida became her home where she thrived and caught the acting bug in an elementary school play.
Although non-acting career commitments kept her from pursuing acting, Cindy did eventually become SAG/AFTRA eligible and has appeared in numerous feature films and television as well as in student films from Full Sail University and the University of Central Florida. She can be seen in recurring roles in the Netflix series "Sweet Magnolias" as Miss Francis and in "Bloodline" as Susan Widmark. She has worked on independent shorts such as "Dance for Me" where she won a Best Actress Grand Jury Award at the NY International Film Awards. She has worked in independent feature film projects such as "Unsullied" in the role of Claudine Willfellow, on "Spider and Jessie" as Maddie's Grandma, and on "The Throwback" as Mrs. Bailey. She has also acted in significant studio projects such "Tooth Fairy 2" (Fox US Production 13) as Lady Bird Billings and on an international film, "Katie Fforde" (Van Womer International), as Mrs. Brighthouse where her English dialog was dubbed into German.
Cindy did conservatory training at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting in New York City in their summer ten-week conservatory program where she worked with such notable directors as Alice Saltzman, Ian Hersey, Patrick Quagliano and others. Early in her training, prior to his death, she trained with Michael Shurtleff author of "Audition." In recent years she has studied with coaches at the Orlando Shakespeare Theater and other outstanding coaches such as Rus Blackwell, Lauren O'Quinn, Hank Stone, Ric LaMonte, Avis-Marie Barnes & others.
Since beginning acting in earnest in 2010, Cindy has performed on stage at the Orlando Shakespeare Theater and in principal roles in professional feature length films, independent short films, university student shorts, television pilots, television series, and numerous industrial and commercial spots including one where (in her early 70s) she jumped (in tandem) out of a plane at 15,000 feet.
Cindy received a bachelor's degree in English Education from the University of Florida and a master's degree in Library and Information Sciences from the University of South Florida. Life took her in the direction of teaching where she had a rewarding career for many decades as a teacher of English, humanities, special education, and as a school librarian; but she always knew upon retirement she would more fully pursue acting. In 2008 she retired, and Cindy Karr has done just that. She looks forward to continuing to achieve her goal of developing award-winning characters in A-Level productions around the world.