Kari Townsend

Kari Townsend is incredibly adaptable, having moved 13 times in 12 years while growing up throughout Canada and the U.S. At the age of 3, she began training in piano and ballet, and at 7 she started guitar lessons. By the age of 12, she could play 6 instruments and had landed her first lead role in her school's play. Kari continued to perform on stage ("Brighton Beach Memoirs", "Frankenstein", "The Odd Couple") but it was while backpacking in Santa Fe, New Mexico that Kari had her first film experience as an uncredited extra in "Twins" (Universal Pictures). After graduating from the University of Western Ontario with an M.A. in English (specializing in the works of Samuel Beckett), Kari trained with Ginger Howard Friedman. Kari subsequently landed numerous lead and principal roles including "The Godchild," "Gettin' In" and "Mikka," a short film which received accolades at various international festivals. Kari has also worked as a model, host, and a voiceover artist. In addition to receiving numerous awards for her work in philanthropy, scriptwriting for corporate video, and live performance, Kari has also appeared as the Featured Artist of the Day on several television programs. As a singer/songwriter/musician, Kari's debut album, Postcard Blue was released in 1996 and in its first 3 weeks, it was added into rotation by over 40 radio stations. With her band, Kari beat out over 200 bands to finish second overall in the Molson Canadian Grandstand Slam contest. Kari also performed at various venues and festivals throughout Canada and the U.S., including CMW, COCA, and the CMJ Music Festival in New York City.

An advocate of literacy, Kari dedicated 10% of her proceeds of Postcard Blue to Performers for Literacy, a charitable organization that promotes literacy to children through the assistance of performers.