Actress Karen Sharpe and her daughter Kat Kramer have been pictured together at an event in Los Angeles, with the mother and daughter showcasing their shared links to Hollywood and successful careers in showbusiness.
Sharpe, 92, appeared in a turquoise blazer over a black polo-neck jumper and black trousers, accessorised with matching turquoise jewellery. Kramer wore a red ruffled blouse with black trousers and carried a distinctive Rolling Stones handbag.
Sharpe was a prominent screen presence during the 1950s and 1960s, appearing in films and television programmes including The High and the Mighty, The Disorderly Orderly and the Western series Johnny Ringo.
She won a Golden Globe in 1955 in the New Star of the Year – Actress category for playing Nell Buck in The High and the Mighty, which starred John Wayne.
Sharpe also played a lovestruck nurse opposite Jerry Lewis in The Disorderly Orderly, released in 1964, and appeared in television series including Gunsmoke, Bonanza, The Wild Wild West, Rawhide, The Man from UNCLE and I Dream of Jeannie.
Her first film role came in Army Bound in 1952. Other early credits included The Sniper, Holiday for Sinners, Bomba and the Jungle Girl and Strange Fascination.
Sharpe later starred as Laura Thomas in Johnny Ringo, alongside Don Durant. Although the Western ran for only one season, she went on to make numerous guest appearances on television.
She retired from acting in 2021, with her final film listed as Fate’s Shadow: The Whole Story.
Kat Kramer’s career in film and theatre
Kramer was born shortly after her parents’ marriage in 1966 and followed both of them into the entertainment industry. Her father was the acclaimed director and producer Stanley Kramer, whose films included The Defiant Ones, On the Beach, Judgment at Nuremberg and Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.
She made her official Hollywood debut in her early twenties as Miss Golden Globe Ambassador at the 1990 Golden Globe Awards.
Kramer subsequently built a career on stage and screen, winning recognition for playing Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker and Anne Frank in The Diary of Anne Frank.
Her film appearances include Going Shopping, What Just Happened and Little Fockers. She also won a Best Supporting Actress award at the 2019 LOVE International Film Festival for her performance as Fran in Turnover.
She was named after Katharine Hepburn, who appeared in her father’s Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner alongside Spencer Tracy, Sidney Poitier and Katharine Houghton. Kramer has since served as the West Coast representative of the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center and appeared in the 2023 documentary Call Me Kate.
Sharpe and Stanley Kramer had two children, Katharine, known as Kat, and Jennifer. Stanley Kramer also had two children from a previous marriage, and Sharpe helped raise them.
The couple remained married until the director and producer’s death in 2001, aged 87. Kramer continues to work as an actor and producer and was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Luxury Oscar Gala in 2024.
