Kellie Waymire (1967-2003)
Kellie Waymire died of natural causes Nov. 13 at her home in Venice. She was 36.
Born in Columbus, Ohio, she attended Southern Methodist University, earning a bachelor's degree in acting and winning the Greer Garson Award. She earned an MFA in acting from UC San Diego.
Her professional career began in New York with a regular role on One Life to Live. She moved to Los Angeles in 1997, guest-starring on Six Feet Under, Friends, NYPD Blue, Judging Amy, Wolf Lake, Enterprise, The X Files, The Practice, Ally McBeal, and Seinfeld, among others. Her most recent guest appearances, on Everwood and Wonderfalls, will air soon. She starred opposite Dylan Baker in the Fox series The Pitts. Her feature film roles include Playing By Heart, Sunset Strip, Buddy Boy, Maniacts, and Screenland Drive.
As a child she starred in local community theatre in Lake Tahoe and at Lamar High School in Houston, Texas. As a professional she performed at regional theatres throughout the United States, including South Coast Repertory, Pasadena Playhouse, and La Jolla Playhouse. She was a member of Circle X Theatre and Antaeus Company in L.A. and was a founding member of the Rogue Theatre in NYC. She won a Drama-Logue Award for Outstanding Performance playing the title role in Sylvia at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego and the Marines Memorial Theatre in San Francisco. Recent plays in Los Angeles included An American Book of the Dead and The Man Who Had All the Luck. At the time of her death, she was originating a role in Kate Crackernuts.
She is survived by her father, Jack Waymire; mother, Vicki Currant; brother, Tony Currant; sister, Rebecca Cornwell; aunts, Kay Elliot, Carolyn Kelly, Carol Johnson; uncles, Paul Johnson and Steve Elliot; nieces, Lydia and Emma Cornwell; and her partner, Gary Judson Smoot.
A public memorial will be held on Dec. 8 at 8 p.m. at UCLA's Freud Playhouse. The family has requested that, in lieu of flowers or contributions to charities, donations be sent to the Kellie Waymire Scholarship Fund, through the UC San Diego Foundation, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093.