Woman (In Horror) Crush Wednesday: Kristina Klebe

May 17, 2017

Written by Capt McNeely

Georgia Division ZADF Twitter: @ZADF_ORG

WCW_KristinaKlebe
Greetings my Little Monsters! I am so pleased you’ve all returned to help me celebrate another wonderful Woman of Horror. I do have to admit that I feel remiss in my duties, having waited so long to write about this immensely talented woman. So, without further adieou, I present to you, Kristina Klebe.
Kristina was born in New York City, but would grow up making the rounds with her family spending time in New York, France, Germany and Italy.  The time spent growing up abroad allowed her to become fluent in the three aforementioned foreign languages. By the time she was in high school, Kristina had become a pianist and competitive equestrian. However these activities would have to take a back seat so that Kristina could commit more fully to her true love of acting.

Kristina was granted early admission to Dartmouth, where she would pursue a major in Politics with a minor in Theater and Film Studies and graduate Cum Laude. She continued on with her study of theatrical arts by attending the Eugene O’Neill National Theater Institute. Her post college acting career kicked off with many off Broadway performances on many well known stages which include: The Public Theater, Soho Rep, NY Theater Workshop,The Underwood Theater, Manhattan Theatre Club, and The Jean Cocteau Repertory.

Between 2003 and 2006, Kristina had a handful of film and television roles, including appearances in three episodes of Rescue Me and an episode of Law & Order. But I think most of us genre fans would agree that it was her portrayal of Lynda in Rob Zombie’s 2007 re-imagining of Halloween that really caught our attention. It was at this point that she took her rightful place amongst the other storied actresses of the genre. But she is not an actress who will be relegated to a particular genre, and despite the fact that Kristina gained such fame in the role of a victim, she has definitely proven herself to also be quite a formidable on screen presence a well.

One role in particular, her portrayal of Anika Barön, in Zack Parker’s psychological horror thriller Proxy, was that of a woman who was harder than a coffin nail. She has also played capable and, quite frankly, bad-ass law enforcement types as well. And anybody who has seen the Wolf Kitten in her frightfully comic performance as of Eva Braun in the horror comedy Chillerama, knows that she has comedy chops as well. Let’s face it, Kristina is an incredibly talented woman, who is able to skillfully apply said talent within the horror, drama, comedy and action genres. Hell, she even took on the role of Geraldine in Darren Lynn Bousman’s horror musical, Alleluia! The Devil’s Carnival.

While acting may be Kristina’s passion, she has other interests involving the art of film making. Directing is one area in which she has definitely shown a keen interest, and even attended the Grad Film Program at NYU’s Tisch Scool of Arts, where she earned her Master’s Degree in film directing. Kristina’s directing debut came in the form of the short horror film, As Human As Animal, starring the legendary professional wrestler, Dallas Page. Not only was she at the helm for this film, she also wrote, edited and appeared in the film as well.

As they say in most infomercials, “…but wait, that’s not all!” Kristina is also something of a videographer and has shot numerous open heart surgeries for charitable organizations that include: Doctors Without Borders, Open Heart Haiti and Surgeons of Hope.But her philanthropic efforts don’t end there, as she has worked with French-American Aid for Children as well as Best Friends Animal Society and Much Love Animal Rescue.Oh…Kristina also happens to be an avid diver and is a rescue diver to boot. So Harrison Ford may be able to fly up in a helicopter and rescue you on a mountainside, but Kristina could possibly help bring you up from the cold murky depths before you meet a watery demise.

To say that I had the pleasure to meet Kristina would be a gross understatement. In fact she is tied with Felissa Rose for the top spot as my all time favorite celebrity guest that I’ve met at any of the conventions I’ve attended. I met her at the September 2014 HorrorHound Weekend, held in Indianapolis.
This particular encounter has a great deal of personal significance to me due to the fact that at the time I was still dealing with the tragic loss of my father almost two months prior. I had spent a great deal of my time at the convention, hanging out at Maskfest in the gap between the tables belonging to my friend Brian Freiburger aka Scarecrow1138 and Jordu Schell. So when I wasn’t pestering and joking with Jordu or helping Brian, I was moping. On the last day Kristina came over to Jordu’s table to take a gander at his masks, at which point she caught me in mid mope and called me on it.  She broke the ice by saying she hadn’t seen me at her table that weekend, because as she said, “she would have remembered.” I told her that I really wanted to get her, Scout Taylor-Compton and Danielle Harris to sign my Halloween poster, but was in dire straits due to recent tragic events.  That’s when she asked me if I’d like to join her for a walk around the convention and we could continue our little chin wag along the way.
To my surprise and also my delight, it wasn’t just a superficial conversation. We spoke on a real personal level and at times allowed ourselves to be a bit vulnerable. She apologized for dragging me around the vendor’s hall with her. Really??? I was equally thrilled and grateful to be able to spend that time with Kristina. We went back to her table and she told me to pick a photo. I reminded her I was broke, and she told me I didn’t need to pay for something she was happy to give me. I agreed as long as she allowed me to reciprocate her kindness. Unfortunately all I had was a pencil sketch In a sketchbook I was carrying, but she agreed to the exchange as long as I signed the sketch for her. Suffice to say I definitely made out better on the deal…who knows: maybe she actually liked the sketch and still has it.
It was this kind of kindness that made meeting Kristina so memorable. While I have met many wonderful people at these conventions this one really stands out…for obvious reasons. So, my Little Monsters, if you have the chance to meet Kristina, do so!  She is as intelligent and caring as she is beautiful, and has an absolutely infectious smile. But I will urge you not to expect freebie signatures from her or other celebrity guests at conventions, as it comes across as presumptuous and rude. Even I was extremely reluctant to accept her offer without giving something in trade. Anyways, please be on the lookout for Kristina in her latest films: Don’t Kill It, Police State, Her Dark Past, Slay Belles and Kevin Shulman’s upcoming albeit currently untitled film. If you also wish to find out more about Kristina and her upcoming projects, check out her official IMDb page, or give her a follow on Twitter.
Thank you again, my Little Monsters for joining me today, and remember that what doesn’t kill you, makes you…well, hopefully it makes you think, “WOW, that was really stupid! I won’t be doing that again.” Ta ta for now!

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