Kathryn Crosby, born Olive Kathryn Grandstaff on November 25, 1933, was a multifaceted American talent, equally renowned as an actress and singer, who professionally performed under the stage-name Kathryn Grant.
Her life's journey began in Houston, Texas, where she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Texas at Austin in 1955. Two years later, she married Bing Crosby, her second husband, and the couple had three children, Harry, Mary Frances, and Nathaniel. During this time, she made a guest appearance on her husband's 1964-1965 ABC sitcom, The Bing Crosby Show.
Following her marriage, Crosby largely retired from the entertainment industry, but she did participate in a few notable projects. She played a featured role in the 1959 courtroom drama, Anatomy of a Murder, and took on the part of "Mama Bear" alongside her husband and children in the 1960 production of Goldilocks. Additionally, she co-starred with Jack Lemmon in the 1957 film, Operation Mad Ball.
In the mid-1970s, Crosby hosted her own 30-minute local talk-show, The Kathryn Crosby Show, on KPIX-TV in San Francisco, with her husband making occasional guest appearances.
After Bing Crosby's passing in 1977, Kathryn took on a few smaller roles and even starred in the lead role of the short-lived 1996 Broadway musical, State Fair.
For 16 years, ending in 2001, Crosby served as the host of the Crosby National Golf Tournament at Bermuda Run Country Club in Bermuda Run, North Carolina. A nearby bridge carrying U.S. Route 158 over the Yadkin River was later named in her honor.
On November 4, 2010, a tragic automobile accident in the Sierra Nevada resulted in the death of her 85-year-old husband, Maurice William Sullivan, and left Crosby seriously injured.
