Kathryn Ann “Kate” Fleming, 41, an Alexandria native and award-winning voice-over artist, drowned Dec. 14 when an unexpected deluge of rainwater trapped her in the basement studio of her Seattle home. She played Dolly in a 1980s production of “Hello Dolly” at T.C. Williams High School and appeared in numerous productions in the Washington area and in Seattle.
“She was a Virginia girl all the way,” said Clare Fleming, her sister. “Most of her early adult life was here in Alexandria.”
After graduating from T.C. Williams, she received a bachelor’s degree from the College of William and Mary.. She studied at the Actors Theatre of Louisville and acted in Woolly Mammoth Theatre and Shakespeare Theatre Company productions in Washington before moving to Seattle in 1994. In recent years, she found success as a narrator of audiobooks — performing on more than 250 recordings ranging from the 9-11 Report to travel guides. In 2004, she received the “Audie Award for Unabridged Fiction” for her recording of the Ruth Ozeki novel “All Over Creation.”
“Kate was a very unusual and special person, and I’m not just saying that because she died. She was so full of love and spirit and fun,” said Clare Fleming. “She was one of the most playful people I’ve ever met. She was hysterically funny, and she always kept everybody laughing.”