Date of Birth

8 December 1981, San Francisco, California, USA

Birth Name

Genevieve Nicole Cortese

Nickname

Gen
Genny

Height

5' 3½" (1.61 m)

Mini Biography

Making her television debut as Kris Furillo, Genevieve is an experienced stage actress. She has performed in regional productions of "A Midsummer Night's Dream," "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," "Crimes of the Heart" and "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat." Genevieve holds a bachelor of fine arts degree in drama and a bachelor of arts in English from the Tisch School of the Arts, New York University.

Trivia

• She received a BFA in Drama and BA in English from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. She also studied at the Stella Adler Acting Studio and at the Atlantic Theater Co.
• Her favorite books are "Lolita" and "The Sound and the Fury".
• Has one sister, two brothers.
• Her interests include acting, snowboarding, surfing, soccer, running and reading.
• Genevieve grew up outside San Francisco until she was 13 when her parents decided to move to the ski town, Whitefish, Montana. After a year, her family went on a road trip looking at different ski towns and ended up in Sun Valley, Idaho, where Genevieve considers home.
• Married Jared Padalecki on February 27th, 2010.
• Met her husband, Jared Padalecki, on the set of Supernatural (2005).
• (February 27, 2010) Married her boyfriend of a year Jared Padalecki following a 2-month-long engagement.
• Gave birth to her 1st child at age 31, a son named Thomas Colton Padalecki on March 19, 2012. Child's father is her husband, Jared Padalecki.
• Gave birth to her 2nd child at age 32, a son named Austin Shepherd Padalecki on December 22, 2013. Child's father is her husband, Jared Padalecki.
• She is of Italian (from her paternal grandfather), German, Belgian (Flemish), English, and French descent.
• Gave birth to her 3rd child at age 36, a daughter named Odette Elliot Padalecki on March 17, 2017. Child's father is her husband, Jared Padalecki.
• Retired from acting in 2012 upon marrying her Supernatural (2005) co-star Jared Padalecki.
• Was hired to be Katie Cassidy's replacement for the character Ruby in season 4 of Supernatural (2005), the reason being budget constraints. The recast was easy to justify, as Ruby is just a demonic soul that can possess a different host at will. She met her future husband Jared Padalecki on the set.
• Had a clothing line at Kohl's.
• Has two boys, Tom & Shep, and a girl, Odette.
• Is a board member of the charity Random Acts.
• Writes a blog called Now & Gen.

Quotes

• I love the possibility that anything can happen in any moment with acting. That you have the opportunity to experience lives and adventures that you may not have otherwise.
• Kris has never really had a mother, she's always been the mother. That whole definition of mother is a new thing for her, so it's a power struggle. Does she submit, or does she fight? A big part of her wants to be loved so badly. It's hard, because she has to challenge that. She's never been loved. She's been hurt very badly.
• For the series we are using a couple of horses, most of which have worked on Sea Biscuit. Mattie, Reno, Finder and Houdini, all of which have extraordinary talents. Bobby, their trainer has them so well trained and attentive, they hit their marks without anyone holding on to them. They can rear, lope and stop when asked. Bobby even had me train on his horse Houdini with no hands while he told him how fast and where to go. It was an incredible and liberating experience and I gained a lot of trust and confidence from it.
• I learned to ride from my mom, she is the ultimate rider. When she was Kris's age she used her horse to escape and ride up Mount Diablo. I learned a lot from her and a ton that I incorporate into the character of Kris.
• I love Kris's simplicity when getting her point across. I use circumlocution too often and instead of getting my point across I tend to babble.
• I have some cool talents. I'm really flexible and can do all sorts of twisted yoga positions. And I'm a big athlete and especially love soccer.
• My biggest thing is, I'm learning what it's like to carry myself in a personal way and also a professional way, how I can be a leader and do multitasking."
• I'm a very competitive person, so I identify with Kris in that way. Sometimes she has a little more confidence than I do, which is cool. I'm a big tomboy and I like sports, but I'm also girly and I giggle a lot more.