WHO IS KATHRYN SERMAK?

In 1979, at the age of twenty-three, Kathryn Sermak was hired by Bette Davis as the legend’s Girl Friday. Since Miss Davis's death, Kathryn has continued to preserve the memory of her friend and mentor. In 1997 she co-founded the Bette Davis Foundation with Miss Davis's son, Michael Merrill, and is a member of the Board of Trustees. The Foundation offers bursaries to gifted young actors, and in 1998 presented the first Bette Davis Lifetime Achievement Award to Meryl Streep. Along with Mr. Merrill, Kathryn is also co-executor of the Bette Davis Estate.

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Kathryn has been personal assistant to HH Princess Shams Pahlavi (sister to the Shah of Iran); French actress Isabelle Adjani; the statesman and journalist Pierre Salinger; astronaut Dr. Buzz Aldrin, Motown Founder Berry Gordy Jr.; famed American designer Patrick Kelly, and the co-creator of “Where’s Waldo” Michael Gornall.

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Kathryn was also among the first to receive the Personal Assistant Career Award in 2003. She has worked as an associate producer in TV production and development, in addition to having collaborated with Miss Davis on her New York Times bestseller THIS N THAT (Putnam, 1987) and the reissue of Miss Davis's autobiography THE LONELY LIFE. (Berkley, 1990.)

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Kathryn Sermak earned her BA and BS degree from the University of Southern California, after completing her senior year at the University of Madrid, and attended the prestigious Institut Catholique de Paris.