Sesame Street, the ever-loved American educational children’s television series has been on the air for more than 50 years and is now welcoming its first Asian American muppet. Ernie, a muppet from the popular Sesame Street, appears with the new character Ji-Young. In the meantime, before the special episode on anti-Asian racism air on HBO Max and local PBS stations on Thanksgiving Day (2021), meet Ji-Young’s puppeteer, Ms. Kathleen Kim.
Make sure you find all that you have been looking for about Kathleen in this Kathleen Kim Bio.
Kathleen Kim On Sesame Street, Ji-Young
So, with Ji-Young, Kathleen, for one hopes to help teach what racism is, help teach kids to be able to recognize it, and then speak out against it. Then, her other hope for Ji-Young is that she just normalizes seeing different kinds of looking kids on TV.
Ji Young will be introduced during a special episode on See Us Coming Together: A Sesame Street Special. The show will also feature Simu Liu and Naomi Osaka.
In the special episode, the residents of Sesame Street celebrate Neighbour Day, a community event with food, music, and games and someone off-screen tells Ji-Young to “go back home”. That is when the theme of the episode begins as other residents, guest stars, and friends, including Elmo, come to offer Ji-Young their support.
So you know, some of Ji-Young’s personality comes from her puppeteer. Kathleen may be, therefore, thought it was crucial that Ji-Young not be “generically pan-Asian.”
It was back in 2014 when Kathleen was accepted into a Sesame Street workshop. That evolved into a mentorship, and she became part of the team only the next year. Being a puppeteer on a show she watched growing up was a dream come true, but again, helping shape Ji-Young was a whole other feat.
How Old Is Kathleen Kim?
Kathleen Kim, who got into puppetry in her 30s, had turned 41 before November in 2021.
Kathleen Kim Husband
Kathleen Kim, on her social media bio, briefly describes herself as a mom, producer, puppeteer, and cancer survivor. But, there is no hint on if or not there is a husband in her life.
Kathleen Kim Net Worth
Kathleen Kim had less than an estimated $400 net worth in 2021.
Some of her puppetry credits other than of Ji-Young would be Martin P. Robinson’s musical play All Hallow’s Eve the Fred Rogers biopic A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, and Awkwafina is Nora from Queens where she played Toeknee the imaginary friend.
LinkedIn precisely introduces her as a story producer, voice actor, commercial and character artist, and puppeteer in hand and rod style. The site went on writing — she is a producer in non-fiction and reality production with additional experience in casting, coordinating, and field producing.
Based in New York City, she has been producing stories for Diesel Brothers (Discovery Channel) as part of Magilla Entertainment.
Briefly, in the past, she also worked with Sharp Entertainment for TLC’s 90 Day Fiance.
For a year, from Feb. 2016 – Jan. 2017, Kathleen also notably worked as the story producer for the Alaskan Bush People show on the Discovery channel.
Meanwhile, for her studies, Kathleen received her B.A.in TV/Radio, Children’s Studies at Brooklyn College from 2003 – 2006. Back, at the time, she even made it to the dean’s list of Honors.
Related FAQs
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Is Kathleen Kim On Instagram?
Yes! Kathleen Kim is on Instagram. Her account @kafode however was accessible to only those who followed her. Until 16 November 2021, she had 591 posts and 798 followers.
You may also find Kathleen on her TikTok @kafode and her ‘kafode‘ channel on youtube.
Meanwhile, Kathleen also admitted that she is never going to be found on her Twitter @kaffykim.
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How Tall Is Kathleen Kim?
Kathleen Kim stands to a height i.e. around 5’5”.
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Has Kathleen Kim Shared Anything About Her Family?
Back in Feb. 2020, Kathleen Kim and her team from Sesame Street delighted children and their parents as they shared traditions of the Lunar New Year in the Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium. Celebrating the Year of the Rat they posed with families in The Temple of Dendur after the performances. But, never did we know if Kathleen’s family also attended the event.
So far, it seemed, Kathleen has been very private about her personal life.
Be that as it may, this does not affect all the hype she has been receiving for her portrayal of Ji-Young.
One Twitter user took to the platform to praise:
“Best news.
Ji-Young and Kathleen Kim give strength to all the kids and adults, parents and friends, as we see ourselves.
When we are seen, we are no longer ‘them’. We’re ‘we’ and ‘us’.”
“OMG THE DREAM ISNT DEAD YET CAN YOU TELL ME HOW TO GET TO SESAME STREET” — remarked the other referring to Kathleen starting her puppetry in her 30s.
