Kay Panabaker
Stephanie Kay Panabaker (born May 2, 1990) is an American former actress. She is best known for her work with the Disney Channel, starring in popular productions like Phil of the Future (2004–2006) and Read It and Weep (2006), and her role on the teen drama Summerland (2004–2005).
Kay Panabaker

John B. Mueller · John Mueller · John Mueller, via email, to Nicholas Moreau. Created for the Wikimedia Foundation. · CC BY 2.5
- Name
- Kay Panabaker
- Birth Name
- Stephanie Kay Panabaker
- Born
- 2 May 1990
- Birthplace
- Orange, Texas, U.S.
- Occupation
- Actress
- Full name
- Stephanie Kay Panabaker.
- Nationality
- United States.
- Education
- University of California, Los Angeles and Glendale Community College.
- Honours
- Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a TV Series - Leading Young Actress.
- Languages
- English.
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
Stephanie Kay Panabaker (born May 2, 1990) is an American former actress. She is best known for her work with the Disney Channel, starring in popular productions like Phil of the Future (2004–2006) and Read It and Weep (2006), and her role on the teen drama Summerland (2004–2005).
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Note VALÉORINE
Kay Panabaker (born 1990) is an actor, actress and film actor, among other activities, of American nationality. The actor was born Stephanie Kay Panabaker in Orange.
Kay Panabaker was educated at Glendale Community College and University of California, Los Angeles. The actor lived in Los Angeles. Languages used include English.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 26 September 2026
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Documentary evidence
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Authority files
wikidata · Q236846 · wikipedia · Kay Panabaker
In this article
Biography
Biography
Kay Panabaker studied at University of California, Los Angeles and Glendale Community College. The recorded working language is English. Residence is recorded at Los Angeles. Distinctions recorded are Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a TV Series - Leading Young Actress.

Kay Panabaker at the 79th Annual Academy Awards Children Uniting Nations/Billboard afterparty.
John B. Mueller · John Mueller · John Mueller, via email, to Nicholas Moreau. Created for the Wikimedia Foundation.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Kay Panabaker • Birth Name — Stephanie Kay Panabaker • Born — 2 May 1990 • Birthplace — Orange, Texas, U.S. • Occupation — Actress • Years Active — 2000–2012 • Alma Mater — Glendale Community College University of California, Los Angeles • Relatives — Danielle Panabaker (sister)
Early life
Early life
Stephanie Kay Panabaker was born on May 2, 1990, in Orange County, Texas, to Donna (née Mayock) and Harold Panabaker, III. As children, she and her older sister, Danielle Panabaker, started acting at various community theatres in Chicago, Philadelphia, and Atlanta. Their family relocated to Los Angeles so the sisters could further their acting careers. Panabaker graduated from high school, in 2003, at 13 years old and was valedictorian. She graduated from Glendale Community College with an associate degree when she was 15 and from University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a Bachelor of Arts in history when she was 17.
Career
Career
Panabaker began her film and TV career in the early 2000s, with guest roles in popular shows like 7th Heaven, ER, and Angel, and small parts in theatrical releases like Monsters, Inc. and Dead Heat. As a teenager, Panabaker and her sister found regular work as actors on the Disney Channel. In 2004, she appeared as Debbie Berwick, a friendly cyborg, on Phil of the Future. Her character was written out of the show after the first season. After that, she went onto star in two Disney Channel original films, Life is Ruff (2005) and Read It and Weep (2006), the latter in which she acted opposite Danielle. In 2006, Panabaker appeared in the Disney Channel Games, on the same team as Zac Efron, Anneliese van der Pol, Moises Arias, Dylan Sprouse, and Shin Koyamada. Her final appearance on the Disney Channel came in 2007, with a guest appearance as Amber on The Suite Life of Zack & Cody. From 2004 to 2005, Panabaker starred as Nikki Westerly, a teen girl who moves to the fictional Californian town of Playa Linda to live with her aunt, portrayed by Lori Loughlin, after the death of her parents, on the WB drama Summerland. Panabaker acted alongside fellow teen idols Zac Efron, who played her love interest, and Jesse McCartney, who played her brother. The series ran for two seasons. In a 2016 interview with Naperville Magazine, Panabaker said working on the show wasn't a good experience, and that producers asked her to lose weight, despite her not even weighing 100 lbs at the time. Panabaker remained in Los Angeles and continued to act for several years after the conclusion of Summerland, but said her passion for acting never returned. After Summerland, she continued to make one-time appearances in popular TV shows like Grey's Anatomy, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and Ghost Whisperer, and returned to theatrical films, starring in Fame, the 1980 teen musical drama of the same name, in 2009, and in Little Birds, which was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, in 2011. In 2010, Panabaker joined the main cast of the sci-fi drama series No Ordinary Family, playing Daphne, a 16-year-old who becomes telepathic after surviving a plane crash. While the show's early episodes were positively received by audiences and critics, later episodes, which saw Daphne and her family take on more traditional action hero roles and focused less on their family dynamic, weren't as well-received and ABC decided not to renew the show for a second season. Her final acting role was as Rosa in Beverly Hills Chihuahua 3: Viva la Fiesta! (2012).
Personal life
Personal life
Since 2016, Panabaker has been a zookeeper for Disney's Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World in Bay Lake, Florida.
Television
Television
• Year — Title — Role — Notes • 2002 — The Jamie Kennedy Experiment — Kelly — 2 episodes • Port Charles — Sara — 1 episode • ER — Melissa Rue — Episode: "The Letter" • 7th Heaven — Alice Brand — Episode: "Regarding Eric" • 2002–2003 — Angel — Mesektet (The Girl) — 2 episodes • 2003 — The Division — Susie Jenkins — Episode: "Cold Comfort" • The Brothers García — Carrie Bauer — Episode: "Moving On Up" • 2004–2005 — Summerland — Nikki Westerly — Main role • Phil of the Future — Debbie Berwick — 13 episodes • 2005 — Mom at Sixteen — Young Macy (uncredited) — Television film • Medium — Elisha — Episode: "Penny for Your Thoughts" • Life Is Ruff — Emily Watson — Disney Channel original television film • 2006 — American Dragon: Jake Long — Cheerleader Lacey — Voice, episode: "Bring It On" • Disney Channel Games — Herself / Contestant — Part of Red Team • Read It and Weep — Jamie Bartlett — Television film • 2006–2011 — CSI: Crime Scene Investigation — Lindsey Willows — 6 episodes • 2007 — The Winner — Vivica — Episode: "Single Dates" • Two and a Half Men — Sophie — Episode: "Tucked, Taped and Gorgeous" • The Suite Life of Zack & Cody — Amber — Episode: "First Day of High School" • Custody — Amanda Gordon — Television film • Weeds — Amelia — Episode: "He Taught Me How to Drive By" • Boston Legal — Abby Holt — Episode: "The Chicken and the Leg" • Ghost Whisperer — Marlo Sinclair — Episode: "Bad Blood" • 2008 — Grey's Anatomy — Emma Anderson — Episode: "All by Myself" • 2009 — Happy Campers — Dylan — Television film • A Marriage — Maddy Gabriel • Lie to Me — Emily Lightman (scenes deleted) — Episode: "Pilot" • Mental — Aysnley Skoff — Episode: "Manic at the Disco" • 2010 — Brothers & Sisters — Young Kitty Walker — Episode: "Time After Time" • Secrets in the Walls — Lizzie — Television film • 2010–2011 — No Ordinary Family — Daphne Nicole Powell — Main role • 2011 — Cyberbully — Samantha Caldone — Television film • Law & Order: Special Victims Unit — Vicki Harris — Episode: "Spiraling Down"; final TV role
Music video
Music video
• Year — Artist — Song — Notes • 2006 — Jordan Pruitt — "Outside Looking In" — From No Ordinary Girl and Read It and Weep (single to promote the movie)
Identity
Identity
Kay Panabaker is recorded with the occupation television actor. Recorded as a citizen of United States.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Los Angeles.
Residences
Orange.
Birth place
Film
• Year — Title — Role — Notes • 2001 — Monsters, Inc. — Garbage Monster — Voice role • 2002 — Temptation — Jamie Savini — Short film • Dead Heat — Samantha LaRoche • 2007 — Moondance Alexander — Moondance Alexander • Nancy Drew — George Fayne • A Modern Twain Story: The Prince and the Pauper — Elizabeth • 2009 — Fame — Jenny Garrison • 2010 — The Lake Effect — Celia • 2011 — Little Birds — Allison • 2012 — Beverly Hills Chihuahua 3: Viva la Fiesta! — Rosa — Voice role and final film role
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Kay Panabaker”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q236846: Kay Panabaker
General reference · Wikidata
Awards and honors
Panabaker previously held a Seat on the National Board of the Coalition for Quality Children's Media. As of 2020 this was no longer the case. • Year — Association — Category — Nominated work — Result — Ref. Reference • 2003 — Young Artist Awards — Best Performance in a TV Drama Series – Guest Starring Young Actress — ER (episode: "The Letter") — rowspan=3 • 2004 — Best Performance in a Commercial — Youth Anti-Smoking PSA • 2005 — Best Performance in a Television Series – Recurring Young Actress — Phil of the Future • Best Performance in a TV Series (Comedy or Drama) – Leading Young Actress — Summerland — rowspan=2 • 2007 — Temecula Valley International Film Festival — Rising Star Award • 2008 — Young Artist Awards — Best Performance in a Feature Film – Leading Young Actress — Moondance Alexander — rowspan=2 • Best Performance in a Feature Film – Young Ensemble Cast — Nancy Drew (shared with rest of cast)
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Kay Panabaker | TV Guide. TVGuide.com.
- 2.Kay Panabaker. www.facebook.com.
- 3.TV Guide. Kay Panabaker. Biography.
- 4.Nathan Southern. Kay Panabaker. The New York Times.
- 5.Kay Panabaker. Hollywood.com.
- 6.Rice, Lynette. Breaking: ABC picks up 'No Ordinary Family' starring Michael Chikilis. Entertainment Weekly. May 12, 2010.
- 7.TV Guide. Kay Panabaker. Credits.
- 8.Adamson, Sarah Knight. Naperville magazine. Naperville Magazine.
- 9.Kay Panabaker. The New York Times.
- 10.TV.com. Kay Panabaker: Biography.
- 11.Cotter, Padraig. No Ordinary Family Season 2: Why It Didn't Happen. ScreenRant. 2019-10-26.
- 12.Staff, A. O. L. Remember Kay Panabaker from Disney Channel's 'Read it and Weep'? You'll never guess what she's up to now. www.aol.com. 2016-07-15.
- 13.Disney Channel Stars Then and Now - Page 2. E! Online.
- 14.Waslaski, Casey. Remember Kay Panabaker from Disney Channel's 'Read it and Weep'? You'll never guess what she's up to now. AOL. June 2, 2016.
- 15.Southern, Nathan. Kay Panabaker. AllMovie.
- 16.KidsFirst.org. CQCM Board and Staff. National Board.
- 17.Young Artist Awards Foundation. Twenty-Fourth Annual Young Artist Awards.
- 18.Young Artist Foundation. 25th Young Artist Awards.
- 19.Young Artist Foundation. 26th Young Artist Awards.
- 20.Ryan, Helen. Better with Age – Temecula Valley International Film and Music Festival Grows Up. LAsThePlace.
- 21.29th Young Artist Awards.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witnessauthority record
General reference
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
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