*If you need something about me for a wall display or project, scroll down until you find Biography and cut & paste that. It's more formal and will read better.

Early Years

I was born in Liverpool and spent my first years living in Anfield, by the football ground. On Saturdays, I would hear the roar of the crowd whenever a goal was scored.

It was a very small terraced house, with a tiny back yard and an alleyway beyond which we called 'the jigger.' This is where I would play with my brother, who was four years older than me. 

There were lots of other kids, and we could always find something to do, even if it was just running from one side of the road to the other, with someone in the middle to catch us. There were very few cars when I was growing up, so this was a safe game to play. It would be impossible now!

I had a tiny bedroom at the front of the house, and that was where I started to read. And this book - Susan's Secret Garden - is one I have kept, from all those years ago. It was presented to me when I was six, for doing good work at Sunday school. I know why I kept it. It's a story about a little girl who moves with her family to a much bigger house with a beautiful garden. She also has a cat, and I longed for a cat but wasn't allowed one. But when I was seven, my family  moved to a house with a garden - and I got a cat! So the book became incredibly special to me. I read it, saw another world, wished my life could be like that - and my dream came true.  That seemed like magic to little me.

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School Days

I was always quite happy at school. I was good at my lessons and loved learning. That always helps.

I loved writing, and did it for pleasure: letters to pen friends, poems, a diary, movie reviews... If you want to be a writer when you grow up, you will probably be doing this already! And you will probably be a passionate reader too. 

The other thing I loved doing was performing. I always wanted to get a good role in the school play. I don't think I was a show off... Other people might remember that differently, of course! But I honestly think I just loved doing it. It made me feel very strong. It still makes me feel that way.

At primary school though, I seldom got the part I wanted. This was because (1) I was a really good reader and (2) I had a loud, clear voice. This is a fatal combination, because you always get cast as the Narrator. I am sure some of you are having the same problem now! And yes, the Narrator is an important job, and not everyone can do it, but everyone else gets a better costume. I always longed to be an angel :-)

University & Beyond

After school, I studied Drama at the University of Hull. We looked at all kinds of things: the history of theatre; the work of famous playwrights, like Shakespeare, Ibsen and Chekov; different approaches to acting and directing: Stanislavsky, Grotowski, Brecht;  stage management, set construction, sound and lighting, costume; acting and mask work; film making - and much more!

After Hull I moved to London, with a head full of dreams about being an actress! And I did do some acting - in fringe theatre and later on tv, in things like Chucklevision and Casualty. But it was a hard, disappointing way of life - for me, at least. At university it had been so easy to put on a show... We had a theatre, a costume department, people to help build a set, endless rehearsal rooms and loads of friends who wanted to be involved. And it was all FREE! But I soon found the real world wasn't like that. Dreams were not enough! I seemed to spend all my time going to auditions and then waiting for the phone to ring. I felt I was always waiting for someone else's decision... I wasn't in control of my life.

So I left London after a few years, moved back up north and became a professional singer. That was much more fun! I was working several nights a week in cabaret, and writing and recording my own songs for the rest of the time. And one of those songs was really good. My musical partner and I won a major songwriting competition with it, and we ended up flying off to live in New York for a while. We thought we'd MADE IT!

But it didn't last... We returned to England and I moved back into theatre, working with Pentabus Theatre Company. And then, one day, I discovered storytelling...

Biography: Cat Weatherill

Cat is a storyteller, author and poet. She was born in Liverpool. Now she lives near Stratford Upon Avon, in a tiny black and white cottage - just like William Shakespeare!

Cat studied Drama at university and then became an actress, appearing on tv in programmes like Chucklevision and Casualty. Then she spent a few years as a professional singer. In 1999, she discovered storytelling and now she travels all over the world, telling tales for adults as well as children. She has performed in Egypt, India, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Australia, South Korea, China, Russia and across Europe.

Cat’s first novel was Barkbelly. This was followed by Snowbone  and then Wild Magic. More have followed, including two picture books for little ones. Cat’s books have been translated into eleven languages and Wild Magic is also a BBC audiobook, read by Cat herself.

Her latest book for juniors is Dream Adventures - a non-fiction book about Ancient Egypt, the Amazon Rainforest, India, China and other places Cat has visited on her travels. 
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Three things you won’t know about Cat:

1 She is allergic to cats and gold.
2 She believes in ghosts but has never seen one.
3 She once had lunch with Darth Vader.