Hiiii, it’s Kiiim! We are just pleased as punch to have Kimberly Norris Guerrero on the show today. You Might Know Her From The Wilds, The Cherokee Word for Water, The Glorias, Son of the Morning Star, Seinfeld, Naturally Native, and the original Broadway production of August: Osage County. Kimberly was kind enough to indulge our questions about playing Martha’s mom Bernice on our current obsession, The Wilds, playing real life icon and activist Wilma Mankiller (twice!), and getting to imbue her character Johnna in August: Osage County with the varied stories of the real Native women in her life. All that plus, still being recognized as Jerry’s girlfriend Winona on Seinfeld, getting flown to New York for one line on The Sopranos, and her friendship with Hollywood icon Ernest Borgnine. This one was just a total joy. 

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Lesley Ann Warren’s episode of Shelley Duvall’s Faerie Tale Theatre: The Dancing Princesses co-starring Sachi Parker (Shirley MacLaine’s estranged daughter) and Zelda Rubinstein

Desperate Housewives set drama (Teri Hatcher, Nicolette Sheridan, etc)

Grey’s Anatomy set drama (Isaiah Washington, Katherine Heigl, etc)

Jennifer Love Hewitt’s The Client List

Plays Bernice, mother of Martha in new Amazon series, The Wilds

Jenna Clause and Erana James are both young indiginous actresses in the cast

Irene Bedard full YMKHF episode 

Tantoo Cardinal, Sheila Tousey, Wes Studi, Graham Greene

Got first job through Will Sampson (Chief from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest)

Son of the Morning Star (1991) she starred as Kate Big Head (Buffy Sainte-Marie narrated)

Hanay Geiiogamah was Kimberly’s mentor at UCLA 

Plays Winona, Jerry’s Native American girlfriend on Seinfeld’s “The Cigar Store Indian”

Georgina Lightning  

Michael Greyeyes on Rutherford Falls (Michael Shur Peacock sitcom)

Portrayed Wilma Mankiller in The Cherokee Word for Water (only time she’s been #1 on a shoot)

Did 1000+ performances of August Osage County in Chicago, New York, London, Sydney, San Diego

“Luck is when preparation meets opportunity” - Seneca (apparently)

Portrayed Wilma again in The Glorias (2020) directed by Julie Taymor

Naturally Native (1998) was the first movie fully financed by a Native American tribe 

Native Americans are classified as part of Department of the Health & Human Services

Tracy Letts’ father, Dennis Letts was cast as the father August Osage County 

Misty Upham played Johanna in the movie 

Misty was found dead in 2014 and is part of MMIW (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women) 

Killers of the Flower Moon (upcoming movie directed by Martin Scorcese)

The Dark Divide (2020); Dogman (2012) 

Plays a blackjack dealer in episode of The Sopranos episode “Sentimental Education” S5ep06 (directed by Peter Bogdanovich)

Steve Buscemi and Michael Imperioli were not racist 

2 credits with Ernest Borgnine: Frozen Stupid (2008) and Barn Red (2004) {Damian and Anne mentioned the Ethel Merman biography story in our Jessica Hecht episode 16}

Ernest Borgnine was in The Wild Bunch, Marty, The Poseidon Adventure, and was Jonathan Silverman’s doorman in The Single Guy 

Anne’s high school mascot is the Kewpie (Hickman High School)