Katrina Olivia Elias was born in Barranquilla, Colombia to parents of Lebanese, Spanish, and Chibcha descent, with the latter being an indigenous Native American people from the Northern Andes of Colombia. Her parents immigrated to Cleveland, Ohio when she was just a year old. Growing up, Katrina developed a passion for storytelling through modern dance and music-mixing, as well as set and costume design. She began acting during her teenage years, attending the University of Tampa and studying at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, where she earned an Associate of Arts degree in Fashion and Design.
Katrina continued her acting studies for the next decade, appearing in numerous stage plays, short films, TV guest-star roles, and indie feature films. This experience provided her with the foundation to write and produce her first short 16MM film, "Dreamkeeper," in New Orleans in 1997. She began writing full-length features, one of which was a finalist at the New York International Hispanic Film and MTV Film Festival in 2001.
In her continued writing efforts, Katrina wrote and sold "Bel & Ricky," a family situational comedy pilot, with options for three episodes in 2003. She is also the writer of the Imagen Foundation-nominated comedy of errors stage play, "Abuelo's Legacy," which starred Liz Torres and was produced by Nosotros, The Jude Shaw Theatre Company, the 5th Annual Hispanic Playwrights Festival of Fort Worth, and the Bilingual Foundation of the Arts.
Katrina's writing credits also include "Red Colombian Sky," a one-act stage-play, which was written in early 2004 and selected for production by the 6th Annual Hispanic Playwright's Festival of Fort Worth. The play was later adapted into a short 35MM film and renamed "Madam Marina," marking Katrina's directorial debut. The World Premiere of "Madam Marina" took place in the beautiful Victorian city of Port Townsend, Washington, along the Olympic Peninsula, in September 2005.
