Camelia Kath: The Untold Story of Kiefer Sutherland’s First Wife, Career & Family
camelia kath
Camelia Kath is an American actress and writer whose name is closely associated with two very different chapters of entertainment history. She was the wife of the late Chicago guitarist Terry Kath, later became Kiefer Sutherland’s first wife, and built a modest acting and television career. Her screen credits include Terror on Tour, Fake-Out, Buchanan High, Deadline and The Killing Time, while later work included writing and behind-the-scenes television credits.
For many readers, however, Kath remains best known because of her connection to the Sutherland family. She married Kiefer Sutherland in the late 1980s, had a daughter with him, Sarah Sutherland, and became stepmother to her daughter Michelle from her earlier marriage to Terry Kath. Decades later, Camelia also appeared in The Terry Kath Experience, a documentary centred on Michelle’s search to understand her late father’s life and legacy.
Quick Bio
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Camelia Kath |
| Known For | Actress, writer, Kiefer Sutherland’s first wife |
| Born | September 22, 1953, according to IMDb |
| Birthplace | Puerto Rico, according to IMDb |
| Profession | Actress and writer |
| Known Screen Work | Terror on Tour, Fake-Out, The Killing Time |
| Former Spouse | Kiefer Sutherland |
| Other Notable Marriage | Terry Kath; later Jeff Lynne |
| Children | Michelle Kath Sinclair and Sarah Sutherland |
| Years Active | Primarily from the late 1970s/1980s onward |
Public databases do not agree on every biographical detail about Kath. IMDb lists September 22, 1953, and Puerto Rico as her birth date and birthplace, while other entertainment databases list different dates. For that reason, her better-documented career and family details are more useful than treating conflicting database entries as settled fact.
Who Is Camelia Kath?
Camelia Kath is an actress and writer who worked in film and television, particularly during the 1980s. Her professional credits are relatively small compared with those of her former husband Kiefer Sutherland. Still, they show she was involved in entertainment in her own right rather than becoming known simply through marriage.
Her acting credits include the horror film Terror on Tour (1980), Fake-Out (1982), and the television production Buchanan High (1984). She later appeared in the short film Deadline and played Laura Winslow in the 1987 thriller The Killing Time.
Kath’s career also moved beyond acting. IMDb credits her as a story contributor on an episode of The Nanny in 1999, using the name Camelia Lynne. That later work helps explain why describing her simply as “Kiefer Sutherland’s first wife” misses part of her professional story.
Camelia Kath’s Early Life and Family Background
Reliable public information about Kath’s childhood, education and parents is limited. Unlike many Hollywood celebrities, she has not maintained a large public-facing biographical profile detailing every stage of her early life.
The most consistently reported biographical record identifies her as Puerto Rican-born. However, because public databases differ on her exact birth information, claims about her age or childhood should be treated cautiously unless supported by a primary source.
Her place in the Kath family story is much better documented. Before marrying Kiefer Sutherland, Camelia married musician Terry Kath, a founding member and guitarist of the rock band Chicago. Terry Kath died in 1978, leaving behind their young daughter, Michelle. Michelle later became Michelle Kath Sinclair.
That history resurfaced decades later when Michelle made The Terry Kath Experience, a documentary exploring her father’s life and her memories of growing up without him.
Camelia Kath’s Acting Career
Kath’s acting career was active mainly during the early and mid-1980s. Her first listed screen work came with Terror on Tour, a 1980 horror film in which she appeared under variations of her name. IMDb also lists her in Fake-Out, where she was credited as “Voice #4.”
Her television work included an appearance in Buchanan High, followed by the short film Deadline. Her most notable screen credit is arguably The Killing Time, a 1987 thriller directed by Rick King. Kath played Laura Winslow in the film, which also featured Kiefer Sutherland alongside Beau Bridges, Joe Don Baker, Wayne Rogers and Michael Madsen.
The casting is an interesting footnote in Kath’s biography because The Killing Time brought her professional life and her relationship with Sutherland into the same film world. It was not, however, the beginning of a major mainstream acting career. Her screenography remained comparatively limited.
Later records show her involvement in television writing and production-related work. IMDb lists her as a story contributor on The Nanny in 1999, demonstrating that her entertainment career continued beyond her early acting appearances.
Camelia Kath and Kiefer Sutherland’s Marriage
Camelia Kath married Kiefer Sutherland in 1987. At the time, Sutherland was a young actor establishing himself in Hollywood, while Kath was older and had already married and had children.
Contemporary reporting confirms that the couple decided to divorce after roughly three years of marriage. The Los Angeles Times reported in February 1990 that they had announced their decision to file for divorce and planned to share custody of their children.
The marriage produced one biological child, Sarah Jude Sutherland, who was born in 1988. Sarah later followed her parents into entertainment and became an actress, best known for playing Catherine Meyer on HBO’s Veep.
The marriage also made Kiefer Michelle’s stepfather and Camelia her daughter from her marriage to Terry Kath. In later interviews, Kiefer has spoken about becoming a father and the responsibility that came with raising children so young. He has also described maintaining a close relationship with Michelle after his marriage to Camelia ended.
That part of the story is important because the family connection did not simply disappear with the divorce. Kiefer later supported Michelle’s documentary about her biological father, showing that the family relationship continued in a different form.
Family: Sarah Sutherland and Michelle Kath Sinclair
Camelia Kath has two particularly significant family connections within the entertainment world: Sarah Sutherland, her daughter with Kiefer Sutherland, and Michelle Kath Sinclair, her daughter with Terry Kath.
Sarah was born in Los Angeles in 1988 and pursued acting. She studied at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and later established herself professionally, including her role as Catherine Meyer in Veep.
Michelle’s story is different. She was only a young child when her father, Terry Kath, died in 1978. As an adult, she became the driving force behind The Terry Kath Experience, a documentary about discovering more about the father she had lost so early in life. Camelia participated in the documentary, alongside musicians and people who knew Terry Kath.
The documentary premiered at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival, where Camelia and Michelle appeared together. Getty Images’ archival coverage also documents their appearances at the festival and other project-related events.
For Camelia, the documentary represented one of the clearest public appearances connected to her family’s history in decades.
Camelia Kath and Terry Kath’s Legacy
Camelia’s first marriage remains significant because Terry Kath is remembered as one of Chicago’s founding members and an influential rock guitarist.
Terry’s death in 1978 left Michelle without her father at a very young age. The Terry Kath Experience therefore became more than a conventional music documentary. Michelle used the film to reconstruct the story of a father she had only limited memories of, speaking with family members, Chicago bandmates and other musicians. Camelia was among those connected to the project.
The documentary also helped bring Camelia back into public view. Instead of appearing primarily in celebrity coverage as Kiefer Sutherland’s former wife, the documentary presented her as part of the family history surrounding Terry Kath and his daughter.
That distinction matters when looking at Camelia Kath’s life as a whole. Several entertainment families have shaped her public identity, but her documented work also includes acting and writing credits independent of those relationships.
Is Camelia Kath Married Now?
Public entertainment records show that Camelia Kath married musician Jeff Lynne in 2017. IMDb lists the marriage as beginning on September 19, 2017, and identifies her professional name as Camelia Lynne in some credits.
Lynne is best known as the founder and principal creative force behind Electric Light Orchestra, commonly known as ELO. Kath has appeared publicly with him at music-industry events, including appearances documented by Getty Images in London and Los Angeles.
Because Kath has maintained a relatively private profile, detailed information about her present-day home life is limited. There is no strong reason to fill those gaps with speculation.
Camelia Kath’s Net Worth and Lifestyle
No reliably documented public financial statement establishes Camelia Kath’s exact net worth.
Various celebrity websites publish numerical estimates, but those figures are generally not supported by audited financial records, public tax filings or verified statements from Kath herself. They should therefore not be presented as fact.
Her career includes acting, writing and other entertainment work, while her family connections include Kiefer Sutherland, Terry Kath, Sarah Sutherland and Jeff Lynne. Those associations may make her financially interesting to celebrity websites, but they do not provide enough evidence to calculate her personal wealth.
The same caution applies to claims about her home, cars, investments or private spending. Unless a reliable source documents them directly, it’s better to leave those details out.
What Is Camelia Kath Doing Now?
Camelia Kath has largely maintained a lower public profile than the major stars associated with her life. One of the most visible later chapters of her public career was her involvement in The Terry Kath Experience, which brought her together with Michelle Kath Sinclair and members of Terry Kath’s musical circle.
Her marriage to Jeff Lynne has also occasionally placed her at public music-industry events. Getty Images records appearances with Lynne at events connected to his career, including the 2016 Nordoff Robbins O2 Silver Clef Awards and later music-industry gatherings.
Reliable evidence of a major new acting project or a current screen career is limited. Her recent public relevance is therefore better understood through her family history, documentary involvement and long-standing connections to two generations of music and film figures rather than through a new acting role.
Conclusion
Camelia Kath’s story is more layered than the familiar description of her as Kiefer Sutherland’s first wife. She has her own acting and writing credits, including Terror on Tour, Fake-Out and The Killing Time. At the same time, her family history connects her to Chicago guitarist Terry Kath, actor Kiefer Sutherland, actress Sarah Sutherland and musician Jeff Lynne.
Her marriage to Sutherland lasted only a few years, but it shaped an important part of her family story and introduced her to a relationship with his daughter, Sarah. Her connection to Terry Kath remained equally significant, particularly through Michelle’s documentary The Terry Kath Experience.
Today, Camelia Kath remains relatively private. The public record is strongest on her professional credits, marriages, and family connections, while many details of her private life remain undocumented.
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(FAQs)
Who is Camelia Kath?
Camelia Kath is an actress and writer known for film and television appearances, including Terror on Tour, Fake-Out and The Killing Time. She is also known for her marriages to Terry Kath and Kiefer Sutherland, and later to musician Jeff Lynne.
Was Camelia Kath Kiefer Sutherland’s first wife?
Yes. Camelia Kath was Kiefer Sutherland’s first wife. They married in 1987 and divorced in 1990. They had one daughter together, actress Sarah Sutherland.
Who is Camelia Kath’s daughter?
Camelia has two daughters connected to her two marriages: Michelle Kath Sinclair, from her marriage to Terry Kath, and Sarah Sutherland, from her marriage to Kiefer Sutherland. Michelle later directed The Terry Kath Experience, while Sarah became an actress known for Veep.
What movies did Camelia Kath appear in?
Her documented acting credits include Terror on Tour (1980), Fake-Out (1982), Buchanan High (1984), Deadline (1985) and The Killing Time (1987). She also received a story credit on The Nanny in 1999.
Is Camelia Kath married to Jeff Lynne?
Public entertainment records list Camelia Kath as married to Jeff Lynne, the musician associated with Electric Light Orchestra, since 2017.
What is Camelia Kath’s net worth?
Public financial records have not reliably established Camelia Kath’s exact net worth. Treat online celebrity estimates as speculative rather than confirmed figures.
