Kathryn Joosten is an American actress.

Kathryn Joosten started her career in acting when she joined a community theater in 1982.

In 1992, Joosten was hired as a street performer working for Disney World in Orlando, Florida, USA. In 1995, she moved to Hollywood. She appeared in several television series such as Roseanne, Home Improvement, Picket Fences, Murphy Brown, ER, Seinfeld, Fraser, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dharma & Greg, among others.

In 1999, she portrayed the role of Mrs. Landingham, personal secretary to President Josiah Bartlet in The West Wing.

Since 2001, she appeared in such shows as Scrubs, My Name is Earl, Spin City, The X-Files, Judging Amy, Monk,Charmed, Will & Grace, Malcolm in the Middle, Grey's Anatomy, The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, Reba, So Little Time, among others.

In 2005,  she appeared in the film Wedding Crashers. Meanwhile, she had a recurring role on Desperate Housewives as Karen McCluskey. She won two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series in 2005 and 2008.

Kathryn Rausch was born on December 20, 1939 in Chicago, Illinois. Prior to her acting career, she is a psychiatric nurse and got divorced from her husband, a psychiatrist. She raised their two sons.

In 2012, she died of lung cancer after battling with the disease for eleven years.