Kathryn (Kay) Loder, grew up in Nebraska and Texas, the daughter of a drama professor and an elementary school principal. Her mother was Frances Loder, who taught theater at the University of Texas at Austen for many years. Her older brother was James Edwin Loder, a renowned theologian who taught at Princeton Theological Seminary. Loder discussed his younger sister in his book, "The Transforming Moment," saying that a religious experience at the age of 14 diverted her from an emotionally troubled childhood towards a career in the theater. Her distinctive voice and looks, as well as her operatic acting style, made her perfectly suited to play memorable female villains in exploitation pics such as "The Big Doll House" and "Foxy Brown." It is no small irony that the genre itself was passing around the time of her death in 1978.

Director Jack Hill claims to have had to fight American International Pictures to cast her as Katherine Wall in his 1974 Blaxpoitation classic, "Foxy Brown", a part he had written specifically for her. The studio did not want to pay the air fare to fly her from New York to the filming location in Los Angeles.Ms. Loder was involved in an unfortunate (for her) incident in 1967 which garnered national headlines. While playing the lead role in Shaw's "Antony and Cleopatra" for the Theater Atlanta Repertory Company, she fell and broke her hand. This necessitated her leaving the show, for which she was receiving excellent reviews. She was replaced with the legendary African American actress Diana Sands, who happened to be performing in another Atlanta show. This was believed to have been the first time an African American actress had played a "white" role before a Southern audience - and an integrated one at that. This incident garnered much national press, including a mention in Time Magazine. Sadly and ironically, Ms. Sands, like Ms. Loder, died young in her late 30s.According to Jack Hill, who directed Ms. Loder in "The Big Doll House," she had barely recovered from a life-threatening illness right before reporting to the set to play Lucian, the sadistic prison guard. Upon arriving in the Phillipines, where the film was being shot, she became very ill, and was taken to the hospital, where her illness mystified doctors. Her health deteriorated, and she slipped into a coma. This terrified the other cast members, who feared she might have contracted a tropical disease that they might catch. Eventually, the doctors realized that she had contracted diabetes, and began insulin therapy immediately. She quickly recovered and returned to work, although she looked quite emaciated. Sadly, however, the same disease would claim her life a mere eight years later.Ms. Loder got her start in films by winning a talent contest that was sponsored by the American Television Academy and a film studio. She used a monologue she had performed in a play, thereby securing a screen test and an appearance on the Emmy Awards telecast to perform the same monologue. This lead to her being cast in the 1970 comedy-horror flick, "Night of the Witches." Director Jack Hill was so impressed by her performance in this film that he cast her in two of his most notorious exploitation classics, "The Big Doll House" and "Foxy Brown".