Kami Cotler is most famous for playing young Elizabeth on the American drama television program “The Waltons”. Earl Hammer was the creator of the program, having written the book “Spencer’s Mountain” on which the show was based. Apart from being an American actress, Kami Cotler is also an avid educator. She has a degree in social sciences from the University of California, Berkeley.
Early life
Born on June 17, 1965 in Long Beach, California, Kami Ann Cotler performed as Elizabeth Walton on the 1970s show “The Waltons” at the age of six.
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Her Elizabeth was the youngest child of a family in Virginia during the Great Depression and World War II. Cotler was a mainstay of the show until she was sixteen years old – the show ended in 1981. After her long stint in “The Waltons”, Kami tried a few auditions, where she received discouraging and mean looks. She didn’t stay long in Hollywood where she pursued her passion for teaching and education.
Television and film career
The 1971 movie “The Homecoming: A Christmas Story” was the inspiration for the television show “The Waltons” from 1972 to 1981.
Cami Cotler was cast as the youngest of the brood of children in a Virginia family. Her red hair for the role of Elizabeth became part of her signature look. Kami played Wendy Craddock on the TV show “The Heist,” before landing her longest-running role on “The Waltons,” which aired for nine seasons.
“The Waltons” was set in a fictional community area in the mountains of Virginia. The setting’s real-life counterpart was the Schuyler community in Nelson County, Virginia, where Earl Hammer grew up.
Elizabeth, the character of Kami, tended to speak her mind and be free-spirited. Later seasons showed Elizabeth sharing with her eldest brother John-Boy’s fascination with reading and love of writing. She gets engaged to Drew, played by Tony Becker, in the latest sequel. Kami went on to do other TV shows, such as “Me and the Chimp”, a thirteen-episode (one-season) American comedy show created by Garry Marshall and Thomas Miller. She starred as herself in 1979 in “Family Feud”, during the episode of “Duke of Hazzards vs. The Waltons”.
The period from 1980 to 2004 was dedicated to playing Elizabeth in a series of six television sequels to the original “The Waltons”. The show has won many awards. During its first season, the show received a Peabody Award and in 1973 won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series. “The Waltons” was ranked number 34 by TV Guide on its list of 60 Greatest Series of All Time.
Career in education and teaching
Kami Cotler’s heart is in teaching and education.
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She chose to spend more time pursuing her passion for education, reducing her acting pursuits for several years as she completed her studies. She was assigned to the Blue Ridge Mountains, Virginia, in the 1990s as a rural school teacher and returned to California in 2001 at 9e High School Environmental Charter Degree. In 2004, Kami was co-principal of the Ocean Charter School, after which she founded her own education consultancy in 2007.
In Los Angeles County, California, she was the founder of the Environmental Charter Middle School and served as a board member of the American Montessori Society.
Married to Kim Howard
Kami Cotler is married to Kim Howard. Little is known about their marriage as Kami has stayed far from the limelight since her last uncredited appearance in the television movie “Christmas on Honeysuckle Lane” which was released in 2018.
She has two children, Callan Freya and Cotton, with her husband Kim. From running her own travel company to running a café in San Francisco, Kami has kept private with her family life and prefers to keep things low-key.
Net worth and salary
Kami Cotler has a net worth estimated to be over $300,000, built from her acting career, teaching, her own boutique travel company and a cafe in San Francisco.
Physical characteristics and style
Kami Cotler still wears her signature red hair from her days on “The Waltons” television series. Her eyes have a brown tint and are bright and smiling. She has many freckles on her face. She is of medium build and has a very light complexion. Her manner of dress and style was relaxed at first and later became less casual and more formal. She wears her hair down or has it styled in a bun.
