Katie Gatling

*"You know, it's not easy being a concerned citizen." - Katherine Olivia Gatling*

## Katie Gatling

### Aliases

Kate
Liebling

Liebchen

Katherine

### Relatives

Governor Gatling (Father)
Olivia Barnett (Mother)-Deceased

Libby Gatling (Aunt)

Jack Gatling (Uncle)

Jessica Tate (Cousin)

Laura (Cousin)

Gibson Gatling (Grandfather)

## Appearances

### Debut

Change

**Katherine 'Katie' Olivia Gatling** (played by Missy Gold) is the daughter of Governor Gatling and is one of the main characters on the ABC sitcom, *Benson*.

## About Katie

### Childhood

Katherine Olivia Gatling was born in 1970 to Eugene Gatling and Olivia Barnett-Gatling, surrounded by country life in the Gatling Lumber Mill. Katie would remain in the lumber mill with her parents until her father was elected Governor of the state in 1979. Shortly before the family relocated into the state's Governor's Mansion however, her mother would pass away after being eaten by a pack of horses at a country club costume party.

In the mansion, Katie would meet Ms. Kraus, the mansion's head housekeeper, who would act as a long time mother figure towards her.

### Transition Into the Mansion

While Katie was a very bright girl, she wasn't always the best student; sometimes acting in deceit in order to get attention from her busy father. Often times, when she couldn't see her dad, Benson, the head of the household, would spend time with her, eventually becoming a trusted guardian.

Her father's unfamiliarity of politics would cause Katie to be teased in school with her father being the butt of the jokes, to much of her dismay. During his first year in office, Katie would be responsible for the leakage of a deprecating statement made by Gene towards a senator; stating that she wanted people to see his sense of humor. The incident resulted in an early public scandal for the Gatling administration.

In 1981, her father sent her to Breckenridge, a boarding school, as a suggestion of her aunt Libby in order to make up for the lack of time he was able to spend with her. Gene, however, quickly regretted the decision, and got her back later that night. Katie would also participate in arts; playing the Cello in orchestra, and partaking in theatre class in elementary school.

In 1982, Katie Gatling would make an appearance on the local news with her father, speaking out against a proposed budget cut by the state legislature that would result in closings of local libraries on Saturdays. Her appearance would spawn multiple letters from citizens sent to the legislature in disapproval of the proposed cut; resulting in the cut being reversed.

### Teen Years

Katie would attend Capital City High School. Pursuing an interest in writing, she took charge of the school newspaper; often citing her sources from within the Governor's Mansion.

In 1983, Katie incidentally become the cause of another public political dilemma when she reported that the state budget director, Benson DuBois, referred to the Governor's chief of staff, Clayton Endicott, as the American outlaw, *Jesse James* in her school newspaper.

The reported incident would reach various public political forums and local newspapers, causing a lawsuit from Endicott against DuBois for defamation. DuBois would be sentenced to pay a measly $1.00 for the alleged damage, with Katie issuing an apology to the two colleagues during the court hearing.

In 1985, Katie became a page running errands at the state Capital, prior to supporting her father as a candidate for his independent third term run for Governor.

## Relationships

### Eugene Gatling

As Gene's daughter Katie and and Gene have a loving father-daughter relationship. Due to having to be two parents, as well as a governor, Gene often struggled with finding time to spend with Katie, leaving her confused and disappointed. Gene tried his best to explain his time-to-time absences being involved in politics, though she didn't always understand as a young child.

As she got older, Gene, in a typical fatherly fashion, didn't want to see her grow up, leaving the two at odds against one another.

### Benson

Katie was fond of Benson from when she first met him. When Katie was younger, Benson generally gave advice to Katie and assisted in steering her into the right direction when it came to being honest and open to her father. When she wasn't getting into trouble, the two were oftentimes playing games or trading jokes with one another.

As Katie grows up, their relationship is shown less and less, implying that she's become more independent. However, on the occasion that Katie faces an inconvenience, Benson is still there to offer pointers to assist her.

### Ms. Kraus

Kraus and Katie had a mother-daughter relationship. Because Katie's biological mother had passed, Kraus naturally took Katie under her wing and helped raise her when the Governor was busy. Katie would often cook with Kraus and the two spent a lot of time with each other in and outside the kitchen.

As Katie got older, Kraus kept a close friendship with each other, assisting her whenever she was in need.

### Others

Around the mansion, other people on the Governor's staff also interacted with Katie. Marcy Hill, Gene's executive secretary, also played a mother figure of sorts to Katie, as the two would discuss things between one another that they wouldn't share with anyone else. Later on, Benson's secretary, Denise Stevens, would play a similar role to Katie as well; also taking a liking to Katie. The Governor's executive press secretary, Pete Downey, would be the subject of a short romantic infatuation of Katie's.

The chief of staff at the mansion however, Clayton Endicott, would typically be clueless around children, as most of them wouldn't take a liking to him.

## Trivia

* Katie was fond of popular music artists of the time such as KISS, The Who, The Police, and Michael Jackson.
* She was an avid viewer of the television shows, The Muppets, and Magnum P.I. She also watched Gilligan's Island in her younger years.
* Katie used to have a poster of actor, John Travolta.
* According to the episode Unlisted Love, Katie, at one point, had a crush on singer, Rick Springfield.
* Katie would make a guest appearance as a ghost in a George Kennedy film shot at her home in the Governor's Mansion.
* It is shown on more than one occasion, that Katie doesn't like oatmeal.
* She once had a squirrel named Corky that she buried in a shoebox in the front of the mansion.

## Quotes

* "I don't have a lot of experience with anything. I'm only 10."
* "You Know, Its not easy being a concerned citizen."
* "That's the trouble with being desperate. You go with the first crazy idea that comes along."
* "I can't handle a mid-life crisis, I'm still adjusting to high school."
* "The way I see it, you got to go for it while you can."
* "It's funny how old people are treated like children sometimes. They're always being told what's good for them instead being asked."

## Gallery

Katie in "Home for Christmas" 1Katie in "Home for Christmas" 2Katie in "Home for Christmas" 3Katie in "Solid Gold"