**Katharine Ross** (Hollywood, California, January 29, 1940) is an American actress, a film icon of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Her film career is inextricably linked to roles of enigmatic and highly charming women.

Her most celebrated role is that of Elaine Robinson in *The Graduate* (1967), which earned her an Academy Award nomination and a Golden Globe. She then consolidated her fame by portraying Etta Place in *Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid* (1969). Other significant films include *Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here* (1969) and *The Stepford Wives* (1975). Ross distinguished herself by embodying intelligent female characters, often reserved but possessing a quiet strength and resilience, frequently serving as an elegant counterpoint to the male protagonists.