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Anna Cathcart Celebrates the Richness of Having Multiple Cultural Backgrounds

"You get to have multiple parts of yourself. You're not half, and you're not incomplete, but that's what makes you whole."

Anna Cathcart stars in the new To All the Boys I've Loved Before spinoff called XO, Kitty. In the show, everyone’s favorite matchmaker Kitty Song Covey enrolls at the Korean Independent School of Seoul (KISS) and undergoes a transformative journey, where she discovers the complexities of deeply involved emotional relationships.

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To celebrate the release of the show, we attended Netflix’s XO, Kitty premiere and spoke with the cast about the show and their individual journeys.

Sang Heon Lee, Minyeong Choi, Gia Kim, Anna Cathcart, Jocelyn Shelfo, Regan Aliyah, Anthony Keyvan, and Peter Thurnwald attend Netflix's XO, Kitty Los Angeles Premiere at Netflix Tudum Theater on May 11, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.

Hello Kitty, the queen herself, even made a special appearance!

Hello Kitty arrives at the Los Angeles Special Screening Of Netflix's "XO, Kitty" at TUDUM Theater on May 11, 2023 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Steve Granitz/FilmMagic)

We're OBSESSED with this XO, Kitty x Hello Kitty collab!

In our interview with Anna, she discussed how she felt growing up mixed race in Canada.

Anna Cathcart, Janna Macatangay, and Rajen Budiyan standing in front of pink XO,  Kitty background and carpet.

"Growing up, I was always very proud of my mixed race. I was really lucky that I grew up in Vancouver where there's a lot of mixed kids and there's a lot of Asian population as well, so I felt like I could celebrate that."

Anna Cathcart arrives at the Los Angeles Special Screening Of Netflix's "XO, Kitty" at TUDUM Theater on May 11, 2023 in Hollywood, California.

"Every time I saw a mixed kid onscreen, it was really exciting because those little things of having one parent who's part of the culture, one parent who's part of a different culture, and those specifics was so exciting to see that other people are like that, too, and that me and my 'halfie' friends can all be like 'Hey! We do that!'"

Anna Cathcart attends Gold House's 2nd annual Gold Gala at The Music Center on May 06, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.

"I was very lucky to have that experience, and I know that lots of people don't grow up feeling like that, so I hope more people can, and I hope people watching this show can now feel represented as well."

Screenshots from "XO, Kitty"

"Being mixed race, sometimes it can feel like — and I know lots of other halfies have said or told me this — it's half of one or half of another and you're not enough of this or that, but sometimes, I feel like it can be a superpower."

Tabitha Yuen, Anna Cathcart, Anthony Keyvan, and Gia Kim speak onstage during "XO, Kitty" Netflix x Gold House "Gold Light" Series Screening & Fireside Chat at CGV Cinemas Movie Theater on May 09, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.

"You get to have multiple parts of yourself. You're not half, and you're not incomplete, but that's what makes you whole. You have so many different, beautiful parts that you get to explore."

Sang Heon Lee, Minyeong Choi, Anna Cathcart, Gia Kim, and Anthony Keyvan attend Netflix's XO, Kitty Los Angeles Premiere at Netflix Tudum Theater on May 11, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.

"You get exposed to so many different traditions and cultures, and I always thought of that as an amazing thing of expanding your horizons."

Anna Cathcart attends the Los Angeles Special Screening of Netflix's "XO, Kitty" at the Tudum Theater on May 11, 2023 in Hollywood, California.

XO, Kitty premieres on Netflix starting Thursday, May 18th.

The poster for "XO, Kitty"

Check out more API-centered content by exploring how BuzzFeed is celebrating Asian Pacific American Heritage Month! Of course, the content doesn't end after May. Follow BuzzFeed’s A*Pop on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube to keep up with our latest API content year-round.

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Watch more of our XO, Kitty interviews on BuzzFeed A*Pop's TikTok.