Kathleen Cooke
14 min read ⭑
“I believe that the Bible holds the answers to our hearts’ desires and questions, and artists are key in communicating its truth and wisdom.”
Kathleen Cooke strives to always “keep her tennis shoes on and tied” for Jesus. That means she uses her skills as an actress, producer, speaker and writer every day to glorify God and inspire others to give him their all. She and her husband, Phil, created a production company, Cooke Media Group, and The Influence Lab to equip pastors and leaders to effectively use media to change the world for Christ. Seeing a gap in support for Christian women in Hollywood, Kathleen went on to found Influence Women, where global women artists can collaborate and effect cultural change.
Today, Kathleen is sharing why she wrote her latest devotional, Hope 4 Today, and the origin story of her calling to help people believe and engage in God’s Word. She also opens up about her deep love for the mountains, how the pressures of Hollywood impact her bent toward perfectionism and the top resources that have shaped her.
QUESTION #1: ACQUAINT
Food is always about more than food; it’s also about home and people and love. So how does a go-to meal at your favorite hometown restaurant reveal the true you behind your web bio?
Comfort food. It has taken on a whole new level this year after moving to Franklin, Tennessee, where I have lived for almost 30 years. In L.A., we had amazing places to eat with a wide variety of ethnic choices. I have worked and traveled in over 60 countries, and in L.A., I always had access to places serving authentic food from just about everywhere. The only exception may have been Mongolian food. In Mongolia, I ate sheep brains cooked in a sheep’s skull. I never found that in L.A.!
Growing up in Las Vegas, Nevada, I learned to cook as a child alongside my French father and was in charge of the family dinner by the age of 12. As a young bride, I once cooked a perfect Christmas dinner that I found in GQ magazine as a present for my first husband (of almost 49 years now). The ingredients cost over $300, and I pulled it off by getting everyone involved, including his father, whose only time in the kitchen was when he was forced to fix a bowl of cereal because no one was around to cook for him. Today, my husband says that his favorite meals are “Kathleen’s Creations,” when I open the refrigerator and pantry and make something with what I find.
I’m a creative soul, and food is a playground to me. Having traveled the world and sampled street food to gourmet meals has enhanced my creativity. It’s given me the freedom to experiment or try something off the beaten path, and the way it’s always done — something outside my comfort zone. Interesting food is most definitely a huge part of who I am.
Andrew Sterling; Unsplash
QUESTION #2: REVEAL
What “nonspiritual” activity have you found to be quite spiritual, after all? What quirky proclivity, out-of-the-way interest or unexpected pursuit refreshes your soul?
I love hiking, especially when I’m out in the woods and forests. I’m a bit of a tree nut. I notice trees whenever and wherever we travel. They are fascinating and unique.
My dad was recruited to be the first basketball coach for the newly founded city of Las Vegas, Nevada, in 1949. Bugsy Segal had built his first casino in 1947, and Vegas went from a “watering hole” in the desert to a city, which meant they had to build schools. My parents had grown up in Reno, Nevada, a desert city near the Sierra Nevada mountains, and they had spent a lot of time in those breathtaking mountains. Every summer, my parents closed up our house in Vegas to escape the heat and headed to Donner Lake, California, a small lake near Reno.
My dad took a job for the summer running a private beach area on the lake and serving as a lifeguard, and we had a cabin on the water, with a boat as our primary transportation.
Their love for the mountains left me with my endless love for all things outside in nature. I was given free rein to take off into the woods around our cabin, and to swim and water ski to my heart’s content.
It was the love and respect for nature that allowed me, at an early age, to taste the beauty of God’s creation. I knew there was a God and that he was good. He was the Creator. I could see the stars’ bright lights at night, hear the wind in the trees in the morning, smell the pines and taste the water from a fresh mountain stream. I lived with bears, deer, squirrels, chipmunks, snakes, spiders and ants — all God’s creatures great and small.
So whenever I can, I head for the mountains. Since moving to Tennessee, I have loved being near the Blue Ridge Mountains and their beauty, and I look forward to exploring them more.
QUESTION #3: CONFESS
Every superhero has a weakness; every human, too. We’re just good at faking it. But who are we kidding? We’re all broken and in this thing together. So what’s your kryptonite, and how do you confront its power?
Perfectionism is my weakness. It can paralyze me if I let it. I avoid things because I think I won’t be able to do them well, and I’ll embarrass myself and my family. So I often procrastinate. What I have found is that if I get out of my head, I can accomplish the task. So I have learned to force myself to begin, to push past my inner voice, and to lean into God’s assurance that I am “fearfully and wonderfully” made (see Ps. 139:14). Not the kind of fear you have when you’re afraid of spiders or flying, but the type of fear that means I am awesomely created by God to do more than I ever thought possible because he lives in me.
QUESTION #4: FIRE UP
Tell us about your toil. How are you investing your professional time right now? What’s your current obsession? And why should it be ours?
As a Screen Actors Guild (SAG) member, actress and producer, I have spent a lifetime living under the gun. Artists and creatives have to push themselves. They must be tenacious and unrelenting. You are only as good as and remembered by your last project, so getting the next project launched better come quickly. It’s a roller coaster of success and poverty, with challenges that seem endless.
I needed a like-minded faith community of support where I could keep learning, be inspired and be encouraged. I wanted to be around believers of Christ who understood the miraculous and walked in the impossible. But there wasn’t a group like that in Hollywood. So my husband began The Influence Lab, and I launched Influence Women, an initiative of the Lab to support creatives and artists working in media, entertainment, music, arts and leadership.
The focus of Influence Women is to do what I call the “C” words: Christ-focused words. We Connect women so they can Collaborate to Create and Change the Culture (what we see on our screens) for Christ. I produce a weekly “IN Journal,” webinars and the “Influence Women Podcast” with chapter groups in multiple U.S. cities and an Online Chapter group to serve women outside our present cities and internationally. I travel nationally and globally, speaking, teaching and inspiring creatives and artists to use their skills and talents to effectively tell stories and create artistic endeavors that change our culture toward a biblical worldview and foundation. I believe that the Bible holds the answers to our hearts’ desires and questions, and artists are key in communicating its truth and wisdom.
But I also know that the challenges of the creative artist are daunting. When you look at our most significant artists of all time, most of them lived in poverty and in a life of suffering. They felt alone and vulnerable to crippling criticism and the shame of being different — they were “black sheep.” Influence Women wants artists to know that God loves and sees them, and we are all his sheep.
QUESTION #5: BOOST
Whether we’re cashiers or CEOs, contractors or customer service reps, we all need God’s love flowing into us and back out into the world. How does the Holy Spirit invigorate your work? And how do you know it’s God when it happens?
I grew up in a Christian home, but it wasn’t perfect. I had to choose, as a young adult, whether to follow what my family believed about God or experience him for myself. It’s why knowing who the Holy Spirit is and how he works, side by side with God, was key to my understanding God’s truth and wisdom on a deeper spiritual level.
The Holy Spirit whispered to me about who Jesus was and how he had come to earth in an unexpected way — as a baby, in poverty and under the radar of what the world expected. The Holy Spirit is the One who assured me that Jesus was the Son of God who came to earth to die and save me from eternal damnation. I received the Holy Spirit’s presence in my life as a young adult with the manifestation of a spiritual language. This spiritual language came repeatedly to me as I trusted and obeyed the inward voice of God. As a mature believer in who God is and how he communicates to us on a deeper level, I had to surrender my will to something that didn’t make sense. I had to believe in the awe and wonder of walking at a spiritual level with God that wasn’t natural. It only made sense when I trusted in the supernatural.
The media and entertainment business is one of the most demanding industries in the world. It is one where trust is often tricky because it can bite you. You can face betrayal, even from “trusted friends.” Growing up in Las Vegas around gamblers, I learned at an early age not to trust people. I saw so many who were untrustworthy. God, however, has never let me down. Having the Holy Spirit infused into my soul has allowed me to trust in God and his promises when it didn’t make sense in the natural world. I have learned to trust in the supernatural. I encourage anyone reading this to embrace the Holy Spirit — the supernatural. Read your Bible and believe those miraculous stories. The Bible isn’t a book of fairy tales. It’s factual. Believe it.
QUESTION #6: inspire
Scripture and tradition beckon us into the rich and varied habits that open our hearts to the presence of God. So let us in. Which spiritual practice is working best for you in this season?
Bible reading isn’t negotiable in my daily life; it’s essential. In 2005, I was in London shooting a documentary on the life of William Wilberforce. He is the parliamentarian who is credited with abolishing slavery in England, and that would affect the abolition of slavery in the world. Unfortunately, even though slavery has been outlawed in the world, it still exists.
On the way to the British Library to film some documents for the film, London had what they have called “their 9/11.” Had we not been in a van that day with film equipment, we would have been on the tube (metro) that exploded in the Underground. We were just down the street when the second bomb exploded on the bus. Consequently, we never made it to the British Library that day.
However, we arranged with the library to open the next day, and the curator said to me, “I know you had a list you gave me that you wanted to film, but I also pulled this and thought you might like to film it, too.” She handed me Anne Boleyn’s Bible. The one she gave to the priest before they cut off her head. She had scratched her name on the side of the Bible. At that moment, the Holy Spirit whispered to me, “My people don’t respect my Word.”
That was the beginning of my passion to help people rekindle personal study and engagement with God through his Word. In 2018, I wrote a devotional called “Hope 4 Today: Stay Connected to God in a Distracted Culture.” It was based on research showing that reading the Bible four or more times a week dramatically changes your life in positive ways.
In fact, if you only read the Bible one to three times a week, you will make choices much the same as someone who knows nothing about the Bible or God. Bible reading is essential, and you must do it at least four times a week in a personal way. It will change your life and the choices you make.
QUESTION #7: FOCUS
Looking backward, considering the full sweep of your unique faith journey and all you encountered along the way, what top three resources stand out to you? What changed reality and changed your heart?
As I said, my personal engagement with God and the Bible is at the top of the list of things that have shaped my life. Whenever my busy schedule interrupts my Bible time, I feel it deeply. But it’s more than just the Bible. It’s where God speaks and teaches me about who he is and how to navigate my life. It’s where my prayers are answered, even if they aren’t answered the way I wanted. It’s where I find not just happiness but joy. The world can give you temporary happiness, but only God brings eternal joy.
The second place I have found rich support is through my husband and family. They have been a constant source of inspiration and encouragement throughout my life. They have taught me things I thought I knew and brought gifts of love, forgiveness and joy on multiple levels. My husband, especially, has been a gift of God to me, not just on a romantic level (which he has been so wonderfully) but from a spiritual one. We are not perfect human beings, but God has molded us into a single whole. It can be attained only when our hearts are first fixed on God and serving him. As we serve and elevate God, we have learned to serve and elevate each other. As we have learned to walk in a personal relationship with God that involves surrendering ourselves and our will and asking for forgiveness when we choose selfishly and fail, so too have we learned to do that for each other. Our relationship with God has also taught us how to parent and sustain our family relationships.
The third resource that has sustained me has been my friendships with men and women who share a faith in God as I do. I have also found resources in reading books and watching films about the life journeys of believers who share stories of maintaining a life devoted to God. Stories about teachings they have learned of what God has taught them and how they lived out their faith in obedience through suffering and life’s challenges. These relationships and stories, many forged through artistic endeavors and creative work, have made a dent in my life. Their faith journeys have been a source of learning and inspiration to me.
Certain things can be godsends, helping us survive, even thrive, in our fast-paced world. Does technology ever help you this way? Has an app ever boosted your spiritual growth? If so, how?
Technology has certainly affected my life, as has the ability to access many kinds of learning sources in today’s digital culture. The emergence of AI in recent years has made it much easier for me to navigate life in many ways. No one can deny that Google Maps and ChatGPT have been helpful. Social media has allowed us to stay connected in ways that were difficult in the past. But technology has also caused havoc and chaos, along with disruption, mistrust, isolation and depression — to name just a few drawbacks.
When it comes to the good aspects of technology, one of my favorite apps is The Bible App. It is an excellent resource to have the Bible with me in the palm of my hand. I have written two devotionals on the app and have been warmed by the responses of many who have been blessed and drawn closer to God through them.
I was also privileged to have been a producer and a participant in the development of the Courage For Life Bible App. The CFL Bible app evolved when our company, Cooke Media Group, worked with Ann White Ministries to help produce her media. She worked with women at risk and incarcerated women who found reading the Bible difficult because of their limited education and learning disabilities. They asked for a Bible they could listen to instead of read. But they didn’t want to hear the Bible read in a man’s voice. They wanted one in a female voice because men had traumatized them in such severe ways. She went looking for an all-female audio Bible and found that none existed. So she came to us, at Cooke Media Group, and we hired 12 Hollywood actresses and a Broadway producer to create the first-ever audio Bible read by women.
The Bible we helped to create has now been used in hundreds of female institutions. Penitentiaries for men have also asked for it. Incarcerated men also want the Bible read to them in a female voice because of their past trauma with men. It has been one of my favorite projects we have ever worked on. Many have come to know Jesus and who God is through this app. The Bible changes lives, and technology has made it possible for more to hear and know the Savior — Jesus Christ.
QUESTION #8: dream
God’s continually stirring new things in each of us. So give us the scoop! What’s beginning to stir in you but not yet fully awakened? What can we expect from you in the future?
I constantly say, “I keep my tennis shoes on and tied today for Jesus!” because I want to “win the race” for his kingdom purposes. Influence Women continues to grow as God expands our tent. The challenges of financing and administering a global organization can feel overwhelming. There is never enough. So I remind myself often that God is enough and that his resources and love are endless.
I have to admit that it gets frustrating to keep pushing and hoping people “get it.” There is so much need and suffering in the world. Wars, children being aborted, disruptions caused by disease and pestilence, and violence from human trafficking and crime. All need our help, financial support and prayer. But who will tell their stories? Who can create that song or artistic work that moves people to pay attention, do something and propel positive change? I believe it will be the artist, the creative, who changes what we see on our screens that will bring the light, hope and change. They will change our culture’s thinking, and we must be there to support them. We must be patrons of the arts. We must foster new, creative ways of communicating with the souls of men and women to activate our world.
The world’s eyes are fixed on screens today, and artists who can communicate through their work are needed more than ever to share the hope and redemptive story of Jesus. They need to be encouraged, inspired and mentored and to be part of a community where they don’t feel alone or rejected. Iron sharpens iron.
I’m stirred every day when I see the news or hear reports of suffering in the world and the need for God’s redemptive story to be told. The signs of the Second Coming of Jesus are being revealed to those who are paying attention and are reading their Bibles. God is moving, and it’s exciting. Helping artists and creatives share the life-giving story of God’s Son and his love for us is what drives me and gets me out of bed every day. The Bible says that the “fields are white with harvest, but the laborers are few” (see John 4:35). Let’s go. Let’s bring in the harvest. Get your tennis shoes on!
“The Bible isn’t a book of fairy tales,” Kathleen said. “It’s factual. Believe it.”
Are there any passages of Scripture that you struggle to believe? Perhaps you read, “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:19, ESV) and wonder, Will God actually do that for me?
Today, we encourage you to think about what passages you find hard to believe and write them down. Then, throughout the week, ask the Holy Spirit to show you why you find it difficult. What false beliefs about God, yourself, or the world are blocking you? Then ask him to speak to those areas and wait for him to show up — we know he will.
Kathleen Cooke is a producer, actress, global speaker and writer. She is the cofounder of the multi-award-winning production company Cooke Media Group and the cofounder and global director of the nonprofit The Influence Lab and its initiative, Influence Women. She was awarded a National Congressional Leadership Award in 2022 in Washington, D.C., and is the author of Hope 4 Today: Stay Connected to God in a Distracted Culture. She has appeared on national and international radio, podcast and television shows, and her articles have been published in multiple magazines.