Kimberly Jean Brown (born November 16, 1984) See also: is an American actress. She is best known for her leading role as teen witch Marnie Piper in the Halloweentown film series (1998–2004), co-starring Debbie Reynolds.
Brown first gained recognition for her portrayal of Marah Lewis in the CBS soap opera Guiding Light (1993–1998, 2006), which earned her a nomination for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series. She garnered further critical acclaim for her performance as Ava Walker in the comedy-drama film Tumbleweeds (1999), for which she won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Breakthrough Performance. Brown also starred as Annie Wheaton in the ABC horror miniseries Rose Red (2002), which was written by Stephen King. She appeared in the comedy film Bringing Down the House (2003), the horror film Big Bad Wolf (2006), and the comedy film Friendship! (2010).
Early life Kimberly J. Brown was born on November 16, 1984, in Gaithersburg, Maryland. She attended university at College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita, California. In a 2010 interview, Brown said that she was close to graduating from the university, although she did not disclose what her major was at the time. She would later reveal in 2018 that she graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in business.
Career Brown began her career at age five.Riggs, Thomas, ed. (2010). Contemporary Theatre, Film and Television. Volume 103. Detroit, Mich. : Gale. p. 38. . By the time she was 11, she had enjoyed success as a child model with Ford Models, performed in multiple Broadway shows and earned an Emmy nomination for her portrayal of Marah Lewis on Guiding Light. She found work as a voice actress, lending her voice to commercials, A Bug's Life, and the English dub of Vampire Princess Miyu.
At 13, Brown was cast in her most notable film to date, the Disney Channel Original Movie Halloweentown. In the movie, she played 13-year-old Marnie Piper, a young witch who is determined to learn magic from her grandmother Aggie, portrayed by Debbie Reynolds. In September 2016, Brown recalled an audition for the film in which she had to react to a conversation when it was revealed that the character Marnie is a witch. Brown read for the role twice before being cast. Halloweentown aired on October 17, 1998 and was well received by audiences, leading Disney Channel to produce three sequels; Brown reprised her role as Marnie in two of them. She was replaced by Sara Paxton in the fourth installment, Return to Halloweentown, a decision over which Brown expressed confusion and disappointment. Fans of the franchise were unhappy with Paxton's portrayal of the character, reflected in BuzzFeed writing that the fourth movie, with its "False Marnie", is best left ignored, and MTV News writing that fans should act as if the fourth film had never happened. She is a fixture at the annual "Spirit of Halloweentown" festival in St. Helens, Oregon honoring the franchise.
Outside of Halloweentown, Brown also starred in another Disney Channel original movie, the 2000 film Quints. In 1999, Brown co-starred with Janet McTeer in Tumbleweeds which received positive reviews.
In May 2021, it was announced she had joined the cast of General Hospital.
In June 2025, it was announced that Brown would be starring in the TV movie Haul Out the Halloween for the Hallmark Channel opposite Lacey Chabert and her husband Daniel Kountz. The film was released on October 11, 2025.
Other ventures Brown and a friend run the Etsy shop CraftilyCreative, which sells a variety of items, including Halloweentown-themed merchandise.
Personal life
In 2016, she reconnected with Halloweentown II co-star Daniel Kountz for a Halloweentown-themed project for Brown's YouTube channel, and they soon began dating. In June 2022, Brown announced they were engaged. In April 2024, the couple were married.
Filmography Film YearTitleRoleNotes 1998 A Bug's Life Female Ants (voice) 1999 Tumbleweeds Ava Walker 2001 The Little Polar Bear Lena, Manilli (voices) English dub 2003 Bringing Down the House Sarah Sanderson 2005 Be Cool Tiffany 2006 Big Bad Wolf Sam Marche 2010 Friendship! Dorothee
Television YearTitleRoleNotes 1990 The Baby-Sitters Club Amanda Delaney Episode: "The Baby-Sitters Remember" 1993–1998 & 2006 Guiding Light Marah Lewis Recurring role 1997 Vampire Princess Miyu Miyu Yamano Voice role (English dub), 7 episodes Ellen Foster Dora Television film 1998 Unhappily Ever After Helena, Girl #1 3 episodes Halloweentown Marnie Piper Television film 1998–1999 Two of a Kind Nicole 2 episodes 1999 Touched by an Angel Amy Lumpkin Episode: "The Last Day of the Rest of Your Life" 2000 Quints Jamie Grover Television film 2001 Halloweentown II: Kalabar's Revenge Marnie Piper 2002 My Sister's Keeper Young Christine Chapman Rose Red Annie Wheaton Miniseries 2003 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Jessica Morse / Margory Maddox Episode: "Perfect" 2004 Halloweentown High Marnie Piper Disney Channel Original Movie 2013 Low Winter Sun Shana Taylor Recurring role 2018 Mondays Older Kelly Episode: "That Time When I Met My Future Self" 2019 Crossword Mysteries: Proposing Murder Angela Television film 2021 General Hospital Chloe Jennings Recurring role 2023 The Ghost and Molly McGee Blair (voice) Episode: "The Unhaunting of Brighton Video" 2025 Haul Out the Halloween Luna Television film
Theatre Year Title Role Playwright Venue Ref. 1992 Four Baboons Adoring The Sun Robin John Guare Vivian Beaumont Theater, Broadway 1994 Show Boat Children Ensemble / Young Kim Understudy Jerome Kern / Oscar Hammerstein II Gershwin Theatre, Broadway
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