WH's First-Ever Cover Star Is Now A 40-Year-Old Surfing Mom Of Two
Kate French’s most vivid memory from the inaugural WH cover shoot? The water temperature. “It was the coldest pool I’d ever been in,” she says.
Shot by photographer Steven Lippman at a private residence in Malibu, California, in January 2005, the photo shoot called for Kate, then 20 years old, to fully submerge herself and pop out of the pool—over and over and over again.
“I’m a water person—I surf and am used to the cold—but getting my head wet each time was an instant brain freeze,” she says. Although, apparently, a good workout too. “My arms were so sore from lifting myself up.”
Kate didn’t see the fruits of her labor until months later, when she attended the magazine’s launch party in New York City, with her mom as her date. Spying the blown-up cardboard cover at the event felt “surreal,” Kate says. “My dad is my biggest champion, and he had the cover on his wall.” Given her dad’s longtime Men’s Health readership—in addition to her own love for movement (Kate is a big hiker as well as a surfer)—she was thrilled about the prospect of a female brand counterpart. “It was very much in the vein of the lifestyle that I lived, so I was excited to be a part of it.”
Twenty years later, 40-year-old Kate is still living in that WH culture, albeit now with a husband and two kids in tow—and she’s learned plenty of lessons about life, love, and longevity along the way.
Lesson 1:
Bold Goals Require Bold Moves
Born in New Jersey and raised on Long Island, New York, Kate moved to California in her late teens to attend the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she declared an English major in the hopes of one day becoming an author.
“Once I got to college, my drive for that just immediately left,” she recalls. “I was very lost, and I was supporting myself and thought continuing to pay for college would not be the best use of my money.”
Kate had always wanted to act, and buoyed by positive feedback she received from appearing in a student film on campus, she made the decision to drop out of college and move to L.A. She got a place in West Hollywood and a job at the Fred Segal boutique in Santa Monica. Modeling gigs—like the Women’s Health cover—supplemented her income.
“That was my first cover ever,” she says. “Women’s Health was just such a special little family because I went on to do two more covers.”
Soon after, Kate landed one of her first big roles, on an American telenovela called Wicked Wicked Games, starring Tatum O’Neal. She booked a few more small roles before nabbing the part that she is perhaps best known for: Niki Stevens on Showtime’s The L Word. “I loved that character so much, and they were so free with improv and really just letting you figure it out.”
Lesson 2:
Movement Is Healing
An avid surfer since age 12, Kate admits her passion took a bit of a back seat when she became a mother. “After I had my son, I didn’t surf for almost four years,” she says of the rigors of raising Henry while her husband, Jon, traveled for work. That all changed when she got pregnant with her daughter, Chapel. “I surfed with her until I was too large to lie on the surfboard.” Then the pandemic hit, beaches closed, and surfing was on hold. But “once the beaches opened, surfing became my refuge again,” Kate says. “It was my mental health savior, and I kind of fell in with this group of older surfer men who used to be pro, and they started giving me tips.” Kate ended up meeting the group a couple days a week, and they helped her hone her skills.
She’s been asked to compete, but for now, she’s safeguarding the sport as her escape.“It’s a constant mental meditation of trying to be better,” she says. “There’s something about riding a wave that’s so moving and spiritual. It feels like a cleanse every time you do it.”
Lesson 3:
Embrace the Pivot
Kate still models from time to time, but her career focus remains acting. Maintaining momentum in the industry, however, hasn’t been easy: First came motherhood, then the pandemic, then the writers’ strike of 2023. But there have been glimmers, like landing a small role in the Oscar-winning film Oppenheimer.
In this area, too, she’s learning to go with the flow. “Life is about the art of the pivot,” she says. “You have to ride the wave. Even in my darkest moments, I still see the light and have gratitude.”
This story appears in the Spring 2025 issue of Women's Health.
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