Rockwell was born in
Junction City, Kansas, according to her death certificate, and lived in
North Dakota for a while but grew up in
Spokane, Washington. Her stepfather was wealthy and provided her with French, voice, and instrumental lessons. Her parents sent Rockwell to several
boarding schools, but Rockwell was expelled from the various institutions. In the 1890s, after divorcing her second husband, Rockwell's mother moved with her to
New York City. Here the younger Rockwell made an unsuccessful attempt at show business. She left for greener pastures and arrived in
Alaska in 1899. The
Royal Canadian Mounted Police held a tight leash on prospective miners and various hangers-on trying to get to the
Yukon and find fortunes in gold. Refused entry by a Mountie, she is reputed to have donned a boy's outfit and jumped on a boat headed for the Yukon. First working as a tap-dancer in
Whitehorse, Rockwell found her stride in
Dawson City as a member of the Savoy Theatrical Company. Her act was very popular with the miners, and she was dubbed "
Klondike Kate" as a result. It was in Dawson that she met
Alexander Pantages, in autumn 1900, after leaving the Savoy troupe and joining the stock company at the Orpheum Theatre, which Pantages managed. The intense love affair between Pantages and Rockwell became the stuff of legend in the Yukon, although streaks of jealousy ensured that they found more stability in their professional lives than in their personal ones. They were not above swindling unsuspecting miners, and this dubious quality eventually infected their own relationship. She later accused him of reneging on a promise to marry her as well as attempting to cheat her of her money. Pantages surprised Rockwell by secretly marrying another woman, and telling her about it four days later in a letter. In 1902, the Klondike Gold Rush was already dying out and Rockwell headed south, first to
British Columbia, where she set up a store-front movie theater, and eventually to
Oregon, where she homesteaded 320 acres of land. After performing for years on stage even into her 40s, Kate Rockwell headed to
Brothers, Oregon, with $3,500 in cash and $3,000 worth of jewelry, and trunks filled with dresses, gowns and hats. She was one of a number of women who claimed their land by living on the claim for the required five years. Later she married a miner named John Matson. Rockwell appeared on the December 23, 1954 episode of
You Bet Your Life, hosted by
Groucho Marx. She married William L. Van Duren, who was her husband at the time of her death. Rockwell died on February 21, 1957, in
Sweet Home, Oregon, where she had lived for 21 years. The immediate cause of death was "Ventricular Fibrillation", with "Chronic Congestive Heart Failure" and "Arteriosclerotic Heart disease" given as underlying conditions. Her ashes were later scattered in
Central Oregon. ==Film==