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Cortney Palm

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Cortney Palm
BornCortney Nacole Palm
2/20/1987
BirthplaceCastle Rock, Colorado, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
OccupationActress
Known forZombeavers, Sushi Girl, Silent Night
EducationCalifornia Lutheran University

Cortney Nacole Palm (born February 20, 1987) is an American actress known for her work in independent horror and thriller films. She rose to genre-cinema recognition through roles in the ensemble crime thriller Sushi Girl (2012), the horror comedy Zombeavers (2014), and the slasher remake Silent Night (2012). A native of Castle Rock, Colorado, and a graduate of California Lutheran University, Palm has built a career primarily within independent film, appearing in genre productions such as Death House (2017), The Dark Tapes (2016), Dazed (2017), and Disappearance (2019).[1][2]

Palm has been active in film since 2006 and has consistently taken on roles in the horror genre, becoming a recurring presence in the independent-horror festival circuit. Alongside her acting work, she has spoken publicly about pursuing production and creative development, and has been featured in industry interviews discussing her approach to genre performance and her experiences on low-budget productions.[3][4]

Early Life

Cortney Nacole Palm was born on February 20, 1987, in Castle Rock, Colorado.[1] She was raised in the community and participated in local pageantry events during her childhood, including being featured in a 2001 Castle Rock community publication that covered a beauty contest in which she participated.[5]

In interviews, Palm has described her upbringing in Colorado as formative to her interests in performance and the outdoors. She has spoken about developing an early interest in acting and about the transition from Colorado to Southern California when she pursued higher education.[4] Her later relocation to the Los Angeles area was tied to her enrollment at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, California, which placed her within commuting distance of the film and television industry centered in Los Angeles.[6]

Education

Palm attended California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, California. The university has profiled her as an alumna in connection with her subsequent career in film, noting her transition from student to working actress in the Los Angeles market.[6] During her studies she began to pursue on-camera work, and her professional acting credits date from 2006, overlapping with her time as a student.[1]

Palm has also referenced ongoing training and development in her craft in interviews conducted over the course of her career, discussing acting technique and preparation for genre roles.[2][3]

Career

Early work and Sushi Girl (2006–2012)

Palm began working professionally as an actress in 2006, taking on small roles in independent productions before securing more prominent parts in feature films.[1] Her early filmography consists largely of independent and genre projects, which established the trajectory that has defined her subsequent work.

Her breakthrough came with a role in Sushi Girl (2012), a crime thriller directed by Kern Saxton. In the film, Palm plays the title character — a young woman who serves as the living platter at a dinner reunion of former criminal associates. The film features an ensemble cast that includes Tony Todd, Mark Hamill, James Duval, Noah Hathaway, Andy Mackenzie, and Sonny Chiba. The role was physically demanding and required Palm to remain still and largely silent through extended portions of the film's runtime.[7][8]

That same year, Palm appeared in Silent Night (2012), a remake of the 1984 slasher film Silent Night, Deadly Night, directed by Steven C. Miller. Palm's part in the ensemble was discussed in genre press coverage promoting the film.[9]

Zombeavers and horror-comedy recognition (2014–2015)

Palm's most widely discussed role came in Zombeavers (2014), a horror comedy directed by Jordan Rubin. The film centers on a group of college students at a lakeside cabin who are attacked by beavers transformed into flesh-eating undead creatures after coming into contact with toxic waste. Palm portrays Zoe, one of the three central female characters, alongside Rachel Melvin and Lexi Atkins.[10][11]

In interviews given around the film's release, Palm discussed the practical effects work, the tonal balance between comedy and horror, and the collaborative atmosphere on set. She spoke about her interest in B-movie traditions and about the appeal of playing genre characters who combine humor with action.[2][12][13]

Zombeavers became a cult favorite within horror-comedy circles and expanded Palm's visibility in the genre press, generating a series of interviews and profile pieces in outlets covering horror and independent film.[2][12]

Continued genre work (2016–2019)

Following Zombeavers, Palm continued to appear predominantly in horror and thriller productions. She appeared in The Dark Tapes (2016), a found-footage horror anthology, and in Death House (2017), an ensemble horror film that assembled a large cast of genre veterans. Palm gave interviews about her involvement in Death House, discussing her character and the production's approach to combining multiple horror archetypes within a single narrative.[14][15]

Also in 2017, Palm appeared in Dazed, an independent film in which she starred alongside David Brackett.[16]

In 2019, Palm starred in Disappearance, a thriller in which she appeared opposite Matt Marsden. Coverage of the film included an exclusive clip release and promotional interviews highlighting Palm's role.[17]

Palm's work during this period was tracked by a number of horror-focused publications, which continued to profile her as a recurring presence in independent genre filmmaking.[18]

Recent work (2020s)

Palm has continued to take on roles in independent films into the 2020s. Her later credits include Beyond Paranormal, which was reviewed by genre outlet Film Threat.[19] She also appears in As Certain As Death, which received coverage in industry outlet JoBlo.[20]

Palm is credited in Bond of Justice: Kizuna Part II – Judgement (2024), continuing her presence in independent feature productions.[21]

In a 2023 profile in Voyage LA Magazine, Palm discussed her ongoing work in Los Angeles, her creative development, and her experiences building a career as an independent-film actress over more than a decade in the industry.[4] Additional profile coverage of her work behind and in front of the camera has appeared in industry publications such as ProductionHUB, where she has spoken about the technical and collaborative aspects of film production.[3]

Approach and public commentary

In interviews across her career, Palm has discussed her preference for genre work, the physical demands of roles requiring stunt or effects-heavy sequences, and her experiences navigating independent film production. She has spoken about the collaborative nature of low-budget filmmaking and about the specific challenges of horror-comedy performance, which she has described as requiring simultaneous commitment to both tonal registers.[2][12][13]

Palm has also been the subject of feature profiles by industry publications discussing her broader creative interests, including her engagement with production-side work in addition to on-camera performance.[3]

Personal Life

Palm was born and raised in Castle Rock, Colorado, and has been based in the Los Angeles area since her time as a student at California Lutheran University.[1][6] She has referenced her Colorado background in interviews, including in the 2023 Voyage LA profile, in which she discussed the arc of her personal and professional life from Colorado to Southern California.[4]

Publicly available biographical coverage of Palm has focused primarily on her professional work rather than her private life, and she has generally kept personal matters outside the scope of interviews given for film promotion. Her professional presence is documented across major film databases and reference sources, including IMDb, AllMovie, Rotten Tomatoes, and international authority records.[1][22][23][24]

Recognition

Palm's most consistent recognition has come from the horror and independent-film press, which has covered her work across multiple films through interviews, profiles, and reviews. She has been the subject of feature interviews with Fresh Fiction, Horror Society, Dread Central, Last Movie Outpost, Nerdly, Shockya, and ProductionHUB, among others.[2][12][9][13][14][17][3]

Her role in Sushi Girl (2012) received notice within genre circles for its physicality and central visual role in the film, with the production's official website featuring her among its principal cast.[7] Her performance in Zombeavers (2014) contributed to the film's development of a cult following on the horror-comedy circuit and led to sustained interest from genre publications in her subsequent work.[2][12][13]

Palm's alma mater, California Lutheran University, has profiled her as a notable alumna in connection with her work as a professional actress.[6] Her career has also been recognized through inclusion in reference indexes maintained by major film information services and library authority databases.[22][23][24] Additionally, her work has been catalogued in German-language dubbing records, reflecting the international distribution of the films in which she has appeared.[25]

Palm has also participated in industry events, including engagements associated with the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts, which listed her among the participants for a cinema event.[26]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 "Cortney Palm". 'IMDb}'. Retrieved 2026-07-20.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Fresh Fiction. "Interview: Cortney Palm Unleashes Her Kick-Ass Side in 'ZOMBEAVERS'". Fresh Fiction. 2015-03-20. Retrieved 2026-07-20.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 "The Other Side of the Lens: Close Up with Cortney Palm". 'ProductionHUB}'. Retrieved 2026-07-20.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 "Rising Stars: Meet Cortney Palm". Voyage LA Magazine. 2023-09-05. Retrieved 2026-07-20.
  5. ↑ "Beauty contest: Cortney Nacole Palm". Colorado Community Media. 2001-04-18. Retrieved 2026-07-20.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 "California Lutheran University alumna Cortney Palm". 'California Lutheran University}'. Retrieved 2026-07-20.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Cortney Palm — Sushi Girl". 'Sushi Girl Movie}'. Retrieved 2026-07-20.
  8. ↑ "Sushi Girl (2012)". 'IMDb}'. 2026-05-08. Retrieved 2026-07-20.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Cortney Palm Bringing Some Wasabi Heat to Silent Night". Dread Central. Retrieved 2026-07-20.
  10. ↑ "Zombeavers (2014)". 'IMDb}'. 2025-10-19. Retrieved 2026-07-20.
  11. ↑ "Jordan Rubin — Zombeavers cast". 'IMDb}'. 2025-08-12. Retrieved 2026-07-20.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 "Interview: Zombeavers Star Cortney Palm". Horror Society. 2015-03-02. Retrieved 2026-07-20.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 "LMO Interviews Zombeavers' Cortney Palm". Last Movie Outpost. Retrieved 2026-07-20.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "Death House Interview: Cortney Palm". Nerdly. 2018-02-20. Retrieved 2026-07-20.
  15. ↑ "Death House (2017)". 'IMDb}'. 2026-05-16. Retrieved 2026-07-20.
  16. ↑ "Dazed (2017)". 'IMDb}'. 2026-05-21. Retrieved 2026-07-20.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 "Cortney Palm, Matt Marsden Disappearance Exclusive Clip". Shockya. 2019-07-01. Retrieved 2026-07-20.
  18. ↑ "Cortney Palm". 'Horror News}'. Retrieved 2026-07-20.
  19. ↑ "Beyond Paranormal". Film Threat. Retrieved 2026-07-20.
  20. ↑ "As Certain As Death". JoBlo. Retrieved 2026-07-20.
  21. ↑ "Bond of Justice: Kizuna Part II - Judgement (2024)". 'IMDb}'. Retrieved 2026-07-20.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 "Cortney Palm". 'AllMovie}'. Retrieved 2026-07-20.
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 "Cortney Palm". 'Rotten Tomatoes}'. Retrieved 2026-07-20.
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 "Cortney Palm". 'VIAF}'. Retrieved 2026-07-20.
  25. ↑ "Cortney Palm". 'Deutsche Synchronkartei}'. Retrieved 2026-07-20.
  26. ↑ "Cinema event". 'USC School of Cinematic Arts}'. Retrieved 2026-07-20.

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