Catherine's paternal grandfather was named Jacob/Jack/Jay Oxenberg. Jacob was a Jewish emigrant, from Bälti, Bessarabia. Catherine Oxenberg is the daughter of Princess Elizabeth of Yugoslavia and Howard Oxenberg. Oxenberg was educa- ted at the Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle in Kensington, London, St. Paul's School, Harvard University, and Columbia University. She made her acting debut in the 1982 made-for-television film The Royal Romance of Charles and Diana, in which she played Diana, Princess of Wales. In 1984, Oxenberg joined the hit ABC prime time soap opera Dynasty - then at its height of popularity - in the role of Amanda Carrington. Oxenberg was the guest host on the May 10, 1986, episode of Saturday Night Live, making her the only descendant of a royal family to host the show. Oxenberg starred as Princess Elysa in the 1987 television film Roman Holiday. She also appeared in The Lair of the White Worm in 1988, and reprised the role of Diana, Princess of Wales in the TV film Charles and Diana: Unhappily Ever After in 1992. From 1993 to 1994, she starred in the short-lived series Acapulco H.E.A.T. In 2006, Oxenberg appeared in the TV special, Dynasty Reunion: Catfights &Caviar, in which she was reunited with her former Dynastycastmates to reminisce about the se- ries. For playing Amanda Carrington, Oxenberg won two Soap Opera Digest Awards in 1985, for Outstanding Supporting Actress and Outstanding Female Newcomer.