Katerina Rawlings: Full Biography, Acting Career, Marriages, and Life.
Katerina Rawlings, born Katerina Panos, is an American actress, television personality, and public figure who became known through two high-profile marriages. She was previously the fifth wife of Texas billionaire Darwin Deason, founder of Affiliated Computer Services, which he sold to Xerox for $6.4 billion in 2010. She is currently married to Richard Rawlings, the American automotive entrepreneur and television star best known for the Discovery Channel series Fast N’ Loud and his Gas Monkey Garage empire in Dallas, Texas. She was born on December 5, 1967, in Washington DC, into a family of Greek heritage, and appeared in several television productions in the mid-1990s before stepping away from acting.
Quick Bio Facts
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Katerina Panos Rawlings |
| Date of Birth | December 5, 1967 |
| Age (2026) | 58 years old |
| Birthplace | Washington DC, USA |
| Nationality | American |
| Ethnicity | Greek-American |
| Mother | Lista Panos (born in Greece, died 2017) |
| Brothers | Tas Panos and Theodore Panos |
| Zodiac Sign | Sagittarius |
| Career | Actress (1995–1998), Television Personality |
| TV Credits | Silk Stalkings (1995, 1997), High Tide (1996), Pensacola: Wing of Gold (1997–1998) |
| First Husband | Darwin Deason (married 2008; divorced 2019) |
| Second Husband | Richard Rawlings (engaged 2019; married 2020) |
| Children | Not publicly confirmed |
| Current Location | Dallas, Texas |
| Net Worth (2026) | Estimated $5 million – $10 million (personal) |
| Social Media | Instagram: @katerina_rawlings |
Important Note on Fake Sources
Several low-quality websites have published entirely fabricated biographies of someone named Katerina Rawlings describing her as a Stanford University-educated influencer born in 1990 or 1995 in San Francisco or Los Angeles. These accounts are completely invented and bear no relation to the real Katerina Rawlings. The real Katerina was born on December 5, 1967, in Washington DC, grew up in a Greek-American family, worked as an actress in the 1990s, and is known for her marriages to Darwin Deason and Richard Rawlings. Any article claiming she was born in California or attended Stanford University is fabricated content.
Early Life and Greek Heritage
Katerina Panos was born on December 5, 1967, in Washington DC. Her mother, Lista Panos, was born in Greece and relocated to the United States with her husband in the mid-1950s. Growing up in a Greek-American household meant Katerina was raised with a blend of American culture and Greek traditions, values, and family orientation that has stayed with her throughout her adult life.
She grew up alongside two brothers, Tas Panos and Theodore Panos. The family maintained close ties to their Greek roots. Her mother Lista Panos passed away in 2017, a loss that Katerina has referenced publicly on social media.
Details about her schooling, educational background, and early professional training have not been confirmed through any public source. She did not attend performing arts school or university programs in any publicly documented way before beginning her acting career in the mid-1990s.
Acting Career
Katerina built a brief but real acting career in American television during the mid-to-late 1990s. Her television credits are documented through reliable entertainment databases.
In 1995, she appeared in Silk Stalkings, an American crime drama series that aired on CBS and later USA Network. Silk Stalkings was set in Palm Beach, Florida, and followed two homicide detectives investigating sex-related crimes. Katerina appeared in the episode titled Dead Asleep, playing a character named Sascha. She returned to the show in 1997 for a second appearance in the episode I Love the Nightlife, this time playing a character named Samantha.
Also in 1996, she appeared in High Tide, an American action-adventure series that aired in syndication. The show starred Rick Springfield and centered on a private investigator working in a beach community in Southern California.
Between 1997 and 1998, she appeared in Pensacola: Wings of Gold, an American military drama series about US Navy pilots based at Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida. She appeared in two episodes, Freebirds and Soldiers of Misfortune, playing a character named Kim.
After her run of appearances across these three television series between 1995 and 1998, Katerina did not pursue further acting work. She has not appeared in any credited film or television role since that period.
First Marriage: Darwin Deason
Katerina married Darwin Albert Deason in 2008. She was his fifth wife. Darwin Deason was born on May 18, 1940, in Rogers, Arkansas, and grew up on a farm in a family that by his own account often struggled financially. He left his small town the day after graduating high school with fifty dollars borrowed from his father and drove to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he found a job at Gulf Oil.
He eventually made his way into the data processing industry, took control of a struggling Dallas company he renamed MTech, became its CEO at age 29, sold it in 1988, and immediately founded Affiliated Computer Services, known as ACS. The company became one of the first to outsource office and business process work internationally. ACS went public in 1994, grew into a Fortune 500 company through a series of acquisitions, and was sold to Xerox in 2010 for $6.4 billion. Darwin became Xerox’s largest individual shareholder as a result. At the time of his death, Forbes estimated his net worth at $1.3 billion.
When Katerina married Darwin in 2008, he was 68 years old and she was 40. He was 27 years older than her. The couple split their time between Dallas, Texas, San Diego, and their 205-foot luxury superyacht Apogee. Darwin was also known for his philanthropy through the Deason Foundation, which donated millions to criminal justice reform, cybersecurity education through the Deason Institute for Cyber Security at Southern Methodist University, the Dallas Museum of Art, the Mayo Clinic, and other institutions.
Katerina and Darwin divorced in 2019 after approximately eleven years of marriage. The divorce was described by those aware of it as amicable and without scandal. She received a substantial settlement, the terms of which were not publicly disclosed. Darwin Deason died on December 2, 2025, at the age of 85. At the time of his death his wife was Kimberly Cohn, whom he had married in 2020 and divorced in 2023.
Meeting Richard Rawlings
Richard Rawlings met Katerina in 2019 following both of their respective divorces. Richard had finalized his second divorce from Suzanne Marie Mergele, a woman he had married twice and spent fourteen years with in total between 1999 and 2019.
Richard later said publicly that he fell in love with Katerina the moment he saw her and that he wanted to spend all his time with her. In August 2019, he proposed to her through a social media post in which he knelt on a surface covered in sandy rose petals. He wrote that he promised to fill their lives with love and happiness. The proposal and the public declaration were characteristic of Richard’s open and expressive personality on social media.
Marriage to Richard Rawlings
Katerina and Richard married in 2020. They have remained together since. The couple is based in Dallas, Texas, which has been Richard’s home city and the center of his Gas Monkey Garage business empire for decades.
Their relationship has been visible on Richard’s social media platforms, where he occasionally shares moments from their life together. Katerina maintains her own Instagram account under the handle @katerina_rawlings, where she posts lifestyle, travel, and personal content. She has described herself as influential in business and lifestyle branding, though the specific nature of her current business activities has not been publicly detailed.
There is no confirmed information about whether Katerina and Richard have children together. Richard Rawlings has no publicly confirmed biological children from any of his marriages.
Who Is Richard Rawlings?
Richard Rawlings was born on March 30, 1969, in Fort Worth, Texas. He grew up in a household where his father’s love of cars was central to family life. He attended car shows with his father from a young age and bought his first car, a 1974 Mercury Comet, in his early teens. By high school he had acquired a 1977 Bandit Trans Am. His teenage and early adult years were driven by the need to earn money to fund his car obsession.
He worked as a firefighter and paramedic, which he has credited with teaching him how to handle pressure. He also worked in printing, launching a company called Lincoln Press in the 1990s. He sold Lincoln Press in 2004 and used the proceeds to focus on his true passion. He founded Gas Monkey Garage in Dallas, Texas, in 2004, a shop specializing in restoring and customizing classic cars.
Discovery Channel approached him about a television show built around the garage, and Fast N’ Loud premiered in 2012. The show ran until 2020, producing more than 300 episodes and making Richard one of the most recognized faces in automotive entertainment globally. He was paid approximately $50,000 per episode during its run.
Beyond the show, he built the Gas Monkey brand into a multi-platform enterprise. He opened Gas Monkey Bar N’ Grill in Dallas in 2013, a restaurant and live music venue that blended his automotive identity with hospitality. He opened a second location at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport in 2014. He also launched Gas Monkey Live, a music venue in Dallas. He has released branded merchandise, signed endorsement deals with automotive companies, and built a significant YouTube and social media following that continues to generate income after the television show ended.
He is also a serious competitive driver. He claimed to have broken the 1979 Cannonball Run record in 2007, driving 2,811 miles from New York to Los Angeles in just under 32 hours. He has won the Gumball 3000 rally and the Bullrun rally twice each. These racing credentials give his automotive identity real competitive substance beyond the television persona.
His net worth is estimated between $18 million and $25 million as of 2026, built through Gas Monkey Garage, Fast N’ Loud television income and residuals, his restaurant and music venue operations, merchandise, endorsements, and his car collection which he actively buys, builds, and sells.
Katerina Rawlings Net Worth
Katerina Rawlings’ personal net worth is estimated between $5 million and $10 million as of 2026. This figure reflects the substantial divorce settlement she received from Darwin Deason following their 2019 split, combined with any personal income she has generated through her own activities in lifestyle branding, social media, and other ventures.
Her financial position is largely independent of Richard Rawlings’ income and assets. She entered the marriage with her own significant financial standing from the Deason settlement. The combined household net worth of Katerina and Richard is estimated at approximately $25 million to $35 million.
Personal Life and Social Media
Katerina is active on Instagram where she shares lifestyle content including travel photography, personal moments, and occasional posts related to her husband Richard’s public activities. She refers to herself in some contexts as being involved in business and lifestyle branding, though the specific businesses or brands she works with have not been publicly documented in detail.
She appears to enjoy travel extensively and the couple’s lifestyle reflects the financial comfort built through both of their respective backgrounds. She celebrates Greek heritage through occasional cultural references on social media. She has posted memorials for her mother Lista Panos, who passed away in 2017.
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FAQ
1. Who is Katerina Rawlings?
She is an American actress and television personality born on December 5, 1967, in Washington DC. She is best known as the wife of automotive television star Richard Rawlings and the former wife of Texas billionaire Darwin Deason.
2. When was Katerina Rawlings born?
She was born on December 5, 1967, in Washington DC. She is 58 years old as of 2026.
3. Who was Katerina Rawlings’ first husband?
Her first husband was Darwin Deason, a Texas billionaire who founded Affiliated Computer Services and sold it to Xerox for $6.4 billion in 2010. They married in 2008 and divorced in 2019.
4. When did Katerina marry Richard Rawlings?
Richard proposed in August 2019 and they married in 2020. They remain together as of 2026.
5. What is Katerina Rawlings’ net worth?
Her personal net worth is estimated between $5 million and $10 million, built primarily through her divorce settlement from Darwin Deason and her own personal and business activities.
6. Did Katerina Rawlings act in television shows?
Yes. She appeared in Silk Stalkings in 1995 and 1997, High Tide in 1996, and Pensacola: Wings of Gold in 1997 and 1998. She has not appeared in any credited acting role since 1998.
7. Where is Katerina Rawlings from?
She was born in Washington DC and grew up in a Greek-American family. Her mother was born in Greece and emigrated to the United States in the mid-1950s.
8. Does Darwin Deason’s death affect Katerina Rawlings?
Darwin Deason died on December 2, 2025, at the age of 85. They had been divorced since 2019 and he had remarried before his death. The divorce settlement from 2019 was finalized well before his passing and Katerina is not reported to be a beneficiary of his estate.
9. Does Katerina Rawlings have children?
No confirmed information exists about her having children from any relationship. Richard Rawlings also has no publicly confirmed biological children.
10. What is Richard Rawlings’ net worth?
Richard Rawlings’ net worth is estimated between $18 million and $25 million as of 2026, built through Gas Monkey Garage, Fast N’ Loud television income, restaurants, music venues, merchandise, and car sales.
11. Who are Katerina Rawlings’ siblings?
She has two brothers named Tas Panos and Theodore Panos.
12. Is Katerina Rawlings on social media?
Yes. She is active on Instagram under the handle @katerina_rawlings, where she shares lifestyle, travel, and personal content.
