| Kay Cappuccio | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Vital Statistics | |
| Gender | Female |
| Status | Alive |
| Occupation | TV reality star |
| Significant Other(s) |
Reggie Starr (ex-boyfriend) |
| Character Information | |
| Appearances | "An Embarrassment of Bitches" |
| Portrayed by | Hilarie Burton |
Kay Cappuccio is a character portrayed by Hilarie Burton in the ABC crime series Castle.
Kay is a TV reality star who was a suspect in the murder of famous dog trainer Francisco Pilar.
Whilst initially coming across as an airhead, an image not counteracted by her fleeing a murder scene, in the course of the episode she shows a remarkable memory, compassion for both people and animals, and an ability not to believe the entirety of her own publicity, alongside other less admirable traits.
Kay appears genuinely naive in a number of ways, from her lack of understanding of various early barbs Castle sends her way through her unawareness of the implications of naming her dog "Lolita", to her failure to realize that she could be bugged, or that the money of her Argentinian host could have come from drugs. She is a plausible meal ticket, therefore, for someone like Reggie.
Kay's interaction with Detective Esposito is perhaps where she is shown to best advantage, since, unlike the others, he does not see her as a whetstone for wit, and she responds by opening up and displaying surprising talents and genuine empathy for the victim, who, like her, had a dearth of truly reliable people in his life, of family in the fullest sense.
Esposito begins with a media-induced crush, but by the time Kay leaves the precinct with another "big, strong man", Pilar's dog, Royal, he seems to be speaking to the woman he got to know, although, since they are in public, she has slipped back, at least to a degree, into her image/shell.