Kirstin was born in Orillia, Ontario. She is the second of four sisters, and is proud of the fact that she survived catholic school with her father as principal - she claims it helped to develop her unique sense of humor, which is inherent in her work. Kirstin excelled in dance and visual arts throughout elementary and high school, and she is still an active painter.

As a teenager, Kirstin toured Orillia and surrounding areas with the 'Park Street Players' before attending the York University Acting Program in Toronto. In those four years at York she had the opportunity to hone her acting skills in a variety of genres from Elizabethan theatre to modern drama and absurdism.
 
Since her graduation, Kirstin has been privileged with such roles as Cory Ditchburn, the first female Canadian war photographer to get on the front lines during WWII in the film 'Angel Walk', adapted from Katherine Govier’s acclaimed novel, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. She has appeared in several films presented in festivals worldwide, the most recent of which being 'Terminal Venus' and ‘Milo 55150’, both of which also premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. Kirstin has made guest appearances on several television shows and movies of the week.