Kate Mulgrew

Kate Mulgrew
File:Kate Mulgrew 1.jpg Kate Mulgrew at the Whitney Museum of American Art's gala on October 20, 2008 in NYC (Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images)
Born	Katherine Kiernan Mulgrew
Spouse(s)	Robert H. Egan (1982 – 1993) Tim Hagan (1999 - present)
Website	http://www.totallykate.com/

Katherine Kiernan Mulgrew was born in Dubuque, Iowa on April 29, 1955 to Joan and Thomas "TJ" Mulgrew.

She is an American actress, most famous for her roles as Mary Ryan on Ryan's Hope and Captain Kathryn Janeway on Star Trek: Voyager.

Mulgrew has performed in multiple television shows, theatre productions & movies, she has also earned multiple awards for her acting, including an Obie Award, a Golden Satellite Award and a Saturn Award. She has also been nominated for a Golden Globe.

She is also an active member of the Alzheimer's Association National Advisory Council & the voice of Cleveland's Metro Health System.

Biography / Career Overview

Mulgrew was born in Dubuque, Iowa, to Thomas James "T.J." Mulgrew II, a contractor, and Joan Virginia Kiernan Mulgrew, an artist and painter.

Born into an Irish Catholic family, she is the second oldest of eight siblings.

At the age of 12, Mulgrew knew she wanted to be an actress when she read a poem in school, "The White Cliffs" by Alice Duer Miller, that made the nuns cry.

She worked as a waitress to earn money with which to pursue her dream. Mulgrew sent herself to several different acting schools/apprenticeships including Northwestern University at 13, University of Minnesota at 14, and Guthrie Theater at 15. When Mulgrew was 16 she attempted to earn entrance into the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art but was not accepted, possibly because she was too young. According to the 1973 Wahlert High School Yearbook, Mulgrew completed her high school studies in the Summer of 1972.

At the age of 17, Mulgrew was accepted into the Stella Adler Conservatory of Acting in conjunction with New York University in New York City.

Mulgrew left NYU after her junior year, receiving her Associate of Arts degree in 1976.

Her early career included portraying Mary Ryan for two years on the ABC soap Ryan's Hope (1975) She became a fan favorite and is still associated with the show long after its cancellation. Mulgrew remains friends with former co-star Ilene Kristen and presented a special Soap Opera Digest Award to Ryan's Hope creator Claire Labine in 1995.

While in Ryan's Hope she also played the role of "Emily" in the American Shakespeare Theatre production of "Our Town" in Stratford, Connecticut. When Kate was only 23, she left Ryan's Hope to take on the role of "Kate Columbo" in a series created especially for her, "Mrs. Columbo" (1979). In this series, she was playing the wife of one of TV's most beloved detectives, Lt. Columbo . This role earned her a Golden Globe nomination for best TV actress in a Drama, while the show was a critical success, it was canceled after two seasons, after being renamed Kate Loves a Mystery among other titles and revisions made to the series such as the storyline that there was another Lt. Columbo, and eventually Kate Columbo and he divorced, leading the character to assume the surname Callahan.

Kate also starred in several feature films, such as Lovespell (1981), A Stranger Is Watching (1982) with Rip Torn , Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins (1985) and Throw Momma from the Train (1987) with Danny DeVito . In 1981, she traveled to Europe to film the ABC mini-series, "The Manions of America" (1981) with Pierce Brosnan . About that time, she married theater director Robert H. Egan and, a few years later, she had two sons. In the drama series, "Heartbeat" (1988), Kate played "Dr. Joanne Springsteen", the head of a medical clinic. She also had numerous guest roles some of which were, Garnet McGee, a country singer, on Dallas ; Hillary Wheaton, a Canadian anchorwoman wrestling with alcoholism, on Murphy Brown ; and Boston city councilwoman Janet Eldridge, a romantic interest of Sam Malone, in the three-part fourth season finale of Cheers entitled "Strange Bedfellows". She also guest-starred in several Murder She Wrote episodes: "The Corpse Flew First Class" (1987), "Ever After" (1992), and "The Dying Game" (1994).

In 1992 Mulgrew received The Tracey Humanitarian Award in recognition of her guest role on Murphy Brown.

A year later she received an honorary Doctorate from Seton Hall University for artistic contributions.

Between 1975 & 1993 Mulgrew preformed in numerous theatre productions, you can see a full list of them in the filmography section.

In 1993, Kate separated from her husband, Robert H. Egan, with whom she had been married for 12 years. In 1995, the divorce became final, and she was on the verge of having to sell her house & move into an apartment in Westwood when something out of the blue happened, she had been called to resume a role in a TV show she was originally rejected for after the original actress, Geneviève Bujold , left two days into filming, stating that a TV series work schedule was too demanding. What she did not know then was that this role was going to become her most famous one, the role in question was Captain Kathryn Janeway (Originally called Nicole Janeway but changed to Kathryn at Mulgrew's request) in Star Trek Voyager the fourth incarnation of Star Trek which ran from 1995 to 2001 and history was made in the Star Trek franchise when she became the first female captain, as a series regular, in a leading role. Star Trek Voyager was the first show broadcast on the new UPN channel, it was also the only TV show on UPN to have seven seasons, making it the network's longest running show, and the only show left over from its first year. Mulgrew won the Saturn Award for "Best TV Actress" in 1998 thanks to her stunning & thought provoking performances as Captain Kathryn Janeway. Mulgrew also took part in the PS2 & PC game Star Trek: Voyager - Elite Force by lending her voice to the game. PC Gamer UK rated the game 93% & fans consider this game to be one of the best Trek games of all time.

In 2001 UK channel BBC2 held a Star Trek night to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the franchise they had interviews with Kate Mulgrew, Patrick Stewart & Avery Brooks talking about each of their respected series, a phone & online vote was organized for fans to choose the episode to air from the "Captain's Picks" - an episode from each series chosen by that series' captain as their favorite: TOS: "The City on the Edge of Forever", TNG: "In Theory", DS9: "Far Beyond the Stars" and VOY: "Counterpoint". The winner of the vote? Star Trek Voyager & the episode "Counterpoint"

During Star Trek Voyager she also played the role of Titania in the animated series, Gargoyles & Victoria Riddler in Riddler's Moon, a made for TV movie.

After Star Trek Voyager came to the end of the full 7 seasons, Mulgrew went back to theatre & starred in a one-woman play called Tea at Five , a monologue reminiscence based on Katharine Hepburn 's memoir Me: Stories of My Life. Tea at Five was a critical success & Mulgrew received two awards, one from Carbonell (Best actress) & the other from Broadway.com (Audience Award for Favorite Solo Performance)

In 2006, Mulgrew performed in The Exonerated at the Riverside Studios located in London, England. In the spring of 2007, she appeared in the NBC television series The Black Donnellys as Helen Donnelly which lasted for 1 season. She also performed the lead role in an off Broadway production called Our Leading Lady by Charles Busch in which she picked up a nomination from the Drama League due to her performance.

In the Fall of 2007, Mulgrew went on to grace the New York theater stage, yet again, as Clytemnestra for Charles L. Mee's Iphigenia 2.0, she won the Obie Award for outstanding performance.

In June 2008 Mulgrew appeared in Equus on Broadway, playing Hesther Saloman, a sympathetic public official who is empathetic toward the play's central character. The play opened on September 5, 2008 for a strictly limited 22-week engagement through February 8, 2009.

Also in 2008 Mulgrew filmed the 30 minute courtroom drama "The Response" which is based on actual transcripts of the Guantanamo Bay tribunals, it was researched and fully vetted in conjunction with the University Of Maryland School & Law & was shot in 3 days and all the crew & cast agreed to defer their salaries so it could be made. Mulgrew plays Colonel Sims. According to The Response website they are currently looking at ways to distribute the film.

Kate Mulgrew will be returning to television in the new NBC medical series, Mercy. She will play the role of "Jeannie Flanagan" the mother of the show's lead, Veronica & Mulgrew's character will be a recurring role, the show premiers on NBC on September 23, 2009. If the show is a ratings success it may also be shown in the UK.

Due for release in 2010 is "The Best & the Brightest" which is a comedy based in the world of New York City's elite private kindergartens, Mulgrew will play "The Player's wife" & in development is The Incredible Story of Joyce McKinney & the Manacled Mormon.

In a message to her fans on her offical website Totally Kate she said, "I am looking for a play and hope that it will come to me before I become irritated. But I realize, even in this wish, that I have been a little spoiled as an actress and that in the waiting there is a kind of lovely discipline"

Ryan's Hope / Mary Ryan Fenelli (1975-1977, 1983, 1986, 1989)

Headstrong like her father, Mary Ryan was the second youngest of the five children that Johnny and Maeve Ryan had. In 1975, she had just finished college when she met a reporter named Jack Fenelli. The two began a tumultuous on-again, off-again relationship. Meanwhile, she became a reporter at a local channel named Channel R. Jack finally proposed to her in the spring of 1976. They were then married in July in a wedding that almost didn't happen due to the disappearance of the groom (he had gotten drunk the night before). Their marriage was very rocky at first, but it seemed to be improving when Jack was involved in a very serious car accident that almost took his life and left him impotent. Their relationship became very strained, and her discovery that she was pregnant did not help matters. Jack finally decided to end their marriage and left Mary shortly before she gave birth to her daughter, Ryan. Mary continued to love Jack despite everything. Maeve finally got them back together by locking them both up in the basement of Ryan's. They were remarried in December 1977 and left for their honeymoon, for which they went to Ireland. Their marriage remained pretty happy from that point forward. As Mary became more and more busy, however, Jack began to feel lonely and almost had an affair with her sister, Siobhan. Shortly after confessing this to Mary, she was killed on the day of Siobhan's wedding to Joe Novak by the mob, who tried to make it look like a car accident. Jack was able to find out the truth, though. The spirit of Mary returned several times: in 1983, she tried to get Jack to move on and find another woman for him to love; in 1986, she returned in the form of a woman named Moira to help her daughter Ryan get married to Rick Hyde; and, in her final appearance in 1989, she returned to talk to Jack on the morning of his wedding to Leigh Kirkland.

Star Trek Voyager / Captain Kathryn Janeway (1995 - 2001)

Kate Mulgrew originally auditioned for the role of Captain Nicole Janeway when Voyager was being cast. She initially sent in a videotaped audition, which she made in New York City in August 94. However she was unhappy with this auditiion & auditioned in person a few weeks later. On that same day, Genevieve Bujold was selected to play Janeway over Mulgrew. But Bujold left the role after only two days of filming, due to the demanding production schedule. Mulgrew was the runner-up between the two actresses and eventually was assigned to replace Bujold. After taking the part, she requested the name be changed from Nicole to Kathryn and the producers agreed. Among the actresses Mulgrew beat out for the role were Helen Shaver , Chelsea Field & Karen Austin.

Star Trek Voyager co-creator and executive producer Jeri Taylor states that Mulgrew "had an ineffable quality that put her ahead of the pack. She has proven to be a remarkably accurate choice".

About her years on Star Trek, Kate said: I'm proud of it. It was difficult; it was hard work. I'm proud of the work because I think I made some little difference in women in science. I grew to really love Star Trek Voyager, and out of a cast of 9, I've made 3 great friends, I managed to raise 2 children. I think, "It's good. I used myself well, and speaking about the best and worst part about playing a Star Trek captain: "The best thing was simply the privilege and the challenge of being able to take a shot at the first female captain, transcending stereotypes that I was very familiar with. I was able to do that in front of millions of viewers. That was a remarkable experience - and it continues to resonate. The downside of that is also that it continues to resonate, and threatens to eclipse all else in one's long career if one does not up the ante and stay at it, in a way that may not ordinarily be necessary. I have to work at changing and constantly reinventing myself in a way that probably would not have happened had Star Trek, not come along. I knew that going in, and I think that all of the perks attached to this journey have been really inexpressively great. So the negatives are small." (Sept/Oct 2006, Star Trek Magazine issue #1)

The series was best known for its familial crew, science fiction based plots, engaging action sequences and light humor. The writers often noted that many episodes had underlying themes and messages or were metaphors for current social issues. Additionally, from the end of season 3 onwards the show gained in popularity for its storylines which frequently featured The Borg & the scenes between Janeway, former Borg Drone turned Voyager crew member Seven of nine & The Doctor.

Personal life

Mulgrew has two sons: Ian Thomas and Alexander "Alec" James & a step - daughter, born from her first marriage to Robert H. Egan.

In 1999, Mulgrew married politician Tim Hagan, a former Ohio gubernatorial candidate and a current commissioner of Cuyahoga County, Ohio.

Kate's mother Joan introduced them & he proposed to Kate on the set of Star Trek Voyager.

Mulgrew is also a member of the National Advisory Committee of the Alzheimer's Association. Mulgrew's mother, Joan Mulgrew, died on July 27, 2006 after a long battle with the disease.

She spoke at the 24th Annual Mayorak Conference & give a heart warming and moving speech about Alzheimer's, you can find a link to that speech below.

According to a Women's Health TV show report, in 2002 Kate Mulgrew had raised over 2 Million US Dollars for the association.

As well as being a member of the National Advisory Committee she is also an opponent of abortion as well as capital punishment. She received an award from Feminists for Life, a pro-life feminist group. She is quoted as saying "Execution as punishment is barbaric and unnecessary", "Life is sacred to me on all levels & "Abortion does not compute with my philosophy."

More recently Kate Mulgrew has became the voice of Cleveland's Metro Health System.

Kate was also a friend of the late John Kennedy Jr. and attended his funeral with husband Tim Hagan

Filmography

Television programs

Year	Title	Role
1975 - 1978, 1983; 1986; 1989	Ryan's Hope	Mary Ryan Fenelli
1975	Wide World Mystery: Alien Lover	Susan
1976	The American Woman: Portraits of Courage	Deborah Samson
1978	The Word	Tony Nicholson
1978	Dallas	Garnet McGee
1979	Jennifer: A Woman's Story	Joan Russell
1979	Mrs. Columbo : Kate Loves a Mystery	Kate Columbo / Callahan
1981	Manions of America	Rachel Clement
1986	Cheers	Janet Eldridge
1987	Hotel	Leslie Chase
1987; 1992; 1994	Murder She Wrote	Sonny Greer, Joanna Grimsky Rollins, Maude Gillis
1988	Heartbeat	Dr. Joanne Springsteen / Halloran
1988	Roots: The Gift	Hattie Carraway
1991	Danielle Steel's 'Daddy'	Sarah Watson
1991	Man of the People	Mayor Lisbeth Chardin
1991	Fatal Friendship	Sue Bradley
1992	Batman: The Animated Series	Red Claw
1992	The Pirates of Dark Water	Cressa
1992	Murphy Brown	Hillary Wheaton
1993	For Love & Glory	Antonia Doyle
1995 - 2001	Star Trek Voyager	Captain Janeway
1996	Gargoyles	Antonia Reynard / Titania
1998	Riddler's Moon	Victoria Riddler
2006	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Assistant US Attorney Donna Geysen
2007	Star Trek: Beyond the Final Frontier	Herself
2007	The Black Donnellys	Helen Donnelly
2009	Mercy	Jeannie Flanagan

Films

Year	Title	Role
1980	A Time for Miracles	Mother Seton
1981	Lovespell	Isolt
1982	A Stranger is Watching	Sharon Martin
1985	Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins	Major Rayner Fleming
1987	Throw Momma from the Train	Margaret
1992	Round Numbers	Judith Schweitzer
1994	Camp Nowhere	Rachel Prescott
1995	Captain Nuke & the Bomber Boys	Mrs. Pescoe
2002	Star Trek Nemesis	Admiral Janeway
2005	Perception	Dr. Mary Smith
2008	The Response	Colonel Carol Simms
2010	The Best & the Brightest	The Player's wife

Theatre

Dates	Title	Role	Company
June - August 1975	Own Town	Emily	American Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford, CT
November 1976	Absurd Person Singular	Eva Jackson	Encore Productions in New York City, performed in South Bend, Indiana; Davenport, Iowa; Roanoke, Norfolk, Virginia; Raleigh, North Carolina; Scranton & Pennsylvania
July 26th 1977	Uncommon Women and Others	Kate	Eugene O'Neill Theater Center; National Playwrights Conference, Waterford, CT
February 1st - February 19th 1978	Othello	Desdemona	Hartman Theater Company, Stamford, CT
September 1980	Chapter Two	Jennie Malone	Coachlight Dinner Theater, Nanuet, New York
October 28th, 1981 - May 16th, 1982	Another Part of the Forest	Regina	Seattle Repertory Theatre
April 12th, 1982 - May 16th, 1982	Major Barbara	Major Barbara	Seattle Repertory Theatre
October 22nd - November 14th, 1982	Cat on a Hot Tin Roof	Margaret	Syracuse Stage, New York
October 26nd - November 19th, 1983	The Ballad of Soapy Smith	Kitty Strong	Seattle Repertory Theatre
December 22nd 1983 - January 13th 1984	The Philadelphia Story	Tracy	Alaska Repertory Theatre
February 15th - March 10th, 1984	The Misanthrope	Celimene	Seattle Repertory Theatre
June 8th - August 4th, 1985	Measure for Measure	Isabella	Center Theater Group, Los Angeles
June 5th - July 13th, 1986	Hedda Gabler	Hedda Gabler	Center Theater Group, Los Angeles
June 5th - July 13th, 1986	The Real Thing	Charlotte	Center Theater Group, Los Angeles
January 9th - February 22nd, 1987	The Film Society	Nan Sinclair	The Los Angeles Theater Center
August 4th to September 2nd, 1989	Titus Andronicus	Tamora	New York Shakespeare Festival
May 20th - July 1th, 1990	Aristocrats	Alice	Center Theater Group, Los Angeles
July 21th - August 30th, 1992	What the Butler Saw	Mrs. Prentice	La Jolla Playhouse
August 11th, 1993 - October 3rd, 1993	Black Comedy	Clea	Roundabout Theatre, Broadway
2003; 2004; 2005	Tea at Five	Katharine Hepburn	The Hartford Stage, The Cleveland Play House, American Repertory Theatre
April 25th, 2002	Dear Liar	Mrs. Patrick Campbell	Youngstown State University
March 27th - May 16th, 2004	The Royal Family	Julie Cavendish	Center Theater Group, Los Angeles
November 22nd, 2004	Mary Stuart	Mary Stuart	Classic Stage Company, New York, NY
18th April, 2006 - 30th April, 2006	The Exonerated	Sunny Jacobs	Riverside Studios, London, England
Previews: February 22nd - March 18th, 2007 Opening Night: March 20th, 2007 - April 29th, 2007	Our Leading Lady	Laura Keene	Manhattan Theatre Club at New York City Center Stage II
Previews: February 22nd - March 18th, 2007 Opening Night: March 20th, 2007 - April 29th, 2007	Iphigenia	Clytemnestra	Signature Theatre Company at Peter Norton Space in New York City
Previews: February 22nd - March 18th, 2007 Opening Night: March 20th, 2007 - April 29th, 2007	Iphigenia	Clytemnestra	Signature Theatre Company at Peter Norton Space in New York City
21st April, 2008	Farfetched Fables & The Fascinating Foundling	The Fascinating Foundling, Anastasia	Project Shaw Reading - The Players Club - New York City
22nd April, 2008 - 3rd May, 2008	The American Dream & The Sandbox	Mommy	Cherry Lane Theatre, New York, NY
Previews: 5th September - 24th September 2008 Opening Night: September 25th, 2008 - February 8th, 2009	Equus	Hesther Saloman	Broadhurst Theatre, 235 West 44th Street New York, NY

Awards

Won / Nominated	For	From	Date
Nominated	Best TV Actress In A Drama - Mrs. Columbo	Golden Globe	1980
Won	Tracey Humanitarian Award - Received in recognition of Murphy Brown episode On The Rocks	The Tracy Humanitarian Association	1992
Won	Best Genre TV Actress - Star Trek Voyager	Saturn Award	1998
Nominated	Best Genre TV Actress - Star Trek Voyager	Saturn Award	1999
Nominated	Best Genre TV Actress - Star Trek Voyager	Saturn Award	2000
Nominated	Best Genre TV Actress - Star Trek Voyager	Saturn Award	2001
Won	Audience Award for Favorite Solo Performance - Tea at Five	Broadway.com	2003
Nominated	Outstanding Solo Performance - Tea at Five	Outer Critics Circle	2003
Nominated	Outstanding Lead Actress - Tea at Five	Lucille Lortel Award	2003
Won	Best Actress (Touring, Independent Production - Cuillo Centre) - Tea at Five	Carbonell Awards	2004
Nominated	Distinguished Performance - Our Leading Lady	Drama League Award	2007
Won	Outstanding Performance - Iphigenia 2.0	Obie Award	2008

External links

• Totally Kate (Official Website)
• Kate Mulgrew at IMDb
• Kate Mulgrew at Memory Alpha
• Template:Tvtome person