Kate Mulgrew Biography

Katherine Kiernan Maria "Kate" Mulgrew (born April 29, 1955) is an American actress, most noted for her roles on Star Trek: Voyager as Captain Kathryn Janeway and Ryan's Hope as Mary Ryan. She has performed in many television shows, theater productions and movies, earning a variety of 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 Award.

Mulgrew is an active member of the Alzheimer's Association National Advisory Council and the voice of Cleveland's MetroHealth System.

Early life

Mulgrew was born in 1955 in Dubuque, Iowa, into an Irish Catholic family, to Thomas James "T.J." Mulgrew II, a contractor, and Joan Virginia Mulgrew (née Kiernan), an artist and painter. She attended Wahlert High School in Dubuque.

Aged 17, she was accepted at the Stella Adler Conservatory of Acting in conjunction with New York University in New York City. Mulgrew left NYU after one year. During this time, to earn money while in New York, Mulgrew was employed as a waitress at Friar Tuck, a now defunct restaurant previously at 914 Third Avenue.

Career

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. In 1979, she played Kate Columbo in Mrs. Columbo, a spin-off of the popular detective series, created specifically for her, which lasted 13 episodes.

In 1985 she appeared in 'Remo Williams The Adventure Begins' in the role of Major Fleming.

In 1986, she appeared on Cheers as Janet Eldridge. In 1992, Kate appeared on Murphy Brown as Hillary Wheaton, a Toronto-based anchorwoman brought in to replace Murphy Brown during her pregnancy, but who turned out to have the same problem with alcoholism as Brown had previously dealt with at the beginning of the series.

In 1993, Mulgrew separated from her husband, Robert H. Egan, to whom she had been married for 12 years. In 1995, the divorce became final, and she was on the verge of selling her house and moving into a less-expensive apartment in Westwood when she received a call to take the part of Captain Kathryn Janeway in Star Trek: Voyager. Mulgrew made history in the Star Trek franchise when she became the first female captain as a series regular in a leading role. Voyager was the first show broadcast on the new UPN channel, the only series renewed after the channel's first programming season, and its only show to run for seven seasons, making it the UPN's longest running. Mulgrew won the Saturn Award for "Best TV Actress" in 1998 for her performances as Janeway. Mulgrew also voiced the character of Janeway in the PS2 and PC game Star Trek: Voyager - Elite Force and Star Trek: Voyager - Elite Force 2. In recent years, Mulgrew kept active in doing voice-over work for video games, most notably voicing the mysterious Flemeth in the Dragon Age video game series, a role she described as "delicious".

During Voyager she also played the role of Titania in the animated series, Gargoyles and Victoria Riddler in Riddler's Moon, a made for TV movie. Mulgrew provided the voice of Janeway for Star Trek: Captain's Chair, a virtual-reality tour of various Star Fleet vessels, for home computers.

Star Trek: Voyager (1995"2001)

Mulgrew auditioned for the role of the captain, named Kathryn Janeway, when producers announced casting for Star Trek: Voyager. She initially submitted a videotaped audition, which she made in New York City in August 1994. However she was unhappy with this audition and auditioned in person a few weeks later. That day, film actress Geneviève Bujold was selected to play Janeway, but left the role after only two days of filming, due to the demanding production schedule required for a television show.

About her years on Voyager, Mulgrew 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 nine, I've made three great friends, I managed to raise two children. I think, "It's good. I used myself well." Speaking about the best and worst part about playing a Star Trek captain, she said: "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.

2001"present

After Voyager came to the end of the full seven seasons, Mulgrew returned to theater and 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 and Mulgrew received two awards, one from Carbonell (best actress) and 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 one season. She also performed the lead role in an off-Broadway production called Our Leading Lady written by Charles Busch in which she earned a nomination from the Drama League for her performance.

In 2007, Mulgrew played Clytemnestra in New York 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 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 of Law and was shot in three days. Mulgrew portrays Colonel Sims and she, the other cast members and crew agreed to defer their salaries to cover the production costs. The film has been screened at a number of sites and is available on DVD.

In 2009, Mulgrew returned to television in the NBC medical series, Mercy playing the recurring role of Jeannie Flanagan (the mother of the show's lead, Veronica). Due for release in 2010 is the film The Best and the Brightest, a comedy based in the world of New York City's elite private kindergartens. Mulgrew will play The Player's wife. Also in development is the film The Incredible Story of Joyce McKinney and the Manacled Mormon.

In 2010, Kate Mulgrew starred as Cleopatra in William Shakepeare's Antony and Cleopatra at Hartford Stage. As of July 2011, she has appeared in the Adult Swim series NTSF:SD:SUV::. Also in 2011, Mulgrew appeared in the feature length documentary The Captains. The film, written and directed by William Shatner, follows Shatner as he interviews each of the other actors who played a Starfleet captain within the Star Trek franchise. During that same year, she guest starred on the third season of the series Warehouse 13. Her character, Jane Lattimer, is part of a story arc which has continued into the fourth season.

Mulgrew has appeared as a main cast member on Adult Swim's NTSF:SD:SUV:: since 2011 as Kove, the leader of the titular terrorism-fighting unit and ex-wife of series lead Paul Scheer's character.

In 2013 Mulgrew starred as Galina 'Red' Reznikov in the Netflix original series Orange is the New Black.

Personal life

From her first marriage to Robert H. Egan, Mulgrew has two sons, Ian and Alec. For a time, Mulgrew dated Star Trek director Winrich Kolbe.

In April 1999, Mulgrew married politician Tim Hagan, a former Ohio gubernatorial candidate and a former commissioner of Cuyahoga County, Ohio. Mulgrew's mother Joan introduced them, and Hagan proposed to Mulgrew 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.

Mulgrew is also an opponent of abortion and 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" and "Abortion does not compute with my philosophy."

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1981	Lovespell	Isolt
1982	'	Sharon Martin
1985	Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins	Maj. Rayner Fleming
1987	Throw Momma from the Train	Margaret
1992	Round Numbers	Judith Schweitzer
1994	Camp Nowhere	Rachel Prescott
1995	Captain Nuke and the Bomber Boys	Mrs. Pescoe
2001	Judgment	Extra
2002	Star Trek: Nemesis	Kathryn Janeway
2004	Star Trek: The Experience - Borg Invasion 4D	Kathryn Janeway
2005	Perception	Mary
2008	'	Colonel Simms	Short film
2010	'	The Player's Wife
2012	Flatland 2: Sphereland	Over-Sphere
2013	Drawing Home	Edith Morse Robb	Post-production

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1975	'	Susan	Episode: "Alien Lover"
1975-1978	Ryan's Hope	Mary Ryan Fenelli	Main role (407 episodes)
1976	'	Deborah Sampson	TV film
1978	Dallas	Garnet McGee	Episode: "Triangle"
1978	'	Tony Nicholson	TV miniseries
1979	Jennifer: A Woman's Story	Joan Russell	TV film
1979-1980	Mrs. Columbo	Kate Columbo	Main role (13 episodes)
1980	'	Mother Elizabeth Bayley Seton	TV film
1981	'	Rachel Clement	TV miniseries
1984	Jessie	Maureen McLaughlin	Episode: "McLaughlin's Flame"
1986	Carly Mills	Carly Mills	TV film
1986	St. Elsewhere	Helen O'Casey	Episodes: "Time Heals: Parts 1 & 2"
1986	Cheers	Janet Eldridge	Episodes: "Strange Bedfellows: Parts 1, 2 & 3"
1986	My Town	Laura Adams	TV film
1987	Roses Are for the Rich	Kendall Murphy	TV film
1987	Hotel	Leslie Chase	Episode: "Reservations"
1987	Murder, She Wrote	Sonny Greer	Episode: "The Corpse Flew First Class"
1988	Roots: The Gift	Hattie Carraway	TV film
1988-1989	Heartbeat	Dr. Joanne Springsteen	Main role (18 episodes)
1989	Ryan's Hope	Mary Ryan Fenelli	Episode: "1.3515"
1991	Daddy	Sarah Watson	TV film
1991	Fatal Friendship	Sue Bradley	TV film
1991-1992	Man of the People	Mayor Lisbeth Chardin	Regular role (10 episodes)
1992	Murphy Brown	Hillary Wheaton	Episode: "On the Rocks"
1992	Murder, She Wrote	Joanna Rollins	Episode: "Ever After"
1992	Batman: The Animated Series	Red Claw (voice)	Episodes: "The Cat and the Claw: Parts 1 & 2"
1992	'	Cressa (voice)	Episodes: "The Dark Disciples", "The Ghost Pirates", "The Dagron Master", "The Game Players of Undaar"
1993	For Love and Glory	Antonia Doyle	TV film
1994	Murder, She Wrote	Maude Gillis	Episode: "The Dying Game"
1994	Mighty Max	Isis (voice)	Episode: "The Mommy's Hand"
1994	Aladdin	Queen Hippsodeth (voice)	Episode: "A Sultan Worth His Salt"
1995	Aladdin	Queen Hippsodeth (voice)	Episode: "From Hippsodeth, with Love"
1995	Batman: The Animated Series	Red Claw (voice)	Episode: "The Lion and the Unicorn"
1995-2001	Star Trek: Voyager	Kathryn Janeway	Main role (170 episodes)
1996	Gargoyles	Titania / Anastasia Renard (voice)	Episodes: "Walkabout", "Ill Met by Moonlight", "The Gathering: Parts 1 & 2"
1996	Gargoyles: The Goliath Chronicles	Titania (voice)	Episode: "For It May Come True"
2006	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Donna Geysen	Episode: "Web"
2007	'	Helen Donnelly	Main role (9 episodes)
2009-2010	Mercy	Mrs. Jeannie Flanagan	Recurring role (10 episodes)
2011-2013	Warehouse 13	Jane Lattimer	Recurring role (6 episodes)
2011"Present	NTSF:SD:SUV::	Kove	Main role (23 episodes)
2013	Orange Is the New Black	Galina 'Red' Reznikov	Main role (13 episodes)

Theatre

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1975	Our Town	Emily	American Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford, Connecticut
1976	Absurd Person Singular	Eva Jackson
1977	Uncommon Women and Others	Kate	Eugene O'Neill Theater Center
1978	Othello	Desdemona	Hartman Theater Company
1980	Chapter Two	Jennie Malone	Coachlight Dinner Theater
1981-1982	Another Part of the Forest	Regina	Seattle Repertory Theatre
1982	Major Barbara	Major Barbara	Seattle Repertory Theatre
1982	Cat on a Hot Tin Roof	Margaret	Syracuse Stage, New York
1983	'	Kitty Strong	Seattle Repertory Theatre
1984	'	Tracy	Alaska Repertory Theatre
1984	'	Celimene	Seattle Repertory Theatre
1985	Measure for Measure	Isabella	Center Theatre Group, Los Angeles
1986	Hedda Gabler	Hedda Gabler	Center Theatre Group, Los Angeles
1986	'	Charlotte	Center Theater Group, Los Angeles
1987	'	Nan Sinclair	The Los Angeles Theater Center
1989	Titus Andronicus	Tamora	New York Shakespeare Festival
1990	Aristocrats	Alice	Center Theater Group, Los Angeles
1992	What the Butler Saw	Mrs. Prentice	La Jolla Playhouse
1993	Black Comedy	Clea	Roundabout Theatre Company, New York
2002	Dear Liar	Mrs. Patrick Campbell	Youngstown State University
2003	Tea at Five	Katharine Hepburn
2004	Tea at Five	Katharine Hepburn
2004	Mary Stuart	Mary Stuart	Classic Stage Company, New York
2005	Tea at Five	Katharine Hepburn
2006	'	Sunny Jacobs	Riverside Studios, London, England
2007	Our Leading Lady	Laura Keene	Manhattan Theatre Club at New York City Center
2007	Iphigenia	Clytemnestra	Signature Theatre Company
2008	Farfetched Fables and The Fascinating Foundling	Anastasia	Project Shaw Reading - The Players Club - New York
2008	'	Mommy	Cherry Lane Theatre, New York
2008-2009	Equus	Hesther Saloman	Broadhurst Theatre, New York

Video games

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1997	Star Trek: Captain's Chair	Capt. Kathryn Janeway
2000	Star Trek: Voyager - Elite Force	Capt. Kathryn Janeway
2002	Run Like Hell	Dr. Mek
2003	Lords of EverQuest	Lady Kreya
2003	Star Trek: Elite Force II	Capt. Kathryn Janeway
2006	Star Trek: Legacy	Admiral Kathryn Janeway
2009	Dragon Age: Origins	Flemeth
2010	Alan Wake	The Dark Presence
2011	Dragon Age II	Flemeth

Awards and honors

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result
1980	Golden Globe	Best TV Actress - Drama	Mrs. Columbo
1992	Tracey Humanitarian Award		Murphy Brown ("On the Rocks")
1998	Satellite Award	Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Drama	Star Trek: Voyager
1998	Saturn Award	Best Genre TV Actress	Star Trek: Voyager
1999	Saturn Award	Best Genre TV Actress	Star Trek: Voyager
2000	Saturn Award	Best Genre TV Actress	Star Trek: Voyager
2001	Saturn Award	Best Actress on Television	Star Trek: Voyager
2003	Broadway.com	Audience Award for Favorite Solo Performance	Tea at Five
2003	Outer Critics Circle	Outstanding Solo Performance	Tea at Five
2003	Lucille Lortel Awards	Outstanding Lead Actress	Tea at Five
2004	Carbonell Awards	Best Actress (Touring, Independent Production - Cuillo Centre)	Tea at Five
2007	Drama League Award	Distinguished Performance	Our Leading Lady
2008	Obie Award	Outstanding Performance	Iphigenia 2.0