Kate Mulgrew (born April 29, 1955) is an American actress, most famous for her role on Star Trek: Voyager and Mary Ryan on Ryan's Hope. She was born in Dubuque, Iowa, and is the second oldest of eight siblings.
At the age of 17, Mulgrew left home and traveled to New York City to study acting. While at New York University, Mulgrew was accepted into Stella Adler's Conservatory. At the end of her junior year, she left the university to commit herself full time to her craft.
Kate Mulgrew has performed in 23 plays, 9 movies, 30 television shows, 6 audio books, and 1 television documentary. One of her first roles on television was of older daughter Mary Ryan on the soap opera Ryan's Hope. She would become a fan favorite and would be associated with the show long after it was canceled. To this day she 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.
Among her television guest roles was as Hillary Wheaton, a Canadian anchorwoman wrestling with alcoholism, on an episode of Murphy Brown. She also guest starred on Cheers as Sam Malone's temporary romantic interest Councillor Janet Eldridge.
She is also well-remembered for starring in the short-lived 1970s series Mrs. Columbo (also known as Kate Loves a Mystery among other titles).
She played Captain Kathryn Janeway on the science fiction television series Star Trek: Voyager from 1995 to 2001, earning her greatest popular success to date.
Something of a Katharine Hepburn lookalike, she continues to star in a one-woman play called Tea at Five, a monologue reminiscence based on Hepburn's memoir Me: Stories of My Life. Tea at Five is also available as an audio recording.
Kate Mulgrew won the Saturn Award for "Best TV Actress" in 1998 and the Golden Satellite Award for "Best Actress in a TV series drama" in 1998. She was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for "Best Dramatic Actress" in 1979.
Mulgrew's husband Tim Hagan was the Democratic party's nominee for the office of governor of Ohio in the 2002 gubernatorial election. Hagan lost to incumbent Robert A. Taft II.
Mulgrew did a radio commercial for the Trappist monks of New Melleray Abbey on their line of Trappist Caskets. She has also narrated commercials for the MetroHealth System of Cleveland, Ohio.
Kate Mulgrew also said that life is sacred to her "on all levels" and is strongly opposed to abortion and capital punishment.
