Katherine Kiernan "Kate" Mulgrew (born April 29, 1955) is a Golden Globe-nominated 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 over 30 television shows, 23 plays, nine movies, six audio books, and one television documentary.

Early life
Mulgrew was born in Dubuque, Iowa to Thomas James "T.J." Mulgrew II, a businessman, and Joan Kiernan Mulgrew, an artist Born into an Irish Catholic family, she is the second oldest of eight siblings whom she helped raise. At the age of 12, Mulgrew knew she wanted to be an actor when she read a poem in school 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 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.