Kate Mulgrew will return to the Star Trek universe in the upcoming animated series "Star Trek: Prodigy." She will once again play Captain Kathryn Janeway, made famous on "Star Trek" Voyager."
Janeway is a main character on the Nickelodeon series, which will follow a group of lawless teens who discover a derelict Starfleet ship and use it to search for adventure, meaning and salvation.
"I have invested every scintilla of my being in Captain Janeway, and I can't wait to endow her with nuance that I never did before in 'Star Trek: Prodigy,'" Mulgrew said in the report at Variety. "How thrilling to be able to introduce to these young minds an idea that has elevated the world for decades. To be at the helm again is going to be deeply gratifying in a new way for me."
"Captain Janeway was held to a different standard than her predecessors," said executive producer Alex Kurtzman. "She was asked to embody an inhuman level of perfection in order to be accepted as 'good enough' by the doubters, but showed them all what it means to be truly outstanding. We can think of no better captain to inspire the next generation of dreamers on Nickelodeon, than she."
Kate Mulgrew is a celebrated actress of stage, screen and television; from Broadway shows including EQUUS, MARY STUART, and TEA AT FIVE; to films like A STRANGER IS WATCHING, THROW MOMMA FROM THE TRAIN, and STAR TREK NEMISIS, to her most famous roles in RYAN'S HOPE, MRS. COLUMBO, and STAR TREK VOYAGER.
One of Kate's first roles was the much beloved character of
Mary Ryan, (Later
Mary Ryan Fenelli) on the
ABC soap opera, RYAN'S HOPE. Having originated the role, her portrayal became synonymous with the
Mary Ryan character, and after leaving the series in 1978, the producers wanted to kill off the character. After
ABC refused to let them, three other actresses took over the part, but
ABC finally relented when they realized that no one other than Mulgrew herself would be accepted in the role, and agreed to let the character be killed.
Kate's success in television continued, and she created two more iconic characters that were beloved by fans. Although it only ran one season, Kate's work as the title character in MRS. COLOMBO, was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Television Series Drama that year. She then went on to create her most famous television character, Captain Kathryn Janeway, the first female Captain in the newest STAR TREK franchise, STAR TREK VOYAGER. The role won her Best Actress in a Television Series Drama at both the Satellite and Saturn Awards. Kate continues, even now, to be a hard sought after participant in the many STAR TREK and Sci Fi Conventions around the country.
The Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series is for Kate's portrayal of her fourth possibly iconic character, Galina "Red" Reznikov, in Netflix's ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK. As Red, she is the Master Chef of the prison kitchen, and is the behind-the-scenes leader of the female prison's white population. After getting involved in the Russian mafia, Red swiftly climbed the ranks of the organization. Red is feared and respected by most of the prisoners, but her fate has turned recently, and she now does not quite have the power she once did.
At the same time Kate started her professional acting career, her love of theater blossomed with her first role as Emily in OUR TOWN at the American Shakespeare Theatre, in Stratford, Connecticut. Her interests took her across the country with work in productions at the
Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, Center Theatre Group in Los Angeles, the New York Shakespeare Festival, the La Jolla Playhouse, and many more.
Kate's work in the theater won her a Drama League Award nomination for Distinguished Performance for her part in OUR LEADING LADY, and an Obie Award for Outstanding Performance in "Iphigenia 2.0." Her most recognized work was for her captivating performance as Katherine Hepburn, in
THE ONE woman show, TEA AT FIVE. She was nominated for Outstanding Solo Performance by the Outer Critics Circle; Outstanding Lead Actress by the
Lucille Lortel Awards; and won Best Actress (Touring, Independent Production) at the Carbonell Awards.
Kate has consistently worked throughout her career in films, but has never had the same recognition and achievement that she has won from her television and stage audiences. Although she had roles in some memorable movies such as THROW MOMMA FROM THE TRAIN and cult classics REMO WILLIAMS: THE ADVENTURE BEGINS and CAMP NOWHERE, her biggest screen role was bringing her Captain Janeway character in STAR TREK: NEMESIS with co-star
Patrick Stewart.
