Katherine Kiernan Mulgrew, or Kate Mulgrew, was born on April 29th 1955. She grew up in Dubuque, Iowa, being the oldest girl in an Irish Catholic family of 8. When Kate, as a 12-year-old, expressed an interest in acting, her mother, Joan, brought home biographies of great actresses and sent Kate to summer acting schools.

At the age of 17, she left home and traveled to New York City to study acting. At New York University, she 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.

Her early career included portraying Mary Ryan for two years on the ABC soap Ryan's Hope while also playing the role of Emily in the American Shakespeare Theatre production of "Our Town" in Stamford, Connecticut. When Kate was only 23, she played Kate Columbo in a series created especially for her, Kate Columbo. In this series, she was playing the wife of one of TV's most beloved detectives, Lt. Columbo. While a critical success, the show was canceled after two seasons.

Kate also starred in several feature films, such as _Lovespell (1979)_ , A Stranger Is Watching with Rip Torn, Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins and Throw Momma from the Train with Danny DeVito. In 1981, she traveled to Europe to film the ABC mini-series, The Manions of America 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, Kate played Dr. Joanne Springsteen, the head of a medical clinic. However, in series such as: "Murphy Brown", "Murder, She Wrote", "St. Elsewhere" and "Cheers" she only had guest roles.

In 1993 Kate separated from her husband, Robert 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 (and move into an apartment in Westwood) when something incredible happened. She had been called to resume a role in a TV show after the original actress, Genevieve Bujold, left two days into filming. 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 in Star Trek: Voyager. At the moment she plays in "Tea at Five" on some stages in the US.
Married to Cleveland, Ohio, politician Tim Hagan. They were introduced to one another by her mother. Children: Two sons - Ian Thomas (born 1983) and Alexander James (born 1984); one daughter. For the Star Trek Thirtieth Anniversary Special, she performed a parody sketch of Star Trek: Voyager with Frasier stars David Hyde Pierce, John Mahoney, Jane Leeves, and Peri Gilpin Was a friend of the late John Kennedy Jr. and attended his funeral with husband Timothy Hagan. Was initially turned down for the role of Capt. Janeway on Star Trek: Voyager, in favour of Geneviève Bujold. When Bujold backed out of the project two days into shooting, Mulgrew again auditioned for the role, and won it! Husband Tim Hagan ran as the Democratic Candidate for Governor of Ohio in 2002, but lost the 5 November 2002 election. When cast for the role of Capt. Janeway, Mulgrew asked that the character's first name be changed from Nicole to Kathryn. The producers agreed. The John R. Maxim novel "Abel Baker Charlie" has a character with her name. Her character on Star Trek: Voyager, Captain Kathryn Janeway, is regarded by fans as having Bipolar disorder because of her erratic actions. Ms. Mulgrew said she blames the writers. Kathryn Janeway's character was based on a feminist writer Elizabeth Janeway. Husband Tim Hagan proposed to her on the set of Star Trek: Voyager. Owns/owned a chocolate colored labrador called Gracie. Parents: Joan Virginia and Thomas James Mulgrew Has a home in Brentwood, California. Has a brother called Joe. She is good friends with fellow "Star Trek" alumnus John de Lancie ("Q"). Siblings: Tom, Joe, Jenny, Laura, Sam Opposes abortion. Has appeared with Jonathan Frakes in four different productions: Camp Nowhere, Gargoyles, Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Nemesis. An avid fighter against Alzheimer's disease. In 2003 received a Lucille Lortel nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress for Tea at Five In 2003 received an Outer Critics Circle nomination for Outstanding Solo Performance in Tea at Five. In 2003 received Broadway.com's Audience Award for Favorite Solo Performance in Tea at Five. Won the award for Best Actress at the 29th annual Carbonell Awards for her portrayal of Katharine Hepburn in 'Tea at Five'. She won the Tracey Humanitarian Award for her performance as driven alcoholic news anchor Hillary Wheaton on a 1992 episode of Murphy Brown entitled "On the Rocks". Received an Honorary Doctorate of Letters for Artistic Contribution from Seton Hill University in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. In 1996, was contracted by IBM to help promote the latest release of OS/2 Warp, version 4 (previously codenamed Merlin), due to associations with Star Trek.