Born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Picardo graduated from the William Penn Charter School. He then entered Yale University as a pre-med student, not aware he was destined to "play" doctor in primetime and on stage. Before his stint on Star Trek: Voyager, Picardo was Dr. Dick Richards on the award-winning Vietnam drama series China Beach. He also played Dr. McCaskill in the theater production "The Waiting Room" at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles.

While at Yale, Picardo landed a role in Leonard Bernstein's "Mass," a musical theater piece originally commissioned for the 1972 opening of the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. It was Bernstein himself who convinced Robert (and his parents) that he should pursue acting. He changed his major and graduated from Yale in 1974 with a B.A. in Drama, then enrolled at the Circle in the Square Professional Theater Workshop (whose other alumni include Kevin Bacon and Ken Olin). Robert had to pay his dues and wait tables for a couple of years, but then his theatrical work prospered in 1976 when he appeared in the David Mamet play "Sexual Perversity in Chicago," and with Diane Keaton in "The Primary English Class."

Picardo made his Broadway debut as the lead in the comedy hit "Gemini" with Danny Aiello. He went on to co-star with Jack Lemmon in Bernard Slade's "Tribute" on Broadway and in Los Angeles. His work in theater also includes "Beyond Therapy" and "Geniuses" at the Coronet Theater. Picardo won critical acclaim for his powerful performance in "The Normal Heart" at the Berkeley Repertory Theater, earning him a Dramalogue Award.

The awards and recognition continued as Robert became involved in television. He was nominated for an Emmy award for his role as Mr. Cutlip on the ABC series The Wonder Years, and he was awarded the Viewers for Quality Television Founder's Award for his outstanding performances in both The Wonder Years and China Beach.

Robert's extensive television credits include a starring role opposite Helena Bonham-Carter in the NBC movie-of-the-week "Fatal Deception: Mrs. Lee Harvey Oswald." He also appeared in the HBO movies "The Second Civil War" and "White Mile," the Showtime movie "Menno's Mind," and the NBC mini-series "Deadly Matrimony." He had recurring roles on Home Improvement, L.A. Law and Alice, and has guest-starred in such series as Ally McBeal, Early Edition, ER, Tales From The Crypt, Amazing Stories, Benson, Taxi and Showtime's The Outer Limits. He lent his voice talent to ABC's Dinosaurs, and also starred as the voice of Pfish, the singing land shark, in the Cartoon Network's animated short "Pfish and Chips," part of the World Premiere 'Toons series.

In feature films, Picardo was seen in the DreamWorks comedy "Small Soldiers," as well as "Wagons East" (with John Candy), "Gremlins II," "Innerspace," "The Burbs," "Back to School," "Star 80," "Loverboy" and "The Howling." And, of course, he made a cameo appearance as the U.S.S. Enterprise-E's own EMH in "Star Trek: First Contact."

Robert has recently donned the director's hat by helming the Star Trek: Voyager episodes "Alter Ego" and "One Small Step." The latter episode--about Voyager's discovery of a lost command module from the first manned mission to Mars--is one that Robert is particularly proud of, because he is an active supporter of The Planetary Society, a space advocacy organization founded by Carl Sagan. Robert serves on the group's Advisory Council with the likes of Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke and Buzz Aldrin.

Robert resides in Los Angeles with his wife, Linda, and two daughters.