Kate Mulgrew Peoples Chat 10/12/98
In developing the character of Captain Kathryn Janeway, the first female in the franchise's 32-year history to captain a Star Trek vessel, the
producers, and Paramount Studios, wanted to steer clear of all stereotypes. "Janeway was meant to be a woman who is a Starfleet
Captain. Not a woman who has learned to survive in a male world," explains Michael Piller, co-creator of Voyager. "We were looking for a
woman who had an authoritative quality about her." Enter Kate Mulgrew.
"She came into the audition with a dreadful cold. . . she sounded a little
bit like Lauren Bacall, and we hired her right on the spot. Not only was she was authoritative, she brought a certain flamboyance, an energy and
a romantic quality to the role of the Starfleet Captain of the U.S.S. Voyager as well," recalls Piller. "Basically, all of us could see her commanding a ship."
This 43-year-old award-winning actress, Honorary Mayor of Brentwood, California, and mother of two sons -- Ian, 15 and Alec, 14 -- has
commanded more than a few other leading female roles.
Right after leaving New York University at the end of her junior year, Mulgrew was cast as Mary Ryan in the
daytime drama, Ryan's Hope, and simultaneously earned the role of Emily in the production of Our Town at
the Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, Connecticut.
Almost immediately afterward, when she was just 23, Kate was approached by the head of programming at
NBC, Fred Silverman, who offered her a starring role in a series which he had created for her called Kate
Columbo. As the detective wife of the television character Lieutenant Columbo, Kate soon became
established as a strong leading actress, and went on to star in several feature films, including Throw Momma
from the Train with Danny DeVito and Billy Crystal.
Her guest-starring roles on TV include Cheers, where she was a Boston councilwoman who captured Sam
Malone's fancy, and her portrayal of an alcoholic anchorwoman on Murphy Brown, which garnered her the
Tracey Humanitarian Award.
A self-proclaimed voracious reader and jazz fan, Kate says she'd like to return to the New York stage
someday, where she made her Broadway debut in Black Comedy, a play written by Peter Schaeffer.
PEOPLE Online Conference with Kate Mulgrew
PEOPLE Online: Welcome Kate! Thank you so much for being here tonight!
PEOPLE Online: We just chatted with your costars Ethan Phillips and Robert Beltran
PEOPLE Online: Having you here is like the icing on the cake!
Kate Mulgrew: How pleasant, how lovely!
Kate Mulgrew: I prefer to be the cake itself!
Kate Mulgrew: But I'll be the icing!
PEOPLE Online: There have been a lot of queries about whether you and Chakotay will be having a romance --
What's your take on all this? Pro? Con?
Kate Mulgrew: My take on this is that at this point it looks like the first officer
Kate Mulgrew: is much too occupied with other female aliens
Kate Mulgrew: to be bothered with the Captain.
Kate Mulgrew: Therefore, bewildered and bereaved, I must retreat to my quarters
Kate Mulgrew: and leave the rest to fantasy.
chakkate: From one Iowan to another, do you think your midwest roots help you in the business?
Kate Mulgrew: My midwestern roots have absolutely grounded me
Kate Mulgrew: and led me to the deepest happiness in my middle age.
Kate Mulgrew: In retrospect, my background has given me more passion than any other source could
Kate Mulgrew: possibly have provided.
kpizzano: Were you intimidated at first being the first female Captain?
Kate Mulgrew: Kate Mulgrew: Intimidation is not the word.
Kate Mulgrew: But I was certainly nervous, highly scrutinized
Kate Mulgrew: and very aware of the fact that many jobs hung in the balance.
Kate Mulgrew: I was filled with a very unusual kind of adrenaline,
Kate Mulgrew: which I think now served me very well.
rpm13: KATE WHAT WILL THE SHOW HAVE IN STORE FOR US THIS YEAR?
Kate Mulgrew: This will be a banner year.
Kate Mulgrew: So often it takes a long time for a love affair to become a commitment
Kate Mulgrew: and that is where we are right now.
Kate Mulgrew: This will be year filled with surprise, elevated writing,
Kate Mulgrew: mystery, romance, humor and intrigue.
Kate Mulgrew: In other words -- unprecedented.
Talie_Beaurain_98: I know that you are a very spiritual person, does that help you a lot in your life ? Or has it
helped you ?
Kate Mulgrew: My spiritual life is a bit of a conundrum to myself,
Kate Mulgrew: but it has certainly allowed me to embrace the absurdity and wonder of the world.
BbClef: WILL WE SEE MORE OF THE BACKGROUND OF JANEWAY IN THIS SEASON?
Kate Mulgrew: I cant really answer that question.
Kate Mulgrew: But I would have to presuppose that the writers assume that the
Kate Mulgrew: viewers are familiar with my background
Kate Mulgrew: and therefore will only use it when imperative to the story line.
Chani_A: 26 new episodes, has the schedule been exhausting?
Kate Mulgrew: We're now at episode thirteen.
Kate Mulgrew: And I can honesty say that I have never felt such
Kate Mulgrew: ebullience, relaxation and utter joy in the work.
KiraNerise: How did you get into acting in the first place? How old were you?
Kate Mulgrew: I was twelve years old when Cupid shot his arrow
Kate Mulgrew: and although it has been a career filled with ups and downs,
Kate Mulgrew: the love affair has never ended.
Kate Mulgrew: And I would like to die on the stage at the age of 87 to a standing ovation, and in the arms of
my doctor,
Kate Mulgrew: who will look at me and say, "But you're too young to die!"
judy1_1948: Are you still involved with ICC in NY and how is it doing?
Kate Mulgrew: I'm very involved with ICC, who
Kate Mulgrew: whose chairman is my best friend.
Kate Mulgrew: And whose philosophy, whose on hand care for infants with pediatric AIDS
Kate Mulgrew: I embrace with conviction and compassion.
Kate Mulgrew: ICC stands for Incarnation Children's Center.
Kate Mulgrew: It's in Washington Heights in New York.
Gee_666: Do you want to ever direct, script write etc. or anything else to expand your career?
Kate Mulgrew: I think that I will write in the future, as I have always written
Kate Mulgrew: but it will be in novel or autobiography form.
Kate Mulgrew: I have no
Kate Mulgrew: experience in directing, as I have no spatial sense,
Kate Mulgrew: and I am inherently subjective in my approach to the work.
B_Elanna_Torres_97: Hello Mrs. Mulgrew! I want to say that you are my favorite Star Trek Captain!! Do you
enjoy working on the set of Voyager?
Kate Mulgrew: I not only enjoy it...I love it.
Kate Mulgrew: It gratifies and uplifts me on almost every conceivable creative level.
Kate Mulgrew: It is a great privilege to have this work at this time in my life.
PEOPLE Online: If you just beamed in now, we are chatting with the Voyager Captain, Kate Mulgrew!
Kate Mulgrew: On the previous question, about ICC,
Kate Mulgrew: it's at 142 Audubon Avenue, New York, NY 10032, and the phone is 212-928-2590.
gemini1874: Ms. Mulgrew: What is your favorite literary classic and why?
Kate Mulgrew: My favorite classic is Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace.
Kate Mulgrew: it possesses all the key ingredients that to my mind make for greatness.
Kate Mulgrew: It is both epic and mystical, human and absurd.
Black_Girl_2: WHEN DO YOU THINK THEY WILL COME UP WITH A STAR TREK MOVIE WITH THE
VOYAGER CAST?
Kate Mulgrew: I really couldn't say.
Kate Mulgrew: My guess is that if there is a market for it, they will find a way of combining
Kate Mulgrew: the Next Generation with Voyager in some dangerous way in which Janeway will triumph
over Picard.
Kate Mulgrew: In the last scene he is on his knees, weeping, and cries to me, "You are my Queen!"
PEOPLE Online:: You go, girl!!
pjworkman: What's it like to wear them suits?
Kate Mulgrew: I love the suit.
Kate Mulgrew: it's made of wool and therefore it's cozy in the wintertime
Kate Mulgrew: and comfortable in the summertime.
Kate Mulgrew: And, FYI, this is one actress who's deeply grateful she doesn't have to change
Kate Mulgrew: costumes ten times a day.
Kate Mulgrew: Although they tried to put me in Seven of Nine's suit.
Kate Mulgrew: It didn't work because it was way too big.
