Kate Mulgrew

Was initially turned down for the role of Captain Janeway on Viaje a las estrellas: Voyager (1995), in favor of Geneviève Bujold. When Bujold backed out of the project two days into shooting, Mulgrew again auditioned for the role, and won it.
Is an avid fighter against Alzheimer's disease.
Gave up her first child (b. 1977) for adoption. They both met for the first time in 1999. Mulgrew's biological daughter is named Danielle Gaudette and works as a yoga instructor. Mulgrew and Gaudette have remained in contact ever since their first meeting.
Fellow Viaje a las estrellas: Voyager (1995) actors Ethan Phillips and Robert Picardo are among her closest friends. She remarked at a convention that they got her through Voyager's seven-year run.
Husband Timothy Hagan proposed to her on the set of Viaje a las estrellas: Voyager (1995).

The minute there's a nip in the air, the fire's lit and the brandy is poured.
Life is sacred to me on all levels. Abortion does not compute with my philosophy.
[When speaking of the death penalty] Execution as punishment is barbaric and unnecessary.
A lot of her is me. I've had this broad under my belt for five years. I own her - and nobody can tell me that I don't own her. I love every single dimension and component of her being. Her nobility, her flawed character, her laughter, her love of the absurd, her love of the unknown, her love of science... I've loved her great heart, her formidable spirit, her guts. She has a much better mind than mine, and a gifted imagination as well, but she's a little prickly, and certainly not without ego. She has this profound sense of humanity: she can talk to anybody and they listen.
I have a very rich and wonderful personal life, and at its core are my sons. I will tell you very frankly that I have missed them badly in these five years... But what we're talking about is a block of time I've missed now with them. Years when nurturing was crucial, I think to their self-esteem. The kind of nurturing that comes without conditions or contingencies. The kind of nurturing that is so simple and so basic to human nature, regarding this relationship between mother and son. We missed it.