| Kate grew up in Dubuque, Iowa - the oldest girl
in a family of eight. She left home at the age of 17 and traveled to New York City to study
acting. Upon arriving there, Kate enrolled at
New York University and was accepted into Stella Adler's Conservatory.
At the end of her junior year, Kate left the
university to commit herself full-time to her craft.
Exhibiting some of the legendary "luck of the Irish," Kate was immediately
cast as Mary Ryan on the ABC daytime drama Ryan's Hope, while simultaneously
earning the role of Emily in a production of "Our Town" at the American
Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, CT. Her role as Mary Ryan lasted two
years. Her theatrical stint ended a good deal sooner, but both set the
stage for how her acting career would unfold.
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| At the age of 23, Kate was approached by then-head-of-
NBC
programming Fred Silverman, who offered her a starring role in a series
he had created with her in mind -- Kate Columbo. The
series found Kate playing the wife of one of TV's most
beloved detectives, Lt. Columbo. While a critical success, the series was
canceled after two seasons, although it can still be seen in
syndication under the title Kate Loves A Mystery. With
several credits behind her, Kate's career blossomed. She went on to star
in several feature films, including Love Spell: Isolt of Ireland alongside
Richard Burton, and "A Stranger Is Watching," with Rip Torn. She
traveled to Europe to film the ABC mini-series The Manions of America with
Pierce Brosnan, and spent time in Mexico filming the feature "Remo Williams:
The Adventure Begins." Kate went on to star in "Throw Momma From the Train
"with Danny DeVito. She returned to television as the star of the ABC drama
Heartbeat, where she portrayed Doctor Joanne Springstein, the head of a
medical clinic. This series, which aired for two seasons, won
a People's Choice Award as Best Drama. Following this,
Kate went on to co-star in the comedy series Man of the People alongside
actor James Garner. In addition to her television roles, Kate is also a
veteran of numerous theatrical productions. She recently made her Broadway
debut in "Black Comedy," a play written by Peter Schaeffer that also starred
Nancy Marchand and Peter McNichol. Other stage appearances include starring
roles in "Titus Andronicus" at the Shakespeare Theater in New York City's
Central Park; and
"Hedda Gabler" and "Measure for Measure" at Los Angeles'
Mark Taper Forum. Kate, the mother of two sons -- 11-year-old Ian and 10-year-old
Alec -- has spent recent years guest-starring on several popular television
comedies. She played a Boston Councilwoman, and Sam Malone's love interest,
on several important episodes of Cheers, and won the Tracey Humanitarian
Award for her portrayal of an alcoholic anchor woman on an episode of Murphy
Brown. The recipient of an Honorary Doctorate of Letters for Artistic Contribution
from Seton Hall University.
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