Gates McFadden

Tall, red-haired character actor and dancer who, after studying in Paris, acted in New York in plays including "Emerald City," "Cloud 9" and "The Matchmaker." She also played a small role as a secretary in the feature "The Muppets Take Manhattan" (1984), and later worked with Jim Henson again when she served as director of choreography and puppet movement for the elaborate fantasy film, "Labyrinth" (1986). After acting in a not-dissimilar CBS TV series, "The Wizard" (1986-87), McFadden enjoyed considerable success in another venture into fantasy and adventure with the popular syndicated series, "Star Trek: The Next Generation."

With her placid alto voice and mature, wide-eyed good looks, she brought a quiet authority to the role of Dr. Beverly Crusher, and even got to dance on occasion. McFadden has also acted in a handful of features including "The Hunt for Red October" -- orginiating the role of Dr. Caroline Ryan -- and "Taking Care of Business" (both 1990). She continued to make guest appearences on TV series including "Mad About You," "The Practice" and "The Division," but her highest profile role continued to be Dr. Crusher, a part she reprised in the big-screen adventures "Star Trek: Generations" (1994), "Star Trek: First Contact" (1996), "Star Trek: Insurrection" (1998) and "Star Trek: Nemesis" (2002).