Gates McFadden

Known for ActingBorn 1949-03-02 (age 77)Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, USA

Cheryl Gates McFadden (born March 2, 1949) is an American actress and choreographer. She is best known for portraying the character of Dr. Beverly Crusher in the television and film series Star Trek: The Next Generation. She attended Brandeis University earning B.A Cum Laude in Theater Arts. After graduating from Brandeis, she moved to Paris and studied theater with actor Jacques LeCoq. Before Star Trek: The Next Generation, she was mostly known as a choreographer, often working on Jim Henson productions including the films The Dark Crystal, for which she was a choreographer, Labyrinth, for which she served as Director of Choreography and Puppet Movement, and The Muppets Take Manhattan, in which she has a brief on-screen appearance. As a way of distinguishing her acting work from her choreography, she is usually credited as "Gates McFadden" as an actress and "Cheryl McFadden" as a choreographer. She appeared briefly in the Woody Allen film Stardust Memories, and in The Hunt for Red October as Jack Ryan's wife Cathy, though most of her scenes were cut in post-production. In 1987, McFadden was cast as Dr. Beverly Crusher on Star Trek: The Next Generation. The Crusher character was slated to be Captain Jean-Luc Picard's love interest, and this aspect of the character is what attracted McFadden to the role. Another important aspect of the character was being a widow balancing motherhood and a career. McFadden left after the first season, in part because series executive producer Gene Roddenberry was never enthusiastic about casting McFadden in the first place. Roddenberry also wanted to give the role of ship's doctor to actress Diana Muldaur, with whom he had worked on the original Star Trek series and other occasions. Muldaur's character, Dr. Katherine Pulaski, proved very unpopular with fans and left the show after the second season. McFadden was approached to return for the third season. At first she was hesitant, but after a phone call from co-star Patrick Stewart, McFadden was persuaded to reprise her role.Read more

Movies & web series

The Shuttlepod Show

X-Men '97

Star Trek: The Next Generation

Masters of the Universe: Revolution

Star Trek: Picard - The IMAX Live Series Finale Event

NCIS

The Practice

Inside the Labyrinth

Star Trek: Picard

Star Trek: Prodigy

Franklin & Bash

Family Guy

Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Best of Both Worlds

The Hunt for Red October

Star Trek: First Contact

Chaos on the Bridge

Reunification - 25 Years After Star Trek: The Next Generation

The Division

The Center Seat: 55 Years of Star Trek

Party of Five

Journey's End - The Saga of Star Trek: The Next Generation

Dream On

The Wizard

The Cosby Show

Saturday Night Live

Mad About You

50 Years of Star Trek

The Captains Close Up

A Neighbor's Deception

Star Trek: Generations

The Muppets Take Manhattan

Star Trek: Insurrection

Star Trek: Nemesis

Make the Yuletide Gay

Star Trek: 25th Anniversary Special

Taking Care of Business

Star Trek: 30 Years and Beyond

Dirty

Marker

Star Trek: very Short Treks

Crowned and Dangerous

The Ready Room

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Behind the Scenes

That Guy... Who Was In That Thing 3: Trek Stars

Star Trek: Federation Science

Hexengeddon: Witches vs. the World

Mattresside

Star Trek: The Next Generation - Chain of Command