Katherine Kiernan Maria Mulgrew (born April 29, 1955) is an American actress. She is known for the roles of Captain Kathryn Janeway on Star Trek: Voyager and Galina "Red" Reznikov on Orange Is the New Black. She first came to attention in the role of Mary Ryan on the daytime soap opera Ryan's Hope. Mulgrew has won an Obie Award, and has received a Golden Globe Award and Primetime Emmy Award nomination. She is an active member of the Alzheimer's Association National Advisory Council and the voice of Cleveland's MetroHealth System.
Mulgrew was born in 1955 in Dubuque, Iowa, into an Irish Catholic family, to Thomas James "T.J." Mulgrew II, a contractor, and Joan Virginia Mulgrew (née Kiernan), an artist and painter. She attended Wahlert High School in Dubuque.
Aged 17, she was accepted at the Stella Adler Conservatory of Acting in conjunction with New York University in New York City. Mulgrew left NYU after one year. During this time, to earn money while in New York, Mulgrew was employed as a waitress.