Kate Vernon (born April 21, 1961) is a Canadian-born film and television actress. She is best known for her roles as Lorraine Prescott on the CBS soap opera Falcon Crest from (1984–1985), the stuck-up and popular Benny Hanson in the comedy film Pretty in Pink (1986), and Ellen Tigh on the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica (2004–2009).
Vernon was born in Canada to Nancy West and actor John Vernon, who was most famous for playing Dean Vernon Wormer in Animal House. Her sister is singer/actress Nan Vernon.
Vernon portrayed Lorraine Prescott on the CBS prime time soap opera Falcon Crest from 1984 to 1985. During the 1980s she appeared on various TV series, including Family Ties, Dallas, Remington Steele, Hotel, Murder, She Wrote and the 1987 miniseries I'll Take Manhattan, as well as the 1986 comedy-drama film Pretty in Pink, and the 1989 gangster comedy Mob Story, in which she appeared opposite her father. Other early film credits included Alphabet City (1984) and Roadhouse 66 (1985).