Penny Johnson Jerald (born March 14, 1961) is an American actress. She played Beverly Barnes on the HBO comedy series The Larry Sanders Show, Kasidy Yates on the syndicated science fiction series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Sherry Palmer on the Fox action/drama series 24, Captain Victoria "Iron" Gates on the ABC comedy-drama series Castle, and currently plays Dr. Claire Finn on the Fox network's series The Orville.
Penny Johnson was born in Baltimore, Maryland. She trained at the Juilliard School, where her classmates in 1982 included Megan Gallagher, Jack Kenny, Jack Stehlin, and Lorraine Toussaint.
Jerald began her career with small guest roles, appearing in The Paper Chase from 1984 to 1986, General Hospital in 1986, and Do The Right Thing in 1989 before playing the title character's unflappable personal assistant, Beverly Barnes, on The Larry Sanders Show. Throughout the 1990s, Jerald guest starred in several television series, including Parker Lewis Can't Lose, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Grace Under Fire, Cosby and Family Law.