Gates McFadden

Born: 1949-03-02

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Cheryl Gates McFadden (born March 2, 1949), usually credited as Gates McFadden, 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.


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as Caroline Ryan
Released: 1990-03-02

A new technologically-superior Soviet nuclear sub, the Red October, is heading for the U.S....

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as Commander Beverly Crusher
Released: 1996-11-22

The Borg, a relentless race of cyborgs, are on a direct course for Earth. Violating orders to...

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as Doctor Beverly Crusher
Released: 1998-12-11

When an alien race and factions within Starfleet attempt to take over a planet that has...

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as Dr. Beverly Crusher
Released: 2002-12-13

En route to the honeymoon of William Riker to Deanna Troi on her home planet of Betazed, Captain...

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Dirty

as Wife
Released: 2005-02-14

Two gangbangers turned cops try and cover up a scandal within the LAPD.

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The Muppets Take Manhattan

as Mr. Price's Secretary
Released: 1984-06-27

When the Muppets graduate from Danhurst College, they take their song-filled senior revue to New...

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as Dr. Beverly Crusher
Released: 1994-11-18

Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the Enterprise-D find themselves at odds with the...

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Taking Care of Business

as Diane Connors
Released: 1990-08-16

An uptight advertising exec has his entire life in a filofax organizer which mistakenly ends up...

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Make the Yuletide Gay

as Martha Stanford
Released: 2009-11-01

The holidays get overly festive as Olaf "Gunn" Gunnunderson, an out-and-proud gay college...

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Chaos on the Bridge

as Self
Released: 2014-08-25

Canadian acting legend William Shatner takes viewers inside the creation of Star Trek: The Next...

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50 Years of Star Trek

as Self
Released: 2016-08-14

Over the last fifty years, America has been fascinated by Star Trek since it first aired in...

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A Neighbor's Deception

as Dr. Constance Abrams
Released: 2017-04-08

A woman begins to suspect that her therapist neighbor's offer to free treatment is not the...

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Star Trek: Picard - The IMAX Live Series Finale Event

as Dr. Beverly Crusher
Released: 2023-04-19

Get ready to send off Jean-Luc Picard and his crew in style! On Wednesday, April 19, experience...

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Star Trek: The Next Generation - Redemption

as Beverly Crusher (archive footage)
Released: 1991-09-23

Loyalties are divided when civil war splits the Klingon Empire. When Worf sees a chance to...

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Inside the Labyrinth

as Self
Released: 1986-12-13

A behind-the-scenes look at Jim Henson's 1986 fantasy film, 'Labyrinth', featuring David Bowie...

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Star Trek: The Next Generation - All Good Things...

as Doctor Beverly Crusher
Released: 1994-05-23

Picard finds himself traveling between the past, present, and future while attempting to prevent...

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

as Dr. Beverly Crusher (archive footage)
Released: 2013-04-25

The Enterprise has a deadly encounter with the Borg, resulting in Picard's kidnap, while...

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Star Trek: The Next Generation - Time's Arrow

as Dr. Beverly Crusher (archive footage)
Released: 1995-03-13

An engineering team finds evidence of an alien presence on Earth in 19th century San Francisco:...

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Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Behind the Scenes

as Beverly Crusher
Released: 1993-01-04

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine – Behind the Scenes was a fifty minute documentary hosted by Terry...

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Reunification - 25 Years After Star Trek: The Next Generation

as Self
Released: 2012-11-04

Reunification: 25 Years After Star Trek – The Next Generation is a 61-minute documentary...

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Star Trek: The Next Generation - Chain of Command

as Dr. Beverly Crusher (archive footage)
Released: 1995-03-27

Tensions rise as a possible Cardassian attack looms, and Picard, Dr. Crusher and Worf are sent...

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Star Trek: The Next Generation - Gambit

as Dr. Beverly Crusher (archive footage)
Released: 1995-05-08

After hearing a rumor that Captain Picard has been murdered while on an archeological dig, the...

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Star Trek: Federation Science

as uncredited
Released: 1992-01-25

Produced by the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (lead writer, Mark Bourne), the exhibit...

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

as Self
Released: 1994-05-15

Your destination: the 24th century. Your mission: to voyage where few have gone before--behind...

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Crowned and Dangerous

as Patrice Baxter
Released: 1997-01-23

After the murder of a beauty queen, an investigation reveals the suspects to be a former lover,...

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Star Trek: 25th Anniversary Special

as Self
Released: 1991-09-28

This documentary is hosted by William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy and they take us through the...

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Star Trek: The Next Generation - Unification

as Dr. Beverly Crusher (archive footage)
Released: 1995-02-27

When the Federation calls for help in locating an ambassador suspected of defecting, Picard is...

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Hexengeddon

as Madame Hexxina
Released:

When an act of cruelty against a young witch becomes a social media sensation, the witches of...

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Family Guy

as Gates McFadden (voice)
First aired: 1999-01-31

Sick, twisted, politically incorrect and Freakin' Sweet animated series featuring the adventures...

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Saturday Night Live

as Self - Audience Member (uncredited)
First aired: 1975-10-11

A late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels. The...

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Star Trek: The Next Generation

as Beverly Crusher
First aired: 1987-09-28

Follow the intergalactic adventures of Capt. Jean-Luc Picard and his loyal crew aboard the...

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Star Trek: The Next Generation

as Self
First aired: 1987-09-28

Follow the intergalactic adventures of Capt. Jean-Luc Picard and his loyal crew aboard the...

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Star Trek: Picard

as Dr. Beverly Crusher
First aired: 2020-01-23

Set twenty years after the events of Star Trek Nemesis, we follow the now-retired Admiral Picard...

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The Practice

as uncredited
First aired: 1997-03-04

A provocative legal drama focused on young associates at a bare-bones Boston firm and their...

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Mad About You

as Allison Rourke
First aired: 1992-09-23

Young, urban newlyweds Paul and Jamie Buchman try to sustain their marital bliss while...

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Party of Five

as uncredited
First aired: 1994-09-12

Five brothers and sisters are determined to stay together following the tragic loss of their...

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The Ready Room

as Self
First aired: 2019-01-25

Welcome to The Ready Room. Every Thursday Wil Wheaton will sit down with members of the Star...

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Masters of the Universe: Revolution

as Queen Marlena (voice)
First aired: 2024-01-25

It's technology versus magic as He-Man and friends fight back against the shadowy forces of...

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Star Trek: Prodigy

as Dr. Beverly Crusher (voice)
First aired: 2021-10-28

A motley crew of young rebellious aliens commandeer an old Starfleet ship and must figure out...

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The Division

as uncredited
First aired: 2001-01-07

The Division is an American crime drama television series created by Deborah Joy LeVine and...

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The Shuttlepod Show

as Self
First aired: 2022-02-20

Actors Connor Trinneer, Dominic Keating, and Erica LaRose explore all things Star Trek, life on...

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The Wizard

as uncredited
First aired: 1986-09-09

The Wizard is a live-action, family friendly, action/adventure series created by Michael Berk,...

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Dream On

as Ina Dreikoff
First aired: 1990-07-08

The family life, romantic life, and career of Martin Tupper, a divorced New York City book...

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The Center Seat: 55 Years of Star Trek

as Self / Narrator
First aired: 2021-11-05

In honor of the sci-fi franchise’s 55th anniversary this year and produced by The Nacelle...

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Star Trek: Very Short Treks

as Dr. Beverly Crusher
First aired: 2023-09-08

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Marker

as Kimba
First aired: 1995-01-17

Marker is an American hour long television drama that premiered on the UPN on March 20, 1995. It...

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