Gates McFadden

Gates McFadden, born as Cheryl Gates McFadden, is an American actress born in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio on March 2nd, 1949. She is best known for playing the role of Chief Medical Officer Beverly Crusher on the 1980s-90s television series Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Gates McFadden attended school at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts and graduated cum laude in 1970. After graduating from Brandeis, she moved to Paris and studied theatre with actor Jacques Lecoq. Though theater would always remain her true passion, Gates eventually made the jump to film and television working as an actress, a choreographer and even a puppeteer. Her first film role was a bit part as a secretary in the 1984 comedy The Muppets Take Manhattan. In this, and in several films to follow, she was credited under the name Cheryl McFadden.

Star Trek
In 1987, she auditioned for and received the part of Doctor Beverly Crusher on Star Trek: Enterprise. She was one of the regularly credited cast members and remained a mainstay on the series throughout its' seven-year run. Of all the actors who starred on the show throughout it's entire duration, Gates McFadden made the least amount of appearances. During season season two, she temporarily left the series and her character on the show was replaced by Diana Muldaur in the role of Doctor Katherine Pulaski. The in-story explanation for her absence was that Doctor Crusher was working as an instructor at Starfleet Medical. McFadden eventually returned to the series, but left again during season four when she went on maternity leave. She gave birth to her son James Cleveland McFadden-Talbot on June 10th, 1991. NextGen co-star Brent Spiner was named Godfather to her child. She came back to the series and remained a regular cast member until it's discontinuation. In total, Gates McFadden appeared in 154 episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

In 1994, Gates McFadden showed her skills behind the camera as well when she directed the season four episode "Genesis".

Gates McFadden appeared in the seventh through tenth installments of the Star Trek film franchise, all of which centered on the crew of Star Trek: The Next Generation. However, she received minimal screen time in all of the films. Gates McFadden provided the voice for her character for the 1995 Star Trek: The Next Generation: A Final Unity video game and the 1997 Star Trek: Generations'' video game.

Notes & Trivia

 * Gates McFadden's other television credits include episodes of The Cosby Show, All My Children, Marker and Mad About You.


 * Gates McFadden, an accomplished dancer, choreographed the dance routines in the season four episode "Data's Day".