KATE MULGREW - BIOGRAPHY 

Kate Mulgrew, who portrays the surprising Mrs. Columbo, is herself full of surprises. At age 23, she has already displayed an extraordinary range of dramatic experience that includes every genre from television soap opera to Shakespearean tragedy.

"We were early flyers," Kate says, referring to the fact that all of the eight children in her family became extremely independent at an early age. Kate left her Dubuque, Iowa home when she was seventeen, in order to study dramatics and fine arts at New York University. Encouraged by her parents--especially her mother, Joan Mulgrew, who is a professional artist -- Kate made her stage and television debut simultaneously when she appeared in the television soap opera "Ryan's Hope" and the American Shakespearean Theater's presentation of “Our Town." Since then, she has participated in repertory theater productions across the country, and has also starred in the television miniseries "The Word," and the series "Dallas."

Kate credits her role in "Dallas" as the catalyst for the subsequent offer for her to play "MRS. COLUMBO." "In 'Dallas' I played a 30-year-old country-western singer who was also a very tough character." Her believability in this role proved that she could handle much more than ingenue roles. Kate also attributes her versatility to her flexible voice and tonal qualities. "I trained for three years in order to learn to use my voice properly," she says, "and in 'Dallas' I did all my own singing.”

The brown-haired, hazel-eyed actress has many outside interests in addition to her acting. Presently unmarried, she hopes to have a large family of her own someday. She is a fine swimmer, and also enjoys art, literature and the theatre. "I don't own a television," she remarked. "In fact, I've only seen 'COLUMBO' once -- but I liked it!"