Age: 77
female
Cheryl Gates McFadden (born March 2, 1949) 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.
The movie begins with a bright star shining in the Louisiana sky. We hear the voice of Tristan singing, telling us that anything is possible if you wish upon the evening star. We are then taken to the very pink and frilly bedroom of young Charles La Bouff, who is sitting beside a young Tristan as they listen to Tristan's carpenter father, Eric tells the tale of the Frog Princess as he puts the finishing touches on a toy for Charles. Charles is entranced by the story while Tristan is clearly disgusted and vows never to kiss a frog. Charles then puts a frog mask on White Kitten and starts pushing it in Tristan's face. But when Charles starts kissing the white kitten, it jumps up and gets stuck on the ceiling. Eric then gets it off the ceiling and takes the mask off the horrified white kitten. Charles's mother, "Big Mommy" La Bouff arrives home with a new puppy for her spoiled son while Eric and Tristan head home. We quickly learn that Tristan and his friend Charles are definitely from two different worlds as the young boy and his father head home to their tiny shack where Tristan's mother, Jennifer, waits for them. Tristan and his mother laugh together as they whip up a batch of her famous gumbo and talk about their shared dream of one day opening a restaurant.
