Born in Ohio’s Akron, on the 2nd of March, in the year 1949, she was originally named Cheryl Gates McFadden, and her mother’s side of the family is Lithuanian. She is an American actress and choreographer who uses the name Cheryl McFadden when she is working as a choreographer, and when she is acting, she is credited as Gates McFadden.
She attended Brandeis University and earned a Bachelor of Arts (cum laude) in theatre arts before eventually relocating to Paris. There, she trained in physical theatre under actor Jacques Lecoq. She is best known for portraying the pivotal character of Dr. Beverly Crusher in the globally famous television show “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” its four follow-up movies, as well as the spinoff series “Star Trek: Picard.”
Interestingly enough, there was no mention of her pregnancy in TNG’s fourth season script. Instead, her character would cover up her ensemble with a lab coat to hide her pregnancy. Her co-star from “Next Generation” Brent Spiner, is her son’s godfather.
In McFadden’s professional career, Star Trek: The Next Generation proved to be a turning point since it gave her a compelling plot into which she could sink her teeth as Dr. Beverly Crusher, a character she hadn’t played since 2002’s Star Trek: Nemesis. Given that McFadden hasn’t always received respectful treatment from the franchise, this meant a lot to fans and maybe even to the actress herself.
As anyone who has followed TNG from beginning to end will know, all seven seasons of the long-running series, which debuted in 1987, feature Beverly Crusher as a prominent character. All of them, that is, barring the brief appearance of Diane Muldaur’s Dr. Katherine Pulaski during the second season. But the million-dollar question is what led to McFadden’s departure from the show, which thankfully was just momentary?
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The story behind McFadden’s temporary dismissal
During a recent episode on the “Inside of You” podcast, McFadden herself discussed the specific reasons why she chose not to return for The Next Generation’s season two. The host Michael Rosenbaum questioned her on why and how she was “fired” from Star Trek, to which the actress responded by saying that she was never actually “fired,” just “not asked back,” which were two completely different scenarios.
She does, however, acknowledge that she was responsible for angering showrunner Maurice Hurley after openly criticizing the culture on set as well as the sexist and obsolete portrayal of her character and other women on the critically acclaimed series.
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According to her, “It was a different time, they wanted women to look pretty and be a certain way, but they really didn’t want you to, you know, speak up as if you were their equal, I think. I definitely pissed him off, Maurice Hurley, because I kept saying, ‘Why is it that I’ve raised this genius kid, Wil Wheaton’s character, Wesley Crusher….’ Clearly, I had something to do with it, and it wasn’t just the dead husband. And yet anytime there’s anything even possibly serious, it’s only the male characters that talk to him.”
Some of McFadden’s concerns
McFadden went on to say that she was dissatisfied with how Beverly’s contributions were frequently reduced to what she terms a “Leave it to Beaver mother thing,” frequently portrayed nagging her son when Dr. Crusher’s own intelligence and status as a scientist made her a formidable intellect on her own.
McFadden added that another cause of her discontent was the season one episode “Angel One,” which is widely recognized for being declared sexist by the entire team. In conclusion, she just needed a little bit of respect and appreciation from the show’s creators, which she did not receive.
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After being fired, McFadden says she was content with making progress in her career, appearing in a play in New York and starring opposite Alec Baldwin in “The Hunt for the Red October.” She was therefore taken aback when Patrick Stewart personally called her and begged her to return for season three when the Dr. Pulaski character didn’t work out very well.
Although McFadden acknowledges to Rosenbaum that it took some time for Beverly Crusher to grow into the character that she ultimately wanted her to, she still decided to come back to the beloved franchise, and fans could not have been happier with this decision.
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