Cast & creator
Gates McFadden
Best known for Family Guy, NCIS, Saturday Night Live
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.
31
film credits
26
television credits
55
1975–2026 · acting roles
6.8
average across scored titles
Signature credits
Known for
Across film & television
Filmography (57)
Showing 57 of 57 credits
Family Guy
Gates McFadden (voice)
1999
NCIS
Mrs. Belmont
2003
Saturday Night Live
Woman in audience kissed by Bill Murray (uncredited)
1975
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Beverly Crusher
1987Star Trek: The Next Generation
Director
1987
The Practice
Judge Emily Harrison
1997
Mad About You
Allison Rourke
1992
Party of Five
Greer Erikson
1994
The Cosby Show
1984
The Division
Mrs. Petersen
2001
Franklin & Bash
Judge Mallory Jacobs
2011
X-Men '97
Mother Askani (voice)
2024
Star Trek: Picard
Dr. Beverly Crusher
2020
Dream On
Ina Dreikoff
1990
Star Trek: Prodigy
Dr. Beverly Crusher (voice)
2021Star Trek: Prodigy
Beverly Crusher (voice)
2021
The Ready Room
Self
2019
The Hunt for Red October
Caroline Ryan
1990
The Shuttlepod Show
Self
2022
The Center Seat: 55 Years of Star Trek
Self / Narrator
2021The Center Seat: 55 Years of Star Trek
Executive Producer
2021
Star Trek: First Contact
Commander Beverly Crusher
1996
The Wizard
1986
Masters of the Universe: Revolution
Queen Marlena (voice)
2024
Star Trek: Nemesis
Dr. Beverly Crusher
2002
Marker
Kimba
1995
Star Trek: Insurrection
Doctor Beverly Crusher
1998
Star Trek: Generations
Dr. Beverly Crusher
1994
The Captains Close Up
Self
2013
Star Trek: very Short Treks
Dr. Crusher (voice)
2023
The Muppets Take Manhattan
Mr. Price's Secretary
1984
Taking Care of Business
Diane Connors
1990
Dirty
Wife
2005
50 Years of Star Trek
Self
2016
The Sixty Year Mission: How Star Trek Changed Television and the World
Self
2026
Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Best of Both Worlds
Dr. Beverly Crusher (archive footage)
2013
Star Trek: 25th Anniversary Special
Self
1991That Guy... Who Was In That Thing 3: Trek Stars
Self & Narrator
2019
Star Trek: The Next Generation - All Good Things...
Dr. Beverly Crusher
2014
Journey's End - The Saga of Star Trek: The Next Generation
Self
1994
Chaos on the Bridge
Self
2014
The Center Seat II: 60 Years of Star Trek
Narrator
2026
Star Trek: The Next Generation - Unification
Dr. Beverly Crusher
2013Make-Up Man: The Michael Westmore Documentary
Self
Star Trek: 30 Years and Beyond
Self
1996
Make the Yuletide Gay
Martha Stanford
2009
Star Trek: Picard - The IMAX Live Series Finale Event
Dr. Beverly Crusher
2023
Reunification - 25 Years After Star Trek: The Next Generation
Self
2012
Hexengeddon: Witches vs. the World
Madame Hexxina
2020Mattresside
Nurse
2015
A Neighbor's Deception
Dr. Constance Abrams
2017
Star Trek: The Next Generation - Redemption
Dr. Beverly Crusher
2013
Star Trek: The Next Generation - Chain of Command
Dr. Beverly Crusher
2014
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Behind the Scenes
Beverly Crusher
1993
Star Trek: Federation Science
1992
Crowned and Dangerous
Patrice Baxter
1997
Inside the Labyrinth
Self
1986