The one thing Kate Mulgrew would change about Captain Janeway if she could go back

The one thing Kate Mulgrew would change about Captain Janeway if she could go back

As a long-time Star Trek fan with memories of staying up late to catch Voyager episodes, I can’t help but empathize with Kate Mulgrew’s struggles. Playing Captain Janeway must have been an immense responsibility, especially as the first female captain in the series. The constant hair changes were indeed a distraction, and I can only imagine what it felt like for Mulgrew to be under the microscope of both fans and producers.


Playing Captain Kathryn Janeway on Star Trek: Voyager wasn’t a walk in the park for Kate Mulgrew. It was her debut as a captain of a Starfleet starship, which brought immense pressure to portray the role authentically. This pressure seemed to extend to the producers, who were unsure about how best to depict her as a captain. One manifestation of this uncertainty might have been Mulgrew’s ever-changing hairstyle in the early seasons of the series, which at times became quite noticeable and even distracting, a sentiment Kate Mulgrew herself seems to share.

In a special magazine commemorating the 25th anniversary of Star Trek: Voyager’s premiere, the actress Kate Mulgrew was questioned about any changes she would make regarding the character she portrayed for seven seasons. Her preference was to alter her character’s physical appearance from the start. She felt it should have been consistent like Captain Picard and Captain Kirk, but Captain Janeway’s appearance frequently changed, which Mulgrew found frustrating.

I would establish the physical look of Janeway early on and maintain it. And it would have been very simple to do. It would have been what we came to in the end. The changes I had to go through physically in the first two seasons, I resented them. I felt it was distracting for the audience and very difficult for the male demographic. And I wanted to win the male demographic.

Kate Mulgrew

Over the coursse of the seasons, Voyager did establish Janeway’s look, and slowly, the focus shifted from being about Mulgrew’s looks to about her acting talent. She earned her place in the Starfleet array of captains, becoming a force to be reckoned with. And she paved the way for future women who played captains in the franchise, helping to transform them into strong, respected commanders who weren’t admired for their looks but for their abilities as a commander.

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2024-08-29 00:22

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