# Catherine Hicks
**Catherine Hicks** (Catherine Mary Hicks, born 1951) is an American actress known for playing [Marilyn Monroe](https://www.edgepedia.org/marilyn-monroe) in the television film *Marilyn: The Untold Story* (1980), Dr. Gillian Taylor in *Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home* (1986), Karen Barclay in *[Child's Play](https://www.edgepedia.org/childs-play-1988-film)* (1988), and Annie Camden in the family drama *7th Heaven* (1996-2007), a role she describes as the one people around the world mention to her.[1](https://www.startrek.com/news/catching-up-with-star-trek-ivs-catherine-hicks)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1951, Manhattan, New York City; raised in Scottsdale, Arizona[2](https://www.imdb.com/es/name/nm0382819/bio/) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0382819/) |
| Education | Double degree in Theology and English Literature, Saint Mary's College, Notre Dame, Indiana; master of fine arts in theater, Cornell University, on an acting fellowship[2](https://www.imdb.com/es/name/nm0382819/bio/) • [4](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/catherine-hicks/) |
| First screen role | Pediatrician Dr. Faith Coleridge on the ABC soap opera *Ryan's Hope*, joined within about two weeks of arriving in New York[5](https://www.sensacine.com.mx/actores/actor-6122/) |
| Emmy nomination | Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or a Special, 1981, for *Marilyn: The Untold Story* (ABC)[6](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/catherine-hicks) |
| Saturn Awards | Best Actress winner, 1988, for *Child's Play*; nominated for Best Supporting Actress for *Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home*[2](https://www.imdb.com/es/name/nm0382819/bio/) • [4](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/catherine-hicks/) |
| Signature television role | Annie Camden on *7th Heaven* (The WB 1996-2006, The CW 2006-07), more than 240 episodes[4](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/catherine-hicks/) • [7](https://www.merkur.de/boulevard/catherine-hicks-wird-75-was-macht-der-eine-himmlische-familie-star-heute-zr-94432112.html) |
| Marriage | Makeup and special effects artist Kevin Yagher, who designed Chucky, married 1990; daughter Catie Yagher born 1992[4](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/catherine-hicks/) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/es/name/nm0382819/bio/) |
## Training and early career
Hicks was born in Manhattan and grew up in [Scottsdale, Arizona](https://www.edgepedia.org/scottsdale-arizona), where she was a cheerleader at Gerard Catholic High School in Phoenix and graduated in 1969.[2](https://www.imdb.com/es/name/nm0382819/bio/) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0382819/) At Saint Mary's College at [Notre Dame, Indiana](https://www.edgepedia.org/notre-dame-indiana), she studied English and theology; in a 2026 interview she said acting came as a later realization, when she auditioned on a whim for a small part in an undergraduate production.[2](https://www.imdb.com/es/name/nm0382819/bio/) • [8](https://lamonthly.org/2026/06/13/my-life-as-marilyn-my-dead-older-sister/)
She then won a two-year fellowship to study acting at Cornell University, where she received a master of fine arts and trained in an approach built on Stanislavski and Grotowski rather than polished surface style.[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0382819/) • [8](https://lamonthly.org/2026/06/13/my-life-as-marilyn-my-dead-older-sister/) After graduating she performed *After the Fall*, Arthur Miller's play built around a Marilyn-like figure, with a repertory company in [Ithaca, New York](https://www.edgepedia.org/ithaca-new-york), and prepared the role of Maggie for a year before two performances on campus.[8](https://lamonthly.org/2026/06/13/my-life-as-marilyn-my-dead-older-sister/)
**Arrival in New York.** Moving to the city, she booked three national television commercials within about two weeks and was cast as pediatrician Dr. Faith Coleridge on the ABC daytime drama *Ryan's Hope*, which she played from 1976 to 1978.[5](https://www.sensacine.com.mx/actores/actor-6122/) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0382819/) She followed with Broadway work, starring opposite [Jack Lemmon](https://www.edgepedia.org/jack-lemmon) in the play *Tribute* for eight months, and, on Lemmon's advice to move west for screen work, relocated to Los Angeles.[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0382819/) • [8](https://lamonthly.org/2026/06/13/my-life-as-marilyn-my-dead-older-sister/)
## Marilyn Monroe and the 1980s
Hicks had kept researching Monroe since arriving in New York, gathering recollections from people who had known her; she has said she thought of Monroe not as a movie star to adore but as "my dead older sister" and felt a duty to tell her story accurately.[8](https://lamonthly.org/2026/06/13/my-life-as-marilyn-my-dead-older-sister/) When ABC announced *Marilyn: The Untold Story*, based on [Norman Mailer](https://www.edgepedia.org/norman-mailer)'s bestselling book, she auditioned against some two hundred other actresses and won the part.[8](https://lamonthly.org/2026/06/13/my-life-as-marilyn-my-dead-older-sister/) The performance earned her a 1981 Emmy nomination as Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or a Special.[6](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/catherine-hicks)
Through the 1980s she worked steadily in television and film: Ann Welles in the miniseries *Jacqueline Susann's Valley of the Dolls* (CBS, 1981), the female lead as the magical half of a husband-and-wife detective team in the sitcom *Tucker's Witch* (CBS, 1982-83), and roles in the films *Garbo Talks* (1984), *The Razor's Edge* (1984), *Peggy Sue Got Married* (1986), and *Like Father Like Son* (1987).[4](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/catherine-hicks/) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0382819/)
**Two genre roles.** In *Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home* (1986) she played Dr. Gillian Taylor, a cetacean biologist who protects the humpback whales George and Gracie, opposite [William Shatner](https://www.edgepedia.org/william-shatner)'s Captain Kirk, earning a Saturn Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.[4](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/catherine-hicks/) • [1](https://www.startrek.com/news/catching-up-with-star-trek-ivs-catherine-hicks) She has said she knew nothing about *Star Trek* before auditioning and deliberately used that natural unfamiliarity in the role, since Gillian functions as the audience's eyes; director [Leonard Nimoy](https://www.edgepedia.org/leonard-nimoy) cast her and taught her a rule for effects filming, to keep going rather than stop a take.[1](https://www.startrek.com/news/catching-up-with-star-trek-ivs-catherine-hicks)
In *Child's Play* (1988) she played Karen Barclay, a mother who unknowingly buys her son a possessed, murderous doll. The performance won her the 1988 Saturn Award for Best Actress, and the film remains highly regarded in the horror genre and launched the Chucky series.[2](https://www.imdb.com/es/name/nm0382819/bio/) • [4](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/catherine-hicks/) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0382819/) The role also proved personal: in 1990 she married Kevin Yagher, the makeup and special effects artist who had designed Chucky.[4](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/catherine-hicks/)
## 7th Heaven and later work
After supporting roles in *She's Out of Control* (1989), the NBC series *Winnetka Road* (1994), and the thriller *Turbulence* (1997), Hicks took the part that became her most famous: Annie Camden, wife of Reverend Eric Camden ([Stephen Collins](https://www.edgepedia.org/stephen-collins)) and mother of their large brood, in *7th Heaven* (The WB, 1996-2006; [The CW](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-cw), 2006-07).[4](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/catherine-hicks/) She appeared in more than 240 episodes of the family drama, and in a StarTrek.com interview said that wherever she travels, people approach her about the series, which she called an example of entertainment helping people with their lives.[7](https://www.merkur.de/boulevard/catherine-hicks-wird-75-was-macht-der-eine-himmlische-familie-star-heute-zr-94432112.html) • [1](https://www.startrek.com/news/catching-up-with-star-trek-ivs-catherine-hicks)
After the series ended in 2007, her screen work became occasional. She returned briefly to the franchise that made her in a short appearance in the horror film *Curse of Chucky* (2013), made independent and holiday television films such as *A Christmas Wedding Date* (2012) and *Honeymoon From Hell* (2016), and did voice work as recently as 2020, including an appearance in *JJ Villard's Fairy Tales*.[7](https://www.merkur.de/boulevard/catherine-hicks-wird-75-was-macht-der-eine-himmlische-familie-star-heute-zr-94432112.html) • [9](https://parade.com/news/7th-heaven-star-catherine-hicks-nearly-unrecognizable-los-angeles) • [5](https://www.sensacine.com.mx/actores/actor-6122/)
## References
1. [Catching Up With Star Trek IV's Catherine Hicks, StarTrek.com](https://www.startrek.com/news/catching-up-with-star-trek-ivs-catherine-hicks)
2. [Catherine Hicks - Biografía, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/es/name/nm0382819/bio/)
3. [Catherine Hicks (I), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0382819/)
4. [Catherine Hicks - Actress, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/catherine-hicks/)
5. [Catherine Hicks, SensaCine](https://www.sensacine.com.mx/actores/actor-6122/)
6. [Catherine Hicks, Television Academy Awards Database](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/catherine-hicks)
7. [Catherine Hicks wird 75: Was macht der „Eine himmlische Familie"-Star heute?, Merkur](https://www.merkur.de/boulevard/catherine-hicks-wird-75-was-macht-der-eine-himmlische-familie-star-heute-zr-94432112.html)
8. [My Life as Marilyn, My Dead Older Sister, LA Monthly](https://lamonthly.org/2026/06/13/my-life-as-marilyn-my-dead-older-sister/)
9. [7th Heaven Star Looks Nearly Unrecognizable During Outing in Los Angeles, Parade](https://parade.com/news/7th-heaven-star-catherine-hicks-nearly-unrecognizable-los-angeles)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 1970s to 1990s › Surnames He to H*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license