Catherine Mary Stewart (; born 22 April 1959) is a Canadian actress. Her film roles include '' The Apple'', ''

The Last Starfighter ''The Last Starfighter'' is a 1984 American space opera film directed by Nick Castle. The film tells the story of Alex Rogan ( Lance Guest), a teenager recruited by an alien defense force to fight in an interstellar war. It also features Robe ...

'' and ''

Weekend at Bernie's ''Weekend at Bernie's'' is a 1989 American black comedy film directed by Ted Kotcheff and written by Robert Klane, loosely based on the 1959 novella '' The Two Deaths of Quincas Wateryell'' by Jorge Amado. The film stars Andrew McCarthy and ...

''. She was also the original

Kayla Brady Kayla Brady Johnson is a fictional character from '' Days of Our Lives'', a soap opera on the NBC network. She made her first appearance in 1982. Kayla was created by Pat Falken Smith as one of the original members of the Brady family. She is kn ...

in '' Days of our Lives''.

Early life

Stewart was born on 22 April 1959, in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, the daughter of Mary (Stewart) and John Ralph Nursall. Her parents taught at the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a Public university, public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexande ...

, her mother a physiology teaching assistant and her father a biology professor. Stewart attended

Strathcona Composite High School Strathcona High School, colloquially referred to as Scona and SCHS, is a public high school located in Edmonton, Alberta. The school was referred to as Strathcona Composite High School until 2014. A $6.1 million modernization project was complet ...

. She first took jazz dance lessons, and moved to London after high school to study dance and general performing arts, and where she passed the audition for her first movie, ''The Apple''.

Career

In 1980, Stewart landed a role in '' The Apple'', a musical science fiction cult film. During the production of ''The Apple'', the director Menahem Golan took issue with her original name Mary Nursall and insisted she change it, which she did using her mother's maiden name. After moving to Los Angeles, she obtained a role on the

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

'' Days of Our Lives'', playing the original

from January 1982 to December 1983. She also auditioned for projects like '' Death of a Centerfold: The Dorothy Stratten Story'', against

Jamie Lee Curtis Jamie Lee Curtis (born November 22, 1958) is an American actress, producer, children's author, and activist. She came to prominence with her portrayal of Lt. Barbara Duran on the ABC sitcom '' Operation Petticoat'' (1977–78). In 1978, she m ...

. In 1984, she starred in two science fiction feature films, ''

'' as Maggie Gordon and ''

Night of the Comet ''Night of the Comet'' is a 1984 American science fiction comedy horror film written and directed by Thom Eberhardt. It stars Catherine Mary Stewart, Robert Beltran, and Kelli Maroney as survivors of a comet that has turned most people into ei ...

'' as Regina Belmont. She later played a leading role in the teen comedy ''

Mischief Mischief or malicious mischief is the name for a criminal offenses that is defined differently in different legal jurisdictions. While the wrongful acts will often involve what is popularly described as vandalism, there can be a legal different ...

''. In the mid-1980s, Stewart appeared in two miniseries: '' Hollywood Wives'' (1985) and ''

Sins In a religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considered immoral, selfish, s ...

'' (1986), where she played the younger version of

Joan Collins Dame Joan Henrietta Collins (born 23 May 1933) is an English actress, author and columnist. Collins is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, a People's Choice Award, two Soap Opera Digest Awards and a Primeti ...

's character. She made guest appearances on television series such as ''

Knight Rider ''Knight Rider'' is an American entertainment franchise created by Glen A. Larson. The core of ''Knight Rider'' is its three television series: the original ''Knight Rider'' (1982–1986) and sequel series '' Team Knight Rider'' (1997–1998) ...

'', ''

Hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

'', '' Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' and '' The Outer Limits''. She starred in several made-for-TV movies such as ''

Murder by the Book ''Murder by the Book'' is a Nero Wolfe detective novel by Rex Stout published in 1951 by the Viking Press, and collected in the omnibus volume ''Royal Flush'' (1965). Plot summary Inspector Cramer takes the unprecedented step of approaching Nero ...

'' (1987), '' Passion and Paradise'' (1989), '' Perfect Harmony'' (1991) and ''

Ordeal in the Arctic ''Ordeal in the Arctic'' is a television film written by Paul F. Edwards and directed by Mark Sobel. The film stars Richard Chamberlain, Catherine Mary Stewart, Melanie Mayron, Scott Hylands and Page Fletcher. The accident that ''Ordeal in the ...

'' (1993). In 1989, she appeared as Gwen Saunders in the comedy film ''

''. Beginning in the mid-1990s, she scaled back her appearances while raising her family. After her children had grown, she again started appearing in television and film roles, and expressed an interest in directing. In 2010, she appeared in the film ''A Christmas Snow''. In 2016, she directed the short movie ''A Walk to Remember''. She starred in the

Hallmark A hallmark is an official mark or series of marks struck on items made of metal, mostly to certify the content of noble metals—such as platinum, gold, silver and in some nations, palladium. In a more general sense, the term '' hallmark'' can a ...

holidays movies ''Rock N' Roll Christmas'' in 2019 and ''A Christmas Comeback'' in 2020.

Personal life

She is the sister of

Alan Nursall Alan Nursall is a Canadian scientist and television personality, who reports on science news for the Canadian television series ''Daily Planet'' and the ''Alan Nursall Experience'' on the Discovery Channel. He is head of the Telus World of Sci ...

, a scientist and media personality who reports on science news for the Canadian TV series ''

Daily Planet The ''Daily Planet'' is a fictional newspaper appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with Superman. The newspaper was first mentioned in ''Action Comics'' #23 (April 1940). The ''Daily Planet'' build ...

'' and the Discovery Channel. Another brother, John Nursall, is a freelance writer and TV/film documentary director and producer. She was married to actor John Findlater in 1983 and divorced in 1985. She married Richard Allerton in 1992. She has a daughter and a son and lived in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York, as of 2013.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * *
Interview with Catherine Mary Stewart at Classic Film & TV Cafe, 27 January 2014
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, Catherine Mary 1959 births 20th-century Canadian actresses 21st-century Canadian actresses Actresses from Edmonton Canadian expatriate actresses in the United States Canadian film actresses Canadian soap opera actresses Canadian television actresses Living people