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 Rob ...

'' 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 in ''

Days of our Lives ''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that streams on the streaming service Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. The soap, which aired on ...

''.

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 anc ...

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 research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Ruth ...

, her mother a physiology teaching assistant and her father a biology professor. Stewart attended Strathcona Composite High School. 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 Menahem Golan ( he, מנחם גולן; May 31, 1929 – August 8, 2014, originally Menachem Globus) was an Israeli film producer, screenwriter, and director. He was best known for co-owning The Cannon Group with his cousin Yoram Globus. Cannon ...

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 ''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that streams on the streaming service Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. The soap, which aired on ...

'', playing the original Kayla Brady 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 eit ...

'' as Regina Belmont. She later played a leading role in the teen comedy '' Mischief''. In the mid-1980s, Stewart appeared in two

miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format ...

: '' Hollywood Wives'' (1985) and '' Sins'' (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 Primetime ...

'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 ref ...

'', ''

Alfred Hitchcock Presents ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' is an American television anthology series created, hosted and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, aired on CBS and NBC between 1955 and 1965. It features dramas, thrillers and mysteries. Between 1962 and 1965 it was r ...

'' and ''

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''. She starred in several made-for-TV movies such as '' Murder by the Book'' (1987), ''

Passion and Paradise ''Passion and Paradise'' is a 1989 American television crime-drama film directed by Harvey Hart and starring Armand Assante and Catherine Mary Stewart. For this film Hart won the Gemini Award for Best Direction in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Seri ...

'' (1989), '' Perfect Harmony'' (1991) and '' Ordeal in the Arctic'' (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, 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 Discovery Channel (known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery) is an American cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav. , Discovery Chan ...

. 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 (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, 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