Background
Gallagher was born in Reading, Pennsylvania on February 6, 1960, to Aileen and Donald Gallagher. Her mother had also been an actor in her youth, retiring when she began a family.
Gallagher was born in Reading, Pennsylvania on February 6, 1960, to Aileen and Donald Gallagher. Her mother had also been an actor in her youth, retiring when she began a family.
From there, Gallagher moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting in film and television After making a screen debut in George Washington, she graduated to recurring roles in Hill Street Blues and China Beach, and starring roles in The Larry Sanders Show and Millennium. She attended Wyomissing Area Junior/Senior High School, where she elected not to attend her high school prom in order to continue her rehearsals at a local theatre.
The role of Catherine Black in the latter series had specifically been written with Gallagher in mind. She was the fifth of six children. Gallagher credits her own career to her mother, who would take her to Broadway theatre productions as a child.
She has also cited Mary Tyler Moore and Katharine Hepburn as influences on her career.
Gallagher moved to New York to study acting at the Juilliard School under the tutelage of John Houseman. Included in her class were Penny Johnson Jerald, Lorraine Toussaint, Jack Kenny and Jack Stehlin.
She then relocated to Los Angeles, California to further pursue her career. During this time she also took on a job taking care of stray cats.
Gallagher began her career on stage, appearing in a production of Paul Osborn"s Oliver Oliver before being cast in the 1989 Broadway production of Aaron Sorkin"s A Few Good Men.
In 1993, she took part in Broadway productions of both parts of Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes—Millennium Approaches and Perestroika. Gallagher"s television debut was in the miniseries George Washington. She gained the lead role in the pilot At Your Service, and a guest spot in the first episode of Los Angeles Law.
Gallagher"s role of Catherine Black in Millennium had been written by creator Chris Carter with her in mind specifically, as he had been impressed with her work as Jeannie Sanders on The Larry Sanders Show.
Gallagher was also keen to work with Carter, having admired his creation of the character Dana Scully for The X-Files, whom she saw as a positive example of an intriguing female character on television