Kate Linder

Kate Linder (born November 2, 1947) is an American actress, best known for her role as Esther Valentine on The Young and the Restless, which she has played since 1982.

Linder was born in Pasadena, California, and graduated with a BA in theatre arts from San Francisco State University. During that time, she also began working as a flight attendant for Transamerica Airlines. After graduation, Linder found work on television, including roles on Archie Bunker's Place and Bay City Blues.

In 1982 she was cast as Esther Valentine on CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless. In addition to her work on television, Linder serves as a flight attendant for United Airlines. Linder has been starring on The Young and the Restless for 30 years and she's also one of two Daytime Governors at the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, who present the Emmys. Linder is also the national spokesperson for The ALS Association and is active with TV Cares, ATAS's AIDS fundraising and awareness organization, the Make-a-Wish Foundation, and national spokesperson for March of Dimes Canada's Conductive Education Program.

Linder in 2010

For her contributions in television, Linder earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She is the third actor to earn a star on the Walk of Fame solely on the merits of acting on a soap opera, after Jeanne Cooper and 2005 honoree Susan Lucci. In the 2000s, after 30 years in daytime, Linder made her film debut, starring in a number of independent productions such as Hysteria and Erased.