Penny Johnson Jerald

Penny Johnson Jerald (born March 14, 1961) is an American actress. She played Beverly Barnes on the HBO comedy series The Larry Sanders Show, Kasidy Yates on the syndicated science fiction series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Sherry Palmer on the Fox series 24, Captain Victoria "Iron" Gates on the ABC comedy-drama series Castle, and Dr. Claire Finn on the Fox/Hulu science-fiction series The Orville, and voiced Sarafina in the films The Lion King and Mufasa: The Lion King. Early life Penny Johnson was born 14 March 1961 in Baltimore, Maryland, one of seven siblings. Johnson aspired to be an actress as a child. She first attended Western High School before transferring to Park School of Baltimore. Johnson trained at the Juilliard School, where her classmates in 1982 included Megan Gallagher, Jack Kenny, Jack Stehlin, and Lorraine Toussaint. Career Jerald began her career with small guest roles. She made her screen debut on an episode of American Playhouse in 1983. Her first major role on television was Vivian Conway in The Paper Chase from 1984 to 1986. She appeared in General Hospital in 1986 and Do the Right Thing in 1989. She portrayed Virginia "Vicki" Harper on short-lived sitcom Homeroom in 1989. In 1992, Jerald landed the role of unflappable personal assistant, Beverly Barnes, on The Larry Sanders Show. For her work on Larry Sanders, Jerald received a CableACE Award nomination for Best Actress in a Comedy Series in 1996. Two years later, she earned an NAACP Image Award nomination in the category of Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. She continued playing Beverly until the show ended in 1998.