Who is that woman on 'Orange is the New Black'?

Red, the character on the far right.
Orange is the New Black (Photo credit: massdistraction)

I admit it; I'm a television junkie.

There is nothing worse than seeing someone on television that I know I've seen before, but I just can't place. It drives me crazy.

This just happened recently as I was watching the new Netflix series, "Orange is the New Black," a true life story about a woman who was incarcerated for a drug offense. 

The minute I saw one of the characters--Red, a tough woman who portrays the prison cook--I knew I had seen her somewhere before. Every time I looked at her, I knew who she was. I also know it was from a long time ago, when both she and I were much younger. 

I remembered her pretty face and a kindness about her, although that was not absolutely the kind of character she played in this series. 

I didn't know anything about the show, but was intrigued by all the ridiculous flap over Julianne Hough wearing a Halloween costume that portrayed one of the show's characters. Hough was accused of being a racist because she wore bronze makeup on her face in her portrayal of the character Crazy Eyes. 

Kate Mulgrew
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I am getting hooked on the series, which seems to be an honest portrayal of life in prison. 

Still a newbie, I've been power-watching episodes, watching two or three at a time. Whenever I saw Red, I wondered who she was. It was actually very distracting.

Finally, my husband looked it up on the Internet for me. He came in last night while I was watching it and announced that her name was Kate Mulgrew.

Ryan's Hope (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Immediately, I knew. 

Of course. She played Mary Ryan on the soap opera Ryan's Hope in the mid-1970's. 

I watched every episode. I loved that show. I remembered how fond I was of the character she portrayed. I have no idea how I was able to associate her name with the former character, Mary Ryan. Come to think of it, I hadn't seen or heard of Kate Mulgrew in 40 years. 

I suppose that might just be a testament to how much I liked "Ryan's Hope" and the character Mulgrew portrayed. I've noticed there are some YouTube videos containing episodes of the show. I may have to peruse them, just for old times' sake.

Once again, Thanks Internet!