Captain Janeway’s 3 First Names Explained By Star Trek: Voyager Producer

Star Trek: Voyager considered a few different first names for the captain of the USS Voyager before she became Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew). Over the course of seven seasons, Captain Janeway led Voyager home from the unexplored Delta Quadrant, encountering many new aliens and other surprises along the way. Kate Mulgrew brought confidence and heart to the role, but she wasn’t the first choice of Voyager’s producers. Canadian actress Geneviève Bujold spent two days filming as Janeway before deciding to leave the role, and Kate Mulgrew was then offered the part.

Captain Kathryn Janeway was the first female captain to lead a Star Trek show, and she went on to become one of the most successful admirals in Starfleet. It’s now difficult to imagine anyone other than Kate Mulgrew as Captain Janeway, and Mulgrew even put her own stamp on the character by suggesting the first name, Kathryn, which stuck. In the Star Trek oral history, The Fifty-Year Mission: The Next 25 Years by Mark A. Altman and Edward Gross, Voyager Executive Producer Jeri Taylor discusses Janeway’s three first names. Read her full quote below:

The character’s original name was Elizabeth Janeway, but that was changed for legal reasons. There is a prominent Elizabeth Janeway and we were not allowed to use names of prominent people, because it can be sticky, although we heard sort of secondhand that Elizabeth Janeway was flattered about it. It then changed to Nicole at Geneviève Bujold’s request, because that is in fact her given name and she wanted that. For two days it was Nicole Janeway.

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Star Trek: Voyager Cast & Character Guide

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Kathryn Janeway Became One of Star Trek’s Best Admirals

Admiral Janeway’s story continues in Star Trek: Prodigy

After successfully leading the USS Voyager back to the Alpha Quadrant, no one would have blamed Captain Janeway if she had chosen to retire. She took the opposite approach, however, choosing to remain an active figure at Starfleet Command after being promoted to vice admiral. Janeway continued to stand up for her friends, even threatening to resign her commission when Starfleet refused to let former Borg drone Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) join the organization. Although Janeway has not appeared in live-action since her brief cameo in Star Trek: Nemesis, several different versions of Janeway appear in Star Trek: Prodigy.

Canceled by Paramount+ and then picked up by Netflix, Star Trek: Prodigy follows the young, misfit crew of the USS Protostar. The Protostar is equipped with a holographic version of Janeway who offers help and advice to the crew. The real Admiral Janeway also makes an appearance, as she commands the USS Dauntless on a mission to locate the Protostar and the missing Captain Chakotay (Robert Beltran). Kathryn Janeway made a name for herself on Star Trek: Voyager, and Star Trek: Prodigy offers a welcome update on the career of one of the most decorated officers in Starfleet.