Linder joined 'The Young and the Restless' cast in 1982 and has appeared in thousands of episodes
Veteran actress Kate Linder is anything but restless.
Starring in the storied soap opera "The Young and the Restless" for more than four decades, Linder is an anomaly in Hollywood – she has a legitimate second career as a flight attendant, a job she keeps for accountability.
"It’s really interesting because one day I get to be on the set, the next day I get to be here doing this Hollywood Christmas parade, and then I get to serve coffee at 35,000 feet," Linder told Us Weekly on Sunday of her unique schedule. "You don’t forget who you are that way. It keeps you grounded."
Kate Linder, 77, has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She's appeared in "The Young and the Restless" for over four decades, and a handful of films. (Presley Ann/Getty Images for Family Film and TV Awards)
The actress, now 77, joined the show in 1982 as an unnamed maid and confidant to the late actress Jeanne Cooper's character, Katherine Chancellor. Linder was offered a contract and a name for her character – Esther Valentine – in 1985, thanks to Cooper, who used the name in rehearsal.
Kate Linder joined "The Young and the Restless" in 1982, earning a contract and a character name, Esther Valentine, in 1985. (CBS via Getty Images)
Appearing in more than 2,000 episodes and earning herself a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2008, Linder lacks any jadedness.
"I’ve seen a lot of people that sometimes believe their own press," she shared. "I feel so very fortunate to do what I do. This is all I’ve ever wanted to do. No one in my family was in the business, so it was always like taking one step forward and two steps back, and yet, how fortunate and how lucky am I?"
Kate Linder at the the 51st annual Daytime Emmys Awards in June 2024. (Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images)
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It's why she is still working as a flight attendant for United Airlines, where she says, yes, she is sometimes recognized.
"I was standing at the gate ready to get on a plane, and this woman looked at me and she said, ‘Kate Linder? No, you’re not,’" she remembered. "And I said, ‘I was when I woke up. So something’s wrong. I don’t know what’s wrong.’ She couldn’t believe that I was going to be working that flight. And she ended up being on that flight."
Kate Linder as Esther Valentine stars alongside Bryton James as Devon Hamilton in an episode of the soap opera. (Monty Brinton/CBS via Getty Images)
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"I’ve seen a lot of people that sometimes believe their own press."
— Kate Linder on keeping herself grounded
In 2022, Linder explained her initial apprehension about disclosing her job as a flight attendant. "In the beginning, I didn’t tell anyone because I thought they would take me less seriously as an actress," she told Closer Weekly. "But then, as the years went by, I would meet viewers on the plane and have these wonderful stories. I thought that as long as I keep doing both jobs well, I would keep doing them."
Of playing the same character for several decades, Linder said each day is unknown, despite how monotonous it may seem. "It’s just like real life because you just don’t know what’s going to happen when you wake up in the morning. I don’t know what Esther’s going to do, or what’s going to happen or what’s going to come up. I am always so excited to read the scripts and find out. That’s what keeps it exciting for me. I’m very proud of our show."
Caroline Thayer is an entertainment writer. Follow Caroline Thayer on Twitter at @carolinejthayer and LinkedIn. Story tips can be sent to
