# Catherine Mary Stewart

Catherine Mary Stewart (née Catherine Nursall; born 22 April 1959) is a Canadian actress. Her film roles include The Apple, Night of the Comet, The Last Starfighter and Weekend at Bernie's. She was also the original Kayla Brady in Days of Our Lives.

## Early life

Stewart was born on 22 April 1959, in Edmonton, Alberta, the daughter of Mary (Stewart) and John Ralph Nursall. Her parents taught at the University of Alberta, her mother a physiology teaching assistant and her father a biology professor. Stewart attended Strathcona Composite High School. She first took jazz dance lessons, and moved to London after high school to study dance and general performing arts, and where she passed the audition for her first movie, The Apple.

## Career

In 1980, Stewart landed a role in The Apple, a musical science fiction cult film. During the production of The Apple, the director Menahem Golan took issue with her original name Mary Nursall and insisted she change it, which she did using her mother's maiden name.
After moving to Los Angeles, she obtained a role on the soap opera Days of Our Lives, playing the original Kayla Brady from January 1982 to December 1983. She also auditioned for projects like Death of a Centerfold: The Dorothy Stratten Story, against Jamie Lee Curtis. In 1984, she starred in two science fiction feature films, The Last Starfighter as Maggie Gordon and Night of the Comet as Regina Belmont. She later played a leading role in the teen comedy Mischief.
In the mid-1980s, Stewart appeared in two miniseries: Hollywood Wives (1985) and Sins (1986), where she played the younger version of Joan Collins's character. She made guest appearances on television series such as Knight Rider, Hotel, Alfred Hitchcock Presents and The Outer Limits. She starred in several made-for-TV movies such as Murder by the Book (1987), Passion and Paradise (1989), Perfect Harmony (1991) and Ordeal in the Arctic (1993). In 1989, she appeared as Gwen Saunders in the comedy film Weekend at Bernie's. She, too, had a small role on The A-Team, season 2 episode titled Steel.
Beginning in the mid-1990s, she scaled back her appearances while raising her family. After her children had grown, she again started appearing in television and film roles, and expressed an interest in directing. In 2010, she appeared in the film A Christmas Snow. In 2016, she directed the short movie A Walk to Remember. She starred in the Hallmark holidays movies Rock N' Roll Christmas in 2019 and A Christmas Comeback in 2020.

## Personal life

She is the sister of Alan Nursall, a scientist and media personality who reports on science news for the Canadian TV series Daily Planet and the Discovery Channel. Another brother, John Nursall, is a freelance writer and TV/film documentary director and producer.
She was married to actor John Findlater in 1983 and divorced in 1985. She married Richard Allerton in 1992. She has a daughter and a son and lived in Brooklyn, New York, as of 2013.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1980 | Powder Heads | Belinda | |
| 1980 | The Apple | Bibi | |
| 1981 | Nighthawks | Sales Girl In London | |
| 1982 | The Beach Girls | The Surfer Girl | |
| 1984 | The Last Starfighter | Maggie Gordon | |
| 1984 | Night of the Comet | Regina Belmont | |
| 1984 | Terror in the Aisles | Herself | documentary film |
| 1985 | Mischief | Bunny Miller | |
| 1987 | Scenes from the Goldmine | Debi DiAngelo | |
| 1987 | Dudes | Jessie | |
| 1987 | Nightflyers | Miranda Dorlac | |
| 1988 | World Gone Wild | Angie | |
| 1989 | Riding the Edge | Maggie Cole | |
| 1989 | Weekend at Bernie's | Gwen Saunders | |
| 1991 | The Psychic | Laurel | |
| 1991 | Cafe Romeo | Lia | |
| 1994 | Samurai Cowboy | Jessie Collins | |
| 1995 | Number One Fan | Holly Newman | |
| 1995 | Out of Annie's Past | Annie Carver | direct-to-video |
| 1999 | Dead Silent | Julia Kerbridge | |
| 2000 | Reaper | Sonya Lehrman | |
| 2007 | The Girl Next Door | Mrs. Moran | |
| 2008 | The Attic | Kim Callan | direct-to-video |
| 2010 | Perry St | Elaine | short film |
| 2010 | Rising Stars | Ms. Cage | |
| 2010 | A Christmas Snow | Kathleen | |
| 2013 | AmeriQua | Mrs. Edwards | |
| 2017 | Imitation Girl | Mrs. Phan | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1982 | Mr. Merlin | Daisy Willis | Episode: "Everything's Coming Up Daisies" |
| 1982–1983 | Days of Our Lives | Kayla Brady | 150 episodes |
| 1983 | Knight Rider | Lisa Martinson | Episode: "Brother's Keeper" |
| 1983 | A Killer in the Family | Carol | TV movie |
| 1984 | With Intent to Kill | Lisa Nolen | TV movie |
| 1985 | Hotel | Lynn Valli | Episode: "Promises" |
| 1985 | Hollywood Wives | Angel Hudson | miniseries |
| 1985 | Midas Valley | Betsy | TV movie |
| 1986 | Sins | Young Helene Junot | miniseries |
| 1986 | Annihilator | Angela Taylor | TV movie |
| 1987 | Murder by the Book | Marissa | TV movie |
| 1987 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Rachel Jenkins | Episode: "Tragedy Tonight" |
| 1989 | Passion and Paradise | Nancy Oakes | TV movie |
| 1990 | Project: Tinman | Naomi | TV pilot |
| 1990 | Follow Your Heart | Katy | TV movie |
| 1991 | Perfect Harmony | Miss Hobbs | TV movie |
| 1992 | Hearts Are Wild | Kyle Hubbard | 7 episodes |
| 1992 | The Witches of Eastwick | Sukie Ridgemont | TV movie |
| 1993 | Ordeal in the Arctic | Captain Wilma De Groot | TV movie |
| 1993 | The Sea Wolf | Flaxen Brewster | TV movie |
| 1996 | The Outer Limits | Joanne Sharp | Episode: "Unnatural Selection" |
| 2001 | The Outer Limits | Brooke Miller | Episode: "Family Values" |
| 2002 | Guiding Light | Naomi | 2 episodes |
| 2007 | My Daughter's Secret | Detective Marrin | TV movie |
| 2007 | Sharpshooter | Amy | TV movie |
| 2008 | Dead at 17 | Holly | TV movie |
| 2008 | Generation Gap | Veronica Statlan | TV movie |
| 2009 | My Neighbor's Secret | Detective Neal | TV movie |
| 2010 | Class | Julia Sheffield | TV movie |
| 2012 | Ghoul | Mrs. Elizabeth Graco | TV movie |
| 2013 | The Husband She Met Online | Detective Eve Millstrom | TV movie |
| 2019 | Rock N' Roll Christmas | Bonnie Rose | TV movie |
| 2023 | Law & Order | Victoria Chandler | Episode: "Open Wounds" |