Kate Linder got her own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on April 10th. If you're Kate Linder, you don't quit your job as a United Airlines flight attendant because you're cast for a one-day, one-line role on "The Young and the Restless." And Kate Linder has done both jobs simultaneously for the 26 years she's been on the #1 rated show (that's #1 every single week for 18 years!) in daytime television -- with the resulting confusion among passengers creating hilarious anecdotes! The passenger/fan response has been overwhelming and incredulous -- unless they are fans who chose the friendly skies in hopes of seeing Kate. Linder is also active with the USO, visiting troops shipping out and in Afghanistan and Pakistan and in Guantanamo Bay. In late '05, Linder was elected Governor of the Daytime Programming Peer Group of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (yup, the folks who put on the Emmys), and she was reelected last year.

Linder, as Esther Valentine (so named because Linder was married on Valentine's Day), confidante/housekeeper to the soap's wealthy and powerful matron, Katherine Chancellor (Jeanne Cooper), has often been called upon to add a touch of humor to the show. Her character has been perennially unlucky in love and when she briefly wed a man at last, he turned out to be a con artist who murdered her boss' husband. This year, Linder will celebrate her 26th year on "The Young and the Restless" the same week she gets her star.

For Linder, working in the first-class section is more than a plane ride, it's an ego trip. "My passengers are frequently movie stars and political figures -- and I get as many autograph requests from the other passengers as they do." But as anyone who has ever met Kate can attest, her feet are still planted firmly on the ground. She was scheduled to fly on September 11, 2001, but her flight was grounded due to the terrorist attacks.

Kate is an eternal optimist and tireless worker for many charities and was named celebrity spokesperson for The ALS Association (ALSA) in early 2005. Her brother-in-law was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) in December, 2004 and Kate went to Washington, DC to lobby for more funds to fight this disease which has no cure for the past four years. In 2006, Linder won the organization's All-Star Award for her passionate service to the cause and won the Packman Award for her work in 2007. Kate travels around the country to participate in and encourage other volunteers at ALSA's main fundraisers, Walk to D'Feet ALS and participates in their fundraising dinners at local chapters. She's also active with TV Cares, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences' AIDS charity, and the Make-a-Wish Foundation.

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