The Young and the Restless star Kate Linder celebrates an amazing milestone

The Young and the Restless star Kate Linder has been in Genoa City since 1982! Now, the actress, who has a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and a Silver Circle Award from the Daytime Emmy folks, has something else to celebrate!

Happy birthday to The Young and the Restless star Kate Linder

Adam Sharp (President/CEO, NATAS), James Reynolds (Abe, Days of our Lives), Kate Linder (Esther, The Young and the Restless), Jane Elliot (Tracy, General Hospital), Judy Blye Wilson (casting director, Y&R/All My Children), and Greg Barna | Image: JPI

Linder is celebrating her birthday on November 2! The actress has been a mainstay on Y&R since 1982. When she first debuted as the late Katherine Chancellor's (Jeanne Cooper) maid, she didn't even have a name! It wasn't until a few episodes later that Linder saw Esther's name among the show's cast of characters. Legend has it that Cooper adlibbed "Esther" one day when calling out for her servant, and the handle stuck!

In 2008, Linder received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She was honored with a display at The Hollywood Museum in 2022. Last month, she and other daytime dignitaries, including Jane Elliot (Tracy, General Hospital) and James Reynolds (Abe Reynolds, Days of our Lives), were honored by NATAS with either Gold Circle or Silver Circle Awards.

Born in Pasadena, Calif., Linder attended San Francisco State University, earning a BA in theatre arts. Not only is the actress known for her run as Genoa City's most famous maid, she's also known to United Airlines fliers as Linder works for the airline as a flight attendant.

In addition to her role on Y&R as Esther Valentine, which Linder has taken over to The Young and the Restless's sister soap, The Bold and the Beautiful, the actress's credits include Archie Bunker's Place and Bay City Blues.

Linder has lent her name to many charitable organizations, including TV Cares, the TV Academy's AIDS fundraising and awareness organization, the Make-a-Wish Foundation, and the March of Dimes Canada's Conductive Education Program.

The big screen, and Kay's big heart

Esther (Kate Linder) and Katherine (Jeanne Cooper) were kidnapped more than once on The Young and the Restless | Image: JPI

On the big screen, Linder appeared in the 2016 Garry Marshall film Mother's Day, which starred Julia Roberts, Jennifer Aniston, and Kate Hudson. It was Marshall's final movie. Linder appeared in the 2023 film A Little White Lie, which starred Hudson, Zach Braff, and Don Johnson.

On Y&R, Linder worked for years opposite Cooper's Katherine. Esther and Katherine nearly parted ways after Norman (Mark Haining), a man Esther met through a dating service and married (under pretenses), turned out to be a conman and murderer. He killed Katherine's beloved Rex (Quinn Redeker) after Rex caught him trying to rob Kay's safe.

Esther, grief-stricken and guilty, packed up little Kate (Chloe, played as an adult by Elizabeth Hendrickson) and headed out the door of the Chancellor Mansion. Katherine saw past her grief and told Esther that she could stay.

Linder and her husband, Ron Linder, were wed on February 14, 1976, and remained together until his passing in 2017.