I Finally Realized Why 'Sullivan's Crossing' Star Kate Vernon Looks So Familiar—And I Really Should've Seen It Sooner

In case you missed it, there’s a show that’s been quietly (or not-so-quietly) holding a spot on Netflix’s Top 10 for the past few weeks. It's called Sullivan’s Crossing.

Based on the bestselling book series by Virgin River author Robyn Carr, the series follows Maggie Sullivan (played by Morgan Kohan), a brilliant Boston neurosurgeon whose life is turned upside down by a legal scandal. She heads back to her rural hometown of Sullivan’s Crossing in Nova Scotia, where she’s forced to reconnect with her estranged father, Sully, played by none other than Gilmore Girls alum Scott Patterson. Oh, and Chad Michael Murray is in it too.

In season three, a new character enters the mix: Helen Culver, Sully’s love interest, played by actress Kate Vernon. And if you found yourself watching and thinking, “Wait… why does she look so familiar?” you are not alone.

A little deep dive revealed Vernon has been gracing our screens since the ’80s. She got her start on the soap opera Falcon Crest (1984–1985) and made appearances on television series including Family Ties and Murder, She Wrote and also starred in the 1987 miniseries I’ll Take Manhattan. She was also in the teen classic Pretty in Pink (1986) and appeared opposite her father in the gangster comedy Mob Story (1989).

Through the ’90s and 2000s, Vernon continued landing memorable roles, including arcs on Who’s the Boss?, Nash Bridges, and the cult sci-fi hit Battlestar Galactica (2004–2009), where she played Ellen Tigh. She’s also popped up in Malcolm X, Heroes, Star Trek: Voyager, NCIS, The 100, The Morning Show, and more recently, Another Life (2021) with her Battlestar co-stars.