Kate Burton

Known for: Acting

Born: 1957-09-10 (age 68)

From: Geneva, Switzerland

Kate Burton is a Swiss-born Welsh-American stage and screen actress. She is best known for her TV roles as Vice President Sally Langston on ABC's Scandal, Vera Quinn on the Audience Network's series Full Circle, and Dr. Ellis Grey on ABC's Grey's Anatomy. She holds an BA in Russian Studies and European History from Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, and an MFA from the Yale School of Drama, New Haven, Connecticut.

Filmography (117)

TV★ 7.1
The Beast in Me
2025
as Mariah Ingram
MOVIE★ 5.9
The Surrender
2025
as Barbara
MOVIE★ 6.2
Violent Ends
2025
as Darlene Woodley
TV
BULLDOZER
2025
as Dr. Diane Roddy
MOVIE
Oscar Wilde About America
2025
MOVIE★ 5.5
guts
2024
as Gabby
MOVIE★ 6.3
Our Son
2023
as Maggie "Miggie"
MOVIE★ 6.7
Dumb Money
2023
as Elaine Gill
MOVIE
Heaven, I Suppose
2023
as Cheryl
MOVIE
The Anne Frank Gift Shop
2023
as Ilse
TV★ 7.3
So Help Me Todd
2022
as Joan
MOVIE★ 6.5
Breaking
2022
as Tami Stackhouse
TV★ 7.9
Bosch: Legacy
2022
as Ida Porter
TV★ 7.3
The Dropout
2022
as Rochelle Gibbons
TV★ 6.8
Inventing Anna
2022
as Nora Radford
MOVIE
Sandra Day O'Connor: The First
2021
as Narrator (voice)
TV★ 6.7
The Mosquito Coast
2021
as Margot's Mom
MOVIE★ 7.0
The Codebreaker
2021
as Narrator (voice)
TV★ 8.0
The Vote
2020
as Narrator (voice)
TV★ 6.1
Perfect Harmony
2019
as Julie
TV★ 8.1
Prodigal Son
2019
as Sarah Windsor
MOVIE★ 6.6
Where'd You Go, Bernadette
2019
as Ellen Idelson
TV★ 7.2
Charmed
2018
as Celeste
MOVIE★ 5.7
At First Light
2018
as Kate
TV★ 7.9
FBI
2018
as Evelyn Kates
MOVIE★ 6.4
Noël Coward's Present Laughter
2017
as Liz Essendine
TV★ 7.6
The Gifted
2017
as Dr. Madeline Risman
TV★ 7.5
13 Reasons Why
2017
as Dr. Hughes
TV★ 8.2
This Is Us
2016
as Barbara
TV★ 7.3
Supergirl
2015
as Isabel Nal (voice)
MOVIE★ 5.1
Martyrs
2015
as Eleanor
MOVIE★ 6.0
Identity Theft
2015
as Anna
MOVIE★ 5.0
Bleeding Heart
2015
as Martha
MOVIE
Amok
2015
as Dr. Wilson
TV★ 7.0
Madam Secretary
2014
as Maureen McCord
MOVIE★ 5.4
Don't Look Back
2014
as Dr. Jeanette Barnes
TV★ 6.3
Extant
2014
as Fiona Stanton
MOVIE★ 6.7
Barefoot
2014
as Mrs. Wheeler
TV★ 6.2
Full Circle
2013
as Vera Quinn
MOVIE★ 7.3
Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel: Live from Lincoln Center
2013
as Mrs. Mullin
MOVIE★ 6.5
Mariachi Gringo
2012
as Anne
TV★ 7.6
Elementary
2012
as Maureen Dannon
TV★ 6.4
Revolution
2012
as Jane Warren
MOVIE★ 6.5
Liberal Arts
2012
as Susan
TV★ 7.5
Veep
2012
as Barbara Hallowes
TV★ 7.2
Scandal
2012
as Sally Langston
MOVIE★ 5.6
2 Days in New York
2012
as Bella
TV★ 7.7
Key & Peele
2012
as Hillary Clinton
TV★ 8.3
Grimm
2011
as Marie Kessler
MOVIE★ 5.0
Caris' Peace
2011
as Self
MOVIE★ 6.7
Puncture
2011
as Senator O'Reilly
MOVIE★ 7.1
127 Hours
2010
as Aron's Mom
MOVIE★ 7.1
Remember Me
2010
as Janine
MOVIE★ 5.0
Consent
2010
as Susan
TV★ 6.0
The Deep End
2010
as Grace Graham
TV★ 7.9
Modern Family
2009
as Iris Fennerman
TV★ 7.6
The Good Wife
2009
as Victoria Adler
MOVIE
Washingtonienne
2009
as Joy
MOVIE★ 5.5
Spooner
2009
as Alice Spooner
MOVIE★ 5.4
What Just Happened
2008
as Doctor Randall
MOVIE★ 5.4
Max Payne
2008
as Nicole Horne
TV★ 6.6
Eleventh Hour
2008
as Gepetto / Miranda Cochran
MOVIE★ 6.6
Hidden Treasure of the Mississippi
2008
as Aunt Birdy
MOVIE★ 5.3
Quid Pro Quo
2008
as Merilee
MOVIE★ 6.1
Sherrybaby
2006
as Marcia Swanson
TV★ 7.0
Justice
2006
MOVIE★ 6.6
Stay
2005
as Mrs. Letham
MOVIE★ 6.0
Ernest Hemingway: Rivers to the Sea
2005
as Narrator (voice)
TV★ 7.9
The Closer
2005
as Kate Wycoff
TV★ 6.5
Empire Falls
2005
as Cindy Whiting
TV★ 8.2
Grey's Anatomy
2005
as Ellis Grey
TV★ 7.0
Numb3rs
2005
as Anthropologist
TV★ 7.5
Medium
2005
as Bonnie Barrister
TV★ 7.6
Rescue Me
2004
as Rose
TV
Working Shakespeare
2003
MOVIE★ 5.4
The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer
2003
as Connie Posey
MOVIE
Three Sisters
2003
as Olga
MOVIE★ 5.4
Obsessed
2002
as Sara Miller
MOVIE★ 5.2
Swimfan
2002
as Carla Cronin
MOVIE★ 6.7
Unfaithful
2002
as Tracy
TV★ 7.6
Law & Order: Criminal Intent
2001
as Stephanie Ufland
TV★ 8.2
100 Centre Street
2001
as Sheila Byrne
MOVIE★ 5.7
The Opportunists
2000
as Rest Home Sister
TV★ 8.3
The West Wing
1999
as Sarah Brainerd
TV★ 8.0
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
1999
as Annette Cole
TV★ 7.5
Judging Amy
1999
as Dr. Sheri Jordan
MOVIE★ 6.0
Celebrity
1998
as Robin's Friend Cheryl
MOVIE★ 6.1
Ellen Foster
1997
as Abigail Montford
MOVIE★ 6.9
The Ice Storm
1997
as Dorothy Franklin
TV★ 7.7
The Practice
1997
as A.D.A. Susan Alexander
MOVIE★ 5.3
Mistrial
1996
as Katherine Donohue
MOVIE★ 6.8
Looking for Richard
1996
as Self
MOVIE★ 6.7
The First Wives Club
1996
as Woman in Bed
MOVIE★ 4.3
August
1996
as Helen Blathwaite
MOVIE
Notes for My Daughter
1995
as Brenda Gardner
TV★ 7.0
Monty
1994
as Fran Richardson
MOVIE★ 4.0
Love Matters
1993
as Deborah
MOVIE★ 5.7
Life with Mikey
1993
as Mrs. Burns
TV★ 8.0
Home Fires
1992
as Anne Kramer
TV★ 7.8
Brooklyn Bridge
1991
TV★ 7.3
Law & Order
1990
as Sister Bettina
MOVIE
Broadway's Dreamers: The Legacy of the Group Theatre
1989
as Self
TV★ 6.5
American Experience
1988
as Narrator
MOVIE★ 6.0
In from the Cold? A Portrait of Richard Burton
1988
as Self
MOVIE★ 7.0
Uncle Tom's Cabin
1987
as Ophelia
MOVIE★ 7.2
Big Trouble in Little China
1986
as Margo
TV★ 6.9
Spenser: For Hire
1985
TV★ 5.7
Evergreen
1985
as Agatha Bradford
TV★ 5.1
Ellis Island
1984
as Vanessa Ogden
MOVIE★ 6.8
Alice in Wonderland
1983
as Alice
TV★ 6.6
American Playhouse
1982
as Agnes Bolton O'Neill
TV★ 6.1
Great Performances
1971
as Alice
MOVIE★ 7.1
Anne of the Thousand Days
1969
as Serving Maid (uncredited)
TV
Tony Awards
1956
as Self - Nominee
TV★ 8.8
Hallmark Hall of Fame
1951
as Abigail
MOVIE
RSC Meets USA: Working Shakespeare
—
as Self
MOVIE
Death on the Brandywine
—
as Ann Riley