Never make assumptions about flight attendants. I’ve met doctors, models, professors, and business owners who are flight attendants…and today I learned that one flight attendant at United Airlines is also a highly successful actress.
Kate Linder is a flight attendant and has been one for 46 years at United. But she’s better known as Esther Valentine in “The Young and The Restless” soap opera, a role she had played since 1982.
At 76-year-old, the Pasadena, California resident stays busy not only as one of the longest-serving actors on an American soap opera series but also as a flight attendant on United Airlines. These days, Linder films during the week and takes to the air on weekends. Look for her on a United flight near you, especially if you are flying out of Los Angeles (LAX).
In honor of International Flight Attendant Day on May 31st, a CBS affiliate in Chicago did a cute story on her:
A post shared by Kate Linder (@katelinderyr)
She said something that really resonated with me:
“I don’t belirve in retirement. As long as I can do them and do them both well, I’ll keep doing them.”
What a great attitude. Age is just a number and her dual roles keep her busy, healthy, and youthful. I hope to be able to say the same thing if I ever hit my 70s.
Part of me wishes I had become a flight attendant 15 years ago…not because that is the career I ever wanted, but because the idea of flying around the world at a low cost on a standby basis strikes me as a highly valuable fringe benefit for those who actually use it…and you can bet I would use it like crazy. Of course that is technically available with any airline position, but so many flight attendants have full careers outside of flying and can simply trade away assignments they do not want to fly with colleagues looking to pick up extra work. Indeed, some can go months without setting foot on a plane. It’s not a bad side gig…try doing that working in the legal department or loyalty division.
Kudos to Linder for such a successful career that continues unabated.
Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.
Soap Operas are a good fit for FAs .And FAs are a good fit for Soap Operas . win-win .
One current Soap Opera is “Trump and the Wayward Female” , and the consequences which follow .
Trump is diverting entertainment and good for a laugh .
He is a dangerous man who is emboldening the wrong people.
@Aaron …, I don’t worry about what makes me laugh .
Not nice Aaron…Get your facts correct.. Sleepy Joe is the criiminal as is HIll and Bill!!
Well yeah of course you don’t worry, your privilege protects you from any of his harmful policies.
Biden and Hillary possibly being criminals doesn’t change the fact that Mango Mussolini is one as well.
I guess a certain commenter would consider her stupid to still be working at 76.
I didn’t know you could work part-time like that as an FA. I guess most people want it as a full-time job. I didn’t know it was that flexible.
I was a flight attendant for 22 years; the first 5 years with Pan Am and the rest with United. While working full-time, I attended graduate school to get a master’s degree in counseling psychology. I also worked as an F/A while training to become a licensed psychotherapist. I left UA in 2008 after being offered a generous buyout during the financial crisis. I’m now a successful psychotherapist in private practice. I own a group practice that employs 3 other therapists.
There isn’t a day that I miss flying. It is a great profession that allows people to do many other things that give meaning to their lives. During my tenure with both airlines, I met no fewer than 10 other therapists and psychologists, more registered nurses and nurse practitioners than I can remember, several attorneys, teachers, a former priest, and a rabbi.
The allure of travel usually gets people hooked. The decent pay and flexible schedule are what keep people. Had I stayed, I’d be able to do one Rome trip a month while keeping vacation and insurance.
How diificult was it to get a job back then? Are you saying the attorneys, teachers were FA’s while they did those jobs?
Yes.
Because you can choose to fly more or less hours in a month, trade, drop your trips, pick up more exciting trips etc. it is the most flexible job I have known. And it gets you hooked! It is exciting! Being one day in a country, another in a different country, on several different continents.., I stopped because I was suffering from older age, jet lag and I moved too far away from an international base. My double transatlantic commute would be a killer. I had a husband with increasing cognitive impairment and no family to help. It made no sense anymore. My head said No but my heart still yearns to be out there.
And yes some of my flying colleagues were MDs and lawyers, accountants etc. They chose a way of life that they enjoyed more! A black American I flew with kept his law firm and flew as well. Another had a restaurant also and was working on his menus during his breaks. America is great! It is way more restricted with other parts of the world.
In my earlier comment I meant to say that you do not have the same freedom to work your trips and lifestyle in other countries.
So at 76 yrs, she is able to evacuate a full plane in 90 seconds along with other crew, and she attends recurrent training yearly? Works Mon-Fri on YNR and flies weekends? Great story.. but! Filming is not traditional M-F. She must be flying 1-2hr hops to be home for work on Monday at StudioB. More power to you, but at 76 your working 7 days a week. That is sad.
Here is my story about Kate. I had no idea who she was, it was 25 years ago when I was first hired as a pilot with United . I was flying from Los Angeles to Seattle I believe, I remember it was a turn for her back to LAX. We had a regional pilot jumpseater. She was so attentive to us and the extra pilot we actually told him, this is unusual, our flight attendants are nice, but she was over the top pleasant and thoughtful….don’t expect this every trip if you eventually come to work here. As I was leaving the airplane I saw her signing autographs for the passengers. I asked her what that was about and learned the whole story. What a nice and wonderful person.
Great story! Thanks for sharing.
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