Penny Johnson Jerald is an American actress, born on March 14, 1961, in Baltimore, Maryland. She is known for her versatile roles in television and film. Jerald gained recognition for her role as Beverly Barnes on the HBO comedy series "The Larry Sanders Show" (1992-1998). She also played Kasidy Yates on the syndicated science fiction series "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" (1995-1999) and Sherry Palmer on the Fox series "24" (2001-2004).

Jerald's other notable roles include Captain Victoria "Iron" Gates on the ABC comedy-drama series "Castle" (2011-2015) and Dr. Claire Finn on the Fox/Hulu science-fiction series "The Orville" (2017-2022). She has also lent her voice to the character Sarafina in "The Lion King" (2019).