Katee Sackhoff as Kara Thrace
Captain Kara “Starbuck” Thrace is portrayed by Katee Sackhoff in the television series,
Battlestar Galactica. Kara had originally planned on becoming a professional Pyramid Ball Player, but when her knee gave out, she reshuffled her priorities and ended up enlisting for the military. It was in the military that she felt accepted, a feeling that she had not received as a child who grew up in an abusive household. Her mother was a former marine who participated in the First Cylon War, but despite Kara’s high ranking, Kara’s mother has not been satisfied with her performance, criticizing her for not using her flying skills.
While she was employed as an instructor at the Colonial Flight School, Kara engaged in a romantic relationship with one of her pupils, Zak Adama. Even though Zak had failed Basic Flight, Kara gave him passing marks, not wanting to discourage Zak’s dreams to become a great pilot. This proved to be a bad decision, as Zak lost his life during his first Viper mission. His death led Kara to meet his father, Commander William Adama, and upon learning about Kara and Zak’s engagement, William placed Kara under his command and made her a Lieutenant. Zak’s brother, Lee “Apollo” Adama, blamed William for Zak’s death, and when Kara arrived, he decided to cut both his father and Kara out of his life completely.
Kara, who has been considered the best Viper pilot in Galactica, developed a father-daughter relationship with William. However, she and Colonel Saul Tigh have conflicted many occasions, once just before the decommissioning ceremony. Kara had commented on Saul’s long-suffering marriage, and their confrontation ended with Kara punching Saul on the face. Kara was sent to the brig, with Saul vowing that her career in the military was finished. However, William came to Kara’s defense, saying that Saul was overreacting and that there was no need for Saul to threaten Kara’s career. When the Cylon’s attacked the Twelve Colonies, Kara was freed in order to participate in the fight.
While on Caprica, Kara met and fell in love with a pyramid ball player named Samuel Anders. Her relationship with Anders would cause her interaction with Lee to sour further, especially after Kara and Lee, in a drunken stupor, had a one-night stand. When Lee woke up the following morning, Kara was gone and he later discovered that Kara had tied the knot with Anders. Eventually, after her return to the fleet, Kara tried to get back together with Lee, but Lee decided to work on his marriage to Petty Officer Anastacia Dualla.
(Photo courtesy of Sci Fi)