Kate's Secret

Kate, played by Meredith Baxter Birney, is regarded by friends and family alike as the "ideal" woman. A perfect wife to successful attorney Ben Masters, and an equally perfect mother to her children, Kate cannot possibly have any skeletons hidden in her closet. But she does: Kate suffers from bulimia, an eating disorder manifested in a voracious appetite, followed by vomiting binges. Under the care of psychiatrist Ed Asner, Kate learns that her bulimia is caused by her bottled-up emotional problems. Georgann Johnson co-stars as Kate's insensitive mother, who, it is implied, is the source of most of her daughter's hang-ups. Made for television, Kate's Secret first aired November 17, 1986.