Not everybody knows her name — yet. But they definitely know her father’s: Ted Danson, star of the smash TV shows “Cheers” and “CSI.”
And little Kate Danson, 33, will likely be getting a lot more name recognition now that she’s making her off-Broadway debut in “The Drowning Girls” (running through March 30).
The LA resident, who is temporarily hunkering down in Williamsburg, plays the “idealistic and optimistic” first-wife Bessie in the true-life tale that delves into the bathtub drownings of Edwardian murderer George Joseph Smith’s three wives.
Condola Rashad (right) caught the acting bug from mom Phylicia Rashad. (Getty Images)
Mickey Sumner (right) with parents Sting and Trudie Styler in 2012. (WireImage)
Young Danson went through a brief “rebellious” phase, during which she thought of shunning the family craft. “I was like, ‘No, I’m going to be an individual,’ ” she recalls. “But then I started to realize that acting is what I want to do . . . it brings me a lot of pleasure.”
First-time stage actress Kate only had some bit parts in television and a few roles in a smattering of shorts when she was tapped as Bessie.
But to the budding starlet’s relief, her famous father was at hand for some pep talk — and long-distance line reading.
“He’s been amazing. My dad and stepmom [Academy Award-winner Mary Steenburgen] both have been running lines with me over the phone from LA throughout this whole process,” says Kate, who graduated from the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena.
Plus, it’s in her blood. Not only has she acquired her father’s acting gene, but also his good looks. Kate — who married her director/producer husband, Jesse Bochco, in 2009 — has the same jawline and impressive hair as her pop. But despite her strong features, the actress, who has a girlish voice, says she’s “not very aggressive.” All the more reason she likes playing powerful females.
“When I told my dad this was what I definitely wanted to do, he said something like, ‘Welcome to the family business,’ ” says Kate, whose biological mother, producer Casey Danson, divorced her husband upon learning of the actor’s affair with Whoopi Goldberg.
“I feel like I’ve gotten to know him better, too, now that I’m acting. Know him as an actor. That’s been really sweet.”
Sweet and useful.
“The thing he always tells me is just to have fun and enjoy it, and if you ever stop enjoying it in the moment, try to just listen to the other person you’re working with,” says Kate.
Even if the other person is the old man himself.
Right before starting “The Drowning Girls,” Kate and her father worked together on “CSI,” in which Ted stars as graveyard shift supervisor D.B. Russell.
“I thought, ‘Oh my God. This will be so strange, acting with him.’ But it wasn’t,” she says.
In her TV cameo, the young Danson plays headstrong lawyer Jill McDermott, who reprimands the CSI team.
“One chunk of dialogue I say straight to my dad, and I could see his eyes kind of widening like, ‘Oh my God, I can’t believe this is happening.’ It was cute. I could tell he was having a moment, like, ‘This is so wild.’ ”
Now the actress is relishing her reign onstage. “Doing a play is so fun. It’s so immediate,” she says.
The gig does have its unique set of setbacks for Kate, a self-professed “bath person.”
“This has definitely given me a new fear of drowning that I never had,” she admits.
ALL IN THE FAMILY: MEET TWO MORE STAGE STARLETS WITH SHOWBIZ GENES
Condola Rashad, 26
Lives: Bushwick
Claim to fame: Daughter of Phylicia Rashad, (a k a Clair Huxtable on the “The Cosby Show”) and Ahmad Rashad (former NFL wide receiver and sportscaster)
Gig: Rashad stars in “The Trip to Bountiful,” with Cicely Tyson and Cuba Gooding Jr. The drama, which opens April 23, tells the tale of a widow who travels back to her hometown, meeting Rashad, as “Young Woman on Bus,” along the way.
Behind the curtain: Rashad grew up in Mount Vernon, NY, and attended the tony-yet-arts-friendly Fieldston School. She graduated from the California Institute of the Arts in 2008.
The itch: “I fell in love with acting by watching [my mother] in rehearsals,” says Rashad, who admits that she never watched “The Cosby Show” growing up because it felt awkward seeing her mom on TV. “I just started watching it,” she says. “It’s really good.”
Star wattage: In 2012, Rashad was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for her performance in “Stick Fly.”
Mickey Sumner, 29
Lives: West Village
Claim to fame: Eldest daughter of Sting and Trudie Styler
Gig: Sumner’s making her off-Broadway debut opposite Carol Kane in “The Lying Lesson.” The play runs through March 31.
Behind the curtain: Raised in the UK, she studied art at Parsons, receiving her BFA in 2007 while taking night classes with acting coach Sondra Lee.
The itch: “I always had the secret desire to [act], but I just didn’t have the confidence in myself,” she told Gotham magazine. “I was just really embarrassed that I wanted to act, for some reason.”
Star wattage: Sumner has two buzzy films coming out in May: “Missed Connections,” and “Frances Ha.”
All in the family: Sting’s spawn is channeling her inner musician as Patti Smith in the upcoming film “CBGB,” set for a 2013 release. — Dana Schuster