Kathryn Hays (born Kay Piper; July 26, 1934 – March 25, 2022) was an American actress, best known for her role as Kim Hughes on the CBS soap opera As the World Turns from 1972 to 2010.

Hays was raised by her mother, who was a bookkeeper and a banker, and her stepfather, salesman Arnold Gottlieb.

In 1968, she appeared in Star Trek as the eponymous central character in the episode “The Empath”, playing a mute alien with healing powers.

[1] In a 2010 interview with the website We Love Soaps, Hays said of the early appearances: "It was a great time to begin a career.

Hays was prominently featured in the 50th anniversary episode of the show, which aired in April 2006.

[1] Her daughter, Sherri Mancusi, participated in a November 2022 fan tribute on The Locher Room YouTube channel that honored Hays; in the interview, Mancusi said that Hays had had dementia in the years prior to her death.