Orange Is The New Black star gave child up for adoption

Kate Mulgrew stars as Red in the TV show Orange Is The New Black.

Orange Is The New Black actress Kate Mulgrew has revealed she gave a child up for adoption in her early 20s.

Mulgrew, who plays Red on the Netflix hit comedy-drama, has detailed the heartbreak of discovering she was with child at 22 in her first memoir, titled Born With Teeth.

In the memoir she reveals she fell pregnant by a man she met while performing at the American Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford, Connecticut.

While he urged her to consider an abortion, Mulgrew was adamant on keeping their unborn child, even offering her own mother money to hire a nanny while she took on acting gigs.

Kate Mulgrew stars as Red in the TV show Orange Is The New Black.

However, her mum, who had recently lost her other daughter to cancer, suggested Mulgrew put the baby up for adoption since she didn't feel she was fit enough to care for a new baby.

Mulgrew was working on US soap opera Ryan's Hope at the time of her pregnancy and returned to work just three days after giving birth.

Two decades later, Mulgrew received a call from her daughter, and the two connected for the first time since she gave her up for adoption.

Watch the trailer for the new season of Orange Is The New Black:

- WENN