What kind of doctor was Hester Crane, Frasier and Niles's mother?

Hester Crane, Frasier and Niles's mother, was a research psychiatrist.

Hester Rose Crane was married to Martin Crane and had a major influence on both of her sons, who followed her into psychiatry. The character's professional background is tied to research and criminal profiling rather than to neurology, pediatrics, or cardiac surgery. She met Martin, a police officer, in 1952 while profiling a murderer, an origin story that connects her scientific work with his police career.

Hester had died of lung cancer in 1987, before the main Frasier series began, but she appears through flashbacks, dream sequences, and archival footage. Nancy Marchand played her in Cheers, while Rita Wilson portrayed a middle-aged Hester in Frasier's two-part "Don Juan in Hell." The character is sometimes described as forensic psychiatrist in related summaries because of her profiling work, but the show's character listing specifically identifies her as a research psychiatrist. Her influence also explains why Frasier and Niles both became mental-health professionals.