Grace Lee Whitney of ‘Star Trek’ Dead at 85

Grace Lee Whitney, Star Trek‘s Yeoman Rand, is dead at the age of eighty-five.

The actress passed away this weekend.

Born in Michigan in 1930 as Mary Ann Chase, Whitney was adopted by the Whitney family who renamed her Grace Elaine Whitney.

Whitney began her career at the age of fourteen as a “girl singer” on Detroit’s WJR radio station. She then sang in nightclubs in Chicago when she was older.

Her television career began in the 1950s, and Whitney had more than one hundred roles in shows over her career. Before Star Trek, she appeared on shows such as The Rifleman, Gunsmoke, The Untouchables, 77 Sunset Strip, The Outer Limits, and Wagon Train.

Whitney’s career continued after Trek, and she appeared in other shows such as Ironside, Police Story, Mannix, The Big Valley, The Virginian, Death Valley Days, and Hart to Hart.

Appearing in four of the original series Trek movies and one Star Trek: Voyager episode (Flashback), Whitney took on roles in Trek fan fiction, appearing in Star Trek: New Voyagers: Phase II, and Star Trek: Of Gods and Men.

In later years, Whitney was often seen at Star Trek conventions, where she was a fan favorite.

Whitney died peacefully at her home in California on Friday. She is survived by sons Jonathan and Scott.