Majel Barrett-Roddenberry (/ˈmeɪdÊ'É™l/; born Majel Leigh Hudec;
February 23, 1932 â€" December 18, 2008) was an American actress and
producer. She was best known for her roles as Nurse Christine Chapel
in the original Star Trek series and Lwaxana Troi on Star Trek: The
Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, as well as for being
the voice of most onboard computer interfaces throughout the series.
She became the second wife of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry.As
the wife of Roddenberry and given her ongoing relationship with Star
Trekâ€"participating in some way in every series during her
lifetimeâ€"she was sometimes referred to as "the First Lady of Star
Trek".Barrett was born in Cleveland, Ohio.[nb 1] She began taking
acting classes as a child. She attended Shaker Heights High School,
graduating in 1950 before going on to the University of Miami in Coral
Gables, Florida, then had some stage roles and came to Hollywood. Her
father, William Hudec, was a Cleveland police officer. He was killed
in the line of duty on August 30, 1955 while Barrett was touring with
an off-Broadway road company.Barrett was briefly seen in Will Success
Spoil Rock Hunter? (1957) in an ad parody at the beginning of the
film, and had roles in a few movies, including Love in a Goldfish Bowl
(1961), Sylvia (1965), A Guide for the Married Man (1967), and Track
of Thunder (1967). She worked at the Desilu Studios on several TV
shows, including Bonanza, The Untouchables, The Lucy Show, and The
Lieutenant (produced by Gene Roddenberry). She received training in
comedy from Lucille Ball. In 1960, she played Gwen Rutherford on Leave
It to Beaver.
February 23, 1932 â€" December 18, 2008) was an American actress and
producer. She was best known for her roles as Nurse Christine Chapel
in the original Star Trek series and Lwaxana Troi on Star Trek: The
Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, as well as for being
the voice of most onboard computer interfaces throughout the series.
She became the second wife of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry.As
the wife of Roddenberry and given her ongoing relationship with Star
Trekâ€"participating in some way in every series during her
lifetimeâ€"she was sometimes referred to as "the First Lady of Star
Trek".Barrett was born in Cleveland, Ohio.[nb 1] She began taking
acting classes as a child. She attended Shaker Heights High School,
graduating in 1950 before going on to the University of Miami in Coral
Gables, Florida, then had some stage roles and came to Hollywood. Her
father, William Hudec, was a Cleveland police officer. He was killed
in the line of duty on August 30, 1955 while Barrett was touring with
an off-Broadway road company.Barrett was briefly seen in Will Success
Spoil Rock Hunter? (1957) in an ad parody at the beginning of the
film, and had roles in a few movies, including Love in a Goldfish Bowl
(1961), Sylvia (1965), A Guide for the Married Man (1967), and Track
of Thunder (1967). She worked at the Desilu Studios on several TV
shows, including Bonanza, The Untouchables, The Lucy Show, and The
Lieutenant (produced by Gene Roddenberry). She received training in
comedy from Lucille Ball. In 1960, she played Gwen Rutherford on Leave
It to Beaver.
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