Grace Lee Whitney

About Grace Lee Whitney

Grace Lee Whitney (1930–2015) was an American actress and singer best known for playing Yeoman Janice Rand on the original Star Trek television series and in several subsequent Star Trek films. Whitney began performing professionally as a teenager, singing on Detroit radio and later working as a nightclub and touring vocalist. She appeared on Broadway in Top Banana and developed a substantial film and television career that included appearances in Some Like It Hot, Irma la Douce, The Outer Limits, Bonanza, The Rifleman, and Bewitched.

Whitney joined Star Trek in 1966 as Captain James T. Kirk’s yeoman, Janice Rand, appearing in eight first-season episodes before the character was written out of the series. She later returned to the Star Trek franchise in Star Trek: The Motion Picture, The Search for Spock, The Voyage Home, and The Undiscovered Country, and reprised Rand once more in a 1996 episode of Star Trek: Voyager. Despite her relatively brief tenure on the original series, Rand became one of Whitney’s most enduring roles and kept her closely associated with the Star Trek community for decades.

Whitney later spoke openly about struggles with alcohol and drug addiction following her departure from Star Trek and about her subsequent recovery. She became involved in helping others with addiction and chronicled both her career and personal experiences in her 1998 memoir, The Longest Trek: My Tour of the Galaxy. She remained a popular participant at Star Trek conventions and fan events until late in her life.