The Ladies of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Louise Fletcher as Vedek/Kai Winn Adami

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Vedek/Kai Winn Adami first arrived on the space station as just another ambitious religious figure wanting to make a fast climb up the Bajoran political ladder.  She planned to displace her main competition, Vedek Bareil, and anyone else in her way, along the way.  Vedek Winn’s methods initially involved fanning the flames of religious fanaticism.  She went so far as to have a bomb planted in the station's schoolhouse (In the Hands of the Prophets).    This made her a threat to the safety and security of Deep Space Nine, and Commander Sisko and Major Kira were wary of her, especially when she later joined forces with the equally power-hungry Minister Jaro.  Vedek Winn appears, along with Jadzia Dax, Minister Jaro, Vedek Bareil, and several Bajoran legislators, in a vision produced by one of the sacred Bajoran orbs (The Circle).  Commander Sisko and the rest of Deep Space Nine's senior staff make a last stand against an impending attack by The Circle, renegade Bajoran forces lead by Minister Jaro, in his attempt to become First Minister.  The situation is resolved peacefully and we discover that Cardassians are behind The Circle in an attempt to cause a civil war on Bajor.  Vedek Winn immediately disassociates herself from Minister Jaro to save her own political future (The Siege).  Ambition blinded them both to the real backers, and when the truth is revealed, she turns on Minister Jaro and lets him hang out to dry.  Vedek Winn continues to use people and events to further her position; she manages to dig up a dark secret from Vedek Bareil's past, and uses it to force him to drop out of contention for election as Kai (The Collaborator).    Then we learn that he is in fact protecting the memory of Kai Opaka.   So, Vedek Winn becomes Kai Winn.  The next time we see her, she arrives in at Deep Space Nine in a shuttle following an accident in which Vedek Bareil has been severely injured (Life Support).  They have been conducting negotiations with Cardassia that they hope will result in a new peace treaty.   Actually, we learn that it is Vedek Bareil who has been conducting the negotiations for the Kai, and his injuries put the negotiations in jeopardy.  Kai Winn, in her continuing quest for glory and power, convinces Bareil to delay further medical care so that he can conclude the negotiations, knowing that the delay will cost him his life.   But she needed him alive, at least to finish the negotiations; then she didn't care.  She becomes the acting First Minister of the Bajoran Provisional Government, and sends Major Kira to make contact with Shakaar, Kira's former resistance cell leader.   Kai Winn says she'll meet with him to discuss return of some equipment, but beaks that promise (Shakaar).   Civil war nearly breaks out, and Shakaar decides to run against Winn in the election for First Minister.  Kai Winn realizes that Shakaar can prove that her actions nearly threw Bajor into civil war, so she withdraws her candidacy.  "For the first time, we really found Winn butting heads with both Commander Sisko and Major Kira.  We really had them this time, very verbose confrontations.  I ask Sisko to send a security force and he turns me down.   Kira is plotting against me. Obviously, Winn goes just a little over the edge.   You think,  maybe she's just psychotic or something.  So, her cup of ambition runneth over and it goes to her head a bit.  She goes into these warnings that it's a test by the Prophets to see if she's worthy of the roles she has been given.   She believes she can do anything because it's mandated by the Prophets.  She knows everything she does is exactly right.   She feels that everything she does is in the best interest of the people. It's for their own good and she knows best." Captain Sisko decides to marry Kassidy Yates, and Kai Winn arrives at the station to "assist" his wedding (Till Death Do Us Part). Later, Winn has a long-awaited vision from the Prophets, who reveal that a "Guide" will soon visit her; the Prophets hope that, together, the two will lead Bajor's Restoration. Gul Dukat, surgically altered to look like a Bajoran, appears on the Promenade, posing as Anjohl, a simple Bajoran farmer, he calls on Kai Winn and convinces her that he is the Guide the Prophets promised. She and Anjohl have dinner, and is pleased when Dukat makes it clear that he doesn't understand why Sisko has been chosen as their Emissary. She is also astonished when Anjohl "reveals" that she had a hand in saving his life during the Cardassian occupation of Bajor. This, of course, further validates Winn's belief that the two are part of the Prophets' greater plan. Kai Winn and Anjohl seal their bond by pledging to restore Bajor, even if the Emissary stands in their way (Strange Bedfellows). Anjohl finally reveals that he serves the Pah-wraiths, not the Prophets, and Kai Winn angrily orders him to leave when he urges her to turn away from the Prophets and worship the Pah-wraiths. She is still eager to prove her loyalty to the Prophets, and summons Colonel Kira, who advises her to step down. Her quest for power is stronger than her "faith" in the Prophets; she is convinced she's been abandoned by the Prophets, and tells Anjohl she's ready to walk the path of the Pah-wraiths. Her true colors have finally been revealed, and the two villains vow to overcome all foes. Anjohl and the Kai return to Bajor, where he tells her she must release the Pah-wraiths from the Fire Caves by reading the ancient forbidden text of the Kosst Amojan (The Changing Face of Evil). Kai Winn ignores the warnings of her assistant, and opens the Kosst Amojan, only to find blank pages inside. Anjohl thinks it's a trick, she Winn believes the words are just hidden and she must determine how to reveal them. Kai Winn kills her assistant when he discovers Gul Dukat's true identity and their devotion to the Pah-wraiths. Drops of his blood fall on the pages of the Kosst Amojan and reveal Bajoran writing. Later, Dukat goes blind sneaking a look at the Kosst Amojan (When It Rains …). Kai Winn then turns the blind Dukat out on the street as punishment for defying the Pah-wraiths. He later returns, cured of his blindness (What You Leave Behind). The Kai asks him to join her when she releases the Pah-wraiths from the Fire Caves, and he vows to destroy the Emissary. They enter the Fire Caves, and Winn chants from the Kosst Amojan, bringing the Fire Caves to life. She then attempts to release the Pah-wraiths. Next, she poisons Dukat, telling him that the Pah-wraiths demand a sacrifice. What she really means is that she doesn’t want to share power with him. The Pah-wraiths have other plans. One of them inhabits Dukat, brings him back to life, and kills Kai Winn by engulfing her in flames.

See Some Photos of Winn Adami

Louise Fletcher was born 22 July 1934, in Birmingham, Alabama, the daughter of an Episcopal minister.  A long time Star Trek fan, she loves doing Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.  An enthusiastic and talented actress, Louise Fletcher has been playing the recurring role of Vedek/Kai Winn on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine since the final episode of the first season.  She loves the the character and finds Avery Brooks "a doll", Nana Visitor "adorable, so good and strong as an actress, and a very nice person, too", and the rest of the cast, "very nice".  "I would love to work with Armin, but there's not much opportunity to get Winn and Quark together.  I would also like to work with Rene."  Louise Fletcher is a veteran actress who earned a Best Actress Oscar for her portrayal of Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.   Her genre credits include Brainstorm, Flowers in the Attic, the television series VR.5, and the recent virtual reality thriller, Virtuosity.   The fact that Winn turned into a recurring character pleased her very much.   "They give me more work than you could shake a stick at.  I probably shouldn't complain at all, but I do a bit because I still find the language very difficult to relate to.  In one of my most recent episodes," she states, "I was discussing the attributes of interstellar vegetables.  Remembering the names of those vegetables like you would remember carrots and peas, where it just rolls off your tongue, wasn't easy.  But I love what I've gotten to do with Winn.  She's larger than life.  She sits back and kind of smiles at everybody.  There's not much of me in her, just as there's not much of Nurse Ratched in me", she says.  "I do use the friendly, charming, pleasant side of myself, both when Winn is actually being pleasant and when she's smiling while delivering these horrible lines. The combination is a little unsettling for people, which I love.  She has always felt the ends justified the means.  Maybe she does have a little bit of evil in her, but I try not to play that very much.  I try to play her as the benevolent spiritual leader.  Bajor has a very organized and specific religion. The Prophets are like the gods, making it like the Greek religion in its own way.  But I don't think the description of the religion is as important as the way Winn uses it, and she uses it."   Louise Fletcher describes herself as a "longtime" Star Trek fan, and always believed she would someday end up as a guest star on one of the shows or in one of the movies.  Her friend, Armin Shimerman, also known as Quark, convinced her to accept the role when Paramount contacted her about it in the spring of 1993.  Much of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’s fourth season involves introducing Lieutenant Commander Worf and the renewed hostilities between the Federation and the Klingon Empire, but Louise expects to be back in costume as Kai Winn.  "They haven't said anything, actually, but I don't think they would just leave Winn hanging there.  They would have to kill me off or something if they don't want to do anything else with the character.  She has yet to rule the Universe," says Louise Fletcher.   "That's probably one of her goals.  I just enjoy being a part of it, playing a recurring role that's interesting and doesn't lock me into anything for too long.  Now, they've got me in my Saffron Kai's outfit with my modified Robin Hood hat.  So, of course, I'm hoping to come back for more.  May the Prophets be with her."

See Some Photos of Louise Fletcher

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