The Ladies of Star Trek

Grace Lee Whitney as Yeoman/Lieutenant Commander Janice Rand

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Yeoman/Lieutenant Commander Janice Rand, was Captain James T. Kirk's yeoman (secretary, reporter, bookkeeper, and unrequited lover) on the USS Enterprise NCC 1701.  Born in 2232, she entered the service as a crewman at the age of 17 in 2249.  She had wanted to attend Starfleet Academy when she was 18, but could not wait.  Yeoman Rand joined the USS Enterprise in 2266 as Captain Kirk's yeoman, but left the Enterprise in 2267 when she became uncomfortable with a one-way love affair with Captain Kirk, who gave his love to his ship.  She returned to the Enterprise NCC 1701-A in 2270 as the transporter chief, leaving in 2276 to join Starfleet Academy's special two year program for crewmen.  Graduating in 2278, she served as an ensign at various starbases.  She was promoted to Lieutenant in 2285, and transferred to Starfleet Headquarters on Earth.  She was instrumental in directing emergency operations after Earth was devastated by an alien space probe in 2286 (Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home), and was promoted to Lieutenant Commander as a result.  Hikaru Sulu became Captain of the USS Excelsior in 2290, and personally requested Lieutenant Commander Janice Rand to be assigned as the ship's Communications/Operations Officer, and third in command (Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country). She was placed in charge of the cadet training program aboard the Excelsior in 2293.  Ensign Tuvok, the future Chief of Security on the USS Voyager, was among the many cadets under her command (Star Trek: Voyager; Flashback).

See Some Photos of Janice Rand

Grace Lee Whitney, a versatile actress, vocalist, and all-around entertainer, was an illegitimate child born Mary Ann C. in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on 1 April 1930, when there was a considerable stigma attached to being illegitimate.  Her adoptive mother gave her the name Grace.  She began her career at 14 as a "girl singer" on Detroit's WJR radio, and moved to Chicago at the age of 17 to become a nightclub singer and a model. Grace soon began opening in clubs with Billie Holliday and Buddy Rich, and touring with the Spike Jones and Fred Waring Bands. She continued to hone her skills through musical and comedic performances., and studied under actor Jack Albertson and the great comedians Phil Silvers and Kaye Ballard. She made her Broadway debut in Top Banana, and following the successful run of the show, she joined the cast in a move to Hollywood to film the screen version for United Artists. Grace later continued her jazz and pop singing, while fronting for her band, Star, and in solo performances throughout North America. Grace Lee Whitney has appeared in some true classics; The Outer Limits episode, Controlled Experiment, with Barry Morse and Carroll O'Connor; and Some Like It Hot, with Marilyn Monroe, Jack Lemmon, and Tony Curtis. But she is probably best known for her portrayal of Yeoman/Commander Janice Rand in Star Trek, Star Trek: IV: The Voyage Home, and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, as well as the Star Trek: Voyager episode, Flashback. played Yeoman Rand for 13 episodes in the first season of Star Trek, although she actually appeared in only seven, and Lieutenant Commander Rand in the first, third, fourth, and sixth Star Trek feature films.  Her character was written out of Star Trek following a sexual assault on her by someone she will only call "The Executive".  The official story is that Yeoman Rand was becoming too close to Captain Kirk and didn't leave room for him to romance every female he met on his travels through space.   She was devastated when she lost her role in Star Trek; it was her life.  The result was a deep slide into alcoholism and drug and sex abuse, from which she finally recovered in time to reprise the role of Janice Rand in the first Star Trek film.  She was selected by Gene Roddenberry to create the role of beautiful and sexy blonde Yeoman Janice Rand in the original Star Trek, and returned for brief appearances in four of the seven feature films featuring the original cast members. She also participated in the Paramount Pictures sponsored 30th Anniversary Star Trek celebration in Huntsville, Alabama and the subsequent live television broadcast special from Paramount Pictures Studios in Hollywood, which aired on the United Paramount Network (UPN). Grace continues to delight fans in personal appearances at conventions and events throughout North America and Europe. Her autobiography, The Longest Trek: My Tour of the Galaxy, is in current release nationally and she is traveling extensively to promote it. Her trek continues!

See Some Photos of Grace Lee Whitney

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