Actress Grace Lee Whitney, who played Captain Kirk's assistant on the original Star Trek series, has died at the age of 85.
According to the Associated Press, she died of natural causes Friday in her home in Coarsegold, CA. Whitney is survived by her two sons, Jonathan and Scott.
Whitney played Yeoman Janice Rand in the first eight episodes of Star Trek before being written out of the series. She returned for the movie franchise, reprising her role in Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.
She was remembered on Twitter in the early hours of May 4 by costar William Shatner: "Condolences to the family of Grace. She was a constant shining smile over the years every time our paths crossed."
The Star Trek alum's death comes just two months after the passing of her good friend and former costar Leonard Nimoy. ("I'm going to miss him terribly and I feel lost. It was a big loss for me," Whitney said after Nimoy died earlier this year.)
Whitney was an active presence at Star Trek fan conventions. Her autobiography, The Longest Trek: My Tour of the Galaxy, was released in 1998.
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