Majel Barrett-Roddenberry (born Majel Leigh Hudec, February 23, 1932 – December 18, 2008) was an American actress and producer. She was also the widow of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry.
As a result of her marriage to Gene Roddenberry and her ongoing relationship with Star Trek – participating in some way in every series to date – she was sometimes referred to as "the First Lady of Star Trek". She and Gene Roddenberry were married in Japan on August 6, 1969, after the cancellation of the original Star Trek series…
In various roles, Barrett had been in every dramatic incarnation of the popular science fiction Star Trek franchise, including live-action and animated versions, television and cinema, and all of the time periods in which the various series have been set.
She first appeared in Star Trek's initial pilot, "The Cage," as the USS Enterprise's unnamed first officer, "Number One." Barrett was romantically involved with Roddenberry, whose marriage was then on the verge of failing, at the time, and the idea of having an otherwise unknown woman in a leading role with a position of authority, because she was the producer's girlfriend, is said to have infuriated NBC network executives who insisted that Roddenberry give the role to a man. William Shatner corroborated this in Star Trek Memories, and added that female viewers at test screenings hated the character as well. Shatner noted that women viewers felt she was "pushy" and "annoying" and also thought that "Number One shouldn't be trying so hard to fit in with the men." Barrett often joked that Roddenberry, given the choice between keeping Mr. Spock (whom the network also hated) or the woman character, "kept the Vulcan and married the woman, 'cause he didn't think Leonard [Nimoy] would have it the other way around."
Her role in subsequent episodes of Star Trek was altered to that of Nurse Christine Chapel, a frequently recurring character, known for her unrequited affection for the emotionless Spock. In an early scene in Star Trek: The Motion Picture, viewers are informed that she has now become Doctor Chapel, a role which she reprised briefly in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Barrett provided several voices for Star Trek: The Animated Series, including those of Nurse Chapel and a communications officer named M'Ress, an ailuroid officer who served alongside Uhura. She would return years later in Star Trek: The Next Generation, cast as the outrageously self-deterministic, iconoclastic Betazoid Ambassador Lwaxana Troi, who appeared as a recurring character in the series. Her character often vexed the captain of the Enterprise, Jean Luc Picard, who spurned her amorous advances. Barrett later appeared as Ambassador Troi in several episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, where in stark contrast, she developed a strong relationship with Constable Odo.
She provided the regular voice of the onboard computers of Federation starships for Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, and most of the Star Trek movies. She reprised her role as a shipboard computer's voice in two episodes of the prequel series Star Trek: Enterprise. She also lent her voice to various computer games and software related to the franchise. Roddenberry had also made a point of attending a major Star Trek convention each year in an effort to inspire fans and keep the franchise alive.
Less than 10 days before her death, on December 9, 2008, Roddenberry Productions announced that she would be providing the voice of the ship's computer once again, this time for the 2009 motion picture relaunch of Star Trek. Sean Rossall, a Roddenberry family spokesman, stated that she had already completed the voiceover work, approximately December 4, 2008…” Wikipedia
