A recent discussion on one of the subforums inspired me to make a poll about the best actress in all of Star Trek. It would be maybe more appropriate to make a poll about all actors regardless of gender, but there's one good reason against it: the poll would have to be huge. I'm making this as wide as possible by including the main TV cast, movie cast, important recurring cast, and actresses known for prominent multiple roles, but there's always the 'other' option for anyone I've left out.
Ewwww. Tough. I thought of 3 but since I can only vote for 1... 3 - Jolene Blalock: She was given the most difficult part. A Vulcan that would be compared to Spock. She did quite well. Sadly, this is the only part in her career that she played well. Maybe because she was such a science fiction fan when growing up. 2. Nana Visitor: She did great with the material she was given, and she was given better material than any female character in Star Trek. This is why she made it to number 2 on my list, but also why she did not make number 1. She had the better material to work with. 1. Gates McFadden: When watching her I could forget that I was watching a TV show. That should be the goal of every actor or actress. That is why I voted her number 1.
I voted Diana Muldaur, because I always liked what she brought to Pulaski, but have two honorable mentions: 1. Kirstie Alley, on the strength of Spock's funeral scene alone. She was great in that role throughout the whole movie, but that seals it. 2. Suzie Plakson, because she consistently made the characters around her more interesting--witness her interplay with both Worf and Deanna in TNG.
Louise Fletcher was so Icky in DS9. Such an incredible villain. It was tough settling on her, since there really were so many talented actresses on Trek. Since at the time of my voting there is a five way tie of one each, it goes to show that so many actresses were so strong.
What a difficult choice! After much deliberation, I ultimately settled on Nana Visitor - it takes an amazing actress to bring such a fantastic character to life. I definitely think Kira had some of the best writing in all of Trek, but even the best writing can fall apart without a superb actor to back it up. Visitor pulled off such a wide range of emotions and brought such depth to Kira, not to mention she managed to bring Kira's mirror self to life equally well. If I'd been able to choose more than one, I'd also have voted for - Louise Fletcher, who is so delightfully, toe-curlingly evil as Kai Winn. You really do love to hate her. Jeri Ryan, despite being brought onto Voyager to boost ratings with her sex appeal, she is actually a fantastic actor - just look at Infinite Regress (where Seven has Borg 'multiple personality disorder') and Body and Soul (where the Doctor is in Seven's body), I'd even argue that her character arc can rival Kira's. Roxann Dawson, also demonstrated a wide range of emotions and character depth with B'Elanna. I'd want to vote for all the rest as well, as I'm generally not very picky with my acting and am fond of almost everyone in the list
Muldar. She played three (or should that be four since she played Mulhall and Thalassa) very different characters.
Well I guess I'm the lone Jolene Blalock vote so far. I thought her character grew really well and I enjoyed her path from beginning to end. (Except for TATV) If I was Capt. Archer, I couldn't ask for anyone better to have my back than T'Pol. And Trip for that matter. My second choice would be Jeri Ryan. Always loved her in her other shows. I thought that she sometimes projected too much, playing to the back row. There's no back row in TV.
Ridiculously difficult choice, but I had to vote for Jeri Ryan. She brought a real charisma to the thankless role of "unemotional centerfold." While DS9 had the most talented cast overall, the women of VOY really outclassed the men on that show.
My vote goes for Nana Visitor. Her character was indeed wonderfully written, but it wouldn't have been the same without an actress able to emote so much and bring vulnerability to the character while not losing any of the strength. As flemm observed on a recent DS9 thread, talented actors influence the development of their characters since the writers realize they can give them more to do and write more challenging and diverse material for them, since they'll be up for the task. Other actresses I'd like to mention: Jolene Blalock - whatever her overall acting talents are, she was excellent as T'Pol Louise Fletcher Salome Jens Suzie Plakson Michelle Forbes Diana Muldaur (I like her performance as Miranda Jones in "Is There No Truth in Beauty?" the best) Jeri Ryan Kate Mulgrew Alice Krige - even though I don't like the concept and portrayal of the Borg Queen special mention to Nichelle Nichols, for managing to bring real presence to a ridiculously underwritten character
marina Sirtis. She started off a bit shaky, but she really brought a warmth to a VERY BADLY written character. That can't have been easy. And as she got used to the character she really relaxed into the role. There probably are much better actresses such as Louise Fletcher. Kate Mulgrew, Jerry Ryan. Why wasn't Kai Opaka on the list? I thought she really sold the Bajoran religion and made it feel a real religion. I was so gutted when they got rid of her.
Because then I'd have to include a bunch of one-time or two-time guest stars, and the list would be incredibly long. I didn't want to limit it to the main credits cast either, so I tried to limit it to main cast, major roles in movies, major recurring stars (more than a couple of appearances), and Suzie Plakson gets a pass because she's known for playing 4 different characters. If you want to vote for someone who is not on the list, that's what the option 'Other' is for.
Nana Visitor. Played perhaps the best female character in all of Star Trek which does give her an advantage. She owned that role.
Nicole deBoer. (Yeah, I know--shocking! But seriously....) She is very much a "method" actres, who can express emotions like no other actress I've ever seen! When she smiles, her eyes sparkle, and her entire face lights up. When she's sad...she slowly tears up, and breaks down, so that we feel the emotion with her. When she get mad...her eyes blaze like fire. And so on. Also the fact that she can play two characters that are as different as night and day (Mirror Ezri and Prime Ezri), to the hight of believability--and complexity.
I voted for Michelle Forbes - she's got great presence and charisma. Among the regulars, it's Nana Visitor for me.
The women on modern Trek were notoriously bad, for the most part. Sirtis was an embarrassment, Blahlock was a block of wood (and plastic), and pretty much all the female regulars in DS9 were really dreadful. Visitor's range went from screechy to screechier. Of the regulars, the standouts were really Mulgrew and Muldaur.
Nana Visitor. Kira is easily one of the most fully-realized and multi-faceted characters in Trek (male characters included). The writing is of course a big part of that, but a lot of the credit has to go to the actress' committment and versatility.
Louise Fletcher by far. No other Trek actress is anywhere near as much of a master actress as she is. I am aghast that Nana Visitor has so many votes. Visitor's acting is horrendously bad whenever she has to snivel or whine or have a temper tantrum.