Star Trek Actress Grace Lee Whitney Dies at 85

She first portrayed Captain Kirk's assistant, Yeoman Janice Rand, on original TV series

Grace Lee Whitney, the actress who played Yeoman Janice Rand on the original Star Trek, passed away Friday. She was 85.

Per USA Today, son Jonathan Dweck said the star died of natural causes at her home in Central California.

Whitney portrayed Captain Kirk's assistant for eight episodes of the original 1966 TV series before she was written out of the script. When Star Trek was reborn as a movie franchise in 1979, the actress returned as a chief petty officer in Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Her final appearance as Rand was in 1991's Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.

William Shatner, who played Whitney's onscreen boss, tweeted Monday: "Condolences to the family of Grace. She was a constant shining smile over the years every time our paths crossed."

Per NBC News, Whitney was a regular at Star Trek conventions around the world up until the last few years. She titled her 1998 autobiography The Longest Trek: My Tour of the Galaxy.

"Over time, she became appreciative of her short time on Star Trek because she developed meaningful relationships with the fans, Leonard Nimoy and other cast members," her son Dweck said in a statement.

The Star Trek franchise clearly had a special place in Whitney's heart, but according to her family, she would prefer to be remembered as a "successful survivor of addiction."

"Grace experienced 35 years of sobriety through continuous fellowship with others and through God and Jesus," her son said in a statement.

Whitney, a recovering alcoholic, spent the last 35 years of her life helping others to overcome addiction problems. According to her family, she is credited with having helping thousands of people successfully complete 12-step addiction programs.