In a more enlightened age, Majel Barrett Roddenberry might have rated a Federation command. As it was, she helped rule the Star Trek universe.
Roddenberry, the widow of Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, died today at her Bel-Air, Calif., home, Roddenberry.com said. The reported cause of death was leukemia.
Billed through much of her acting career as Majel Barrett, Roddenberry played Dr. McCoy's loyal, Spock-admiring assistant, Nurse Chapel, on the original 1966-69 Trek series. She also provided the voice of the USS Enterprise's computer—a role she continued with through the franchise's various offshoots, including J.J. Abrams' upcoming big-screen reboot, Star Trek.
"My mother truly acknowledged and appreciated the fact that Star Trek fans played a vital role in keeping the Roddenberry dream alive for the past 42 years," her son, Eugene Roddenberry Jr., said on the website. "It was her love for the fans, and their love in return, that kept her going for so long after my father passed away."
Gene Roddenberry died in 1991 at the age of 70.