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Majel Lee Hudec was born in Cleveland, Ohio, where she grew up. When she was ten, she enrolled in a acting workshop. She continued her interest in acting at Shaker Heights High School but went to college with the intent of becoming a legal clerk. Majel attended law school for a year, but after receiving an 'F' in contract law, she moved to New York and landed parts in, "Models By Season," which was staged in Boston. Then she did a nine month run in "The Solid Gold Cadillac," which toured New Orleans, Texas, Oklahoma and San Francisco, California.
Deciding the competition was too stiff in New York, Majel moved to California and the Pasadena Playhouse. There she got a role in, "All for Mary." In the late fifties, she worked in various Paramount films, including, "Black Orchid," "A Young as We Are," and "The Buccaneer." Then she decided that the real progress was happening in television and that's where she wanted to be.
After appearing in several series, like, Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse, Window on Main Street, Bonanza, and Pete and Gladys, she met Lucille Ball at an acting class and was signed to a contract with Desilu. Soon after she appeared in an episode of the Lucy Show, called "Lucy is a Kangaroo for a Day."
In 1964, when she was no longer under exclusive contract, Majel accepted a guest role on the new MGM series, The Lieutenant, produced by Gene Roddenberry. Majel became good friends with Gene and ultimately, years later, became his wife.
Later in 1964, Roddenberry cast her in a co-starring role in "The Cage," the pilot for his science fiction series, Star Trek. She played 'Number One,' second in command on a fictitious starship. However, the character's strength and authority in the Star Trek universe was unsettling to NBC and they ordered a second pilot made, without the woman, Number One.
Moving on with her career, Majel began doing more guest spots on television, such as; Dr. Kildare, 77 Sunset Strip, The 11th Hour, and Leave it to Beaver.
When Roddenberry sold his second Star Trek pilot to the network, he remembered Majel's work in "The Cage" and hired her as Nurse Christine Chapel. Instead of the dark-haired M. Leigh Hudec that they had disliked in the other pilot, she now used the name Majel Barrett and wore a blond wig as Chapel. Majel remains the only actor to have contributed to every facet of the Star Trek phenomenon.
In 1967 Majel appeared in "Guide for the Married Man," starring Walter Matthau and directed by Gene Kelly. Other guest spots were done on, "Wackiest Ship in the Army," "Please Don't Eat the Daisies," and "The Second Hundred Years."
On August 6, 1969, Majel married Gene Roddenberry in Japan, in a traditional Buddhist-Shinto ceremony. On February 5th, 1974, Majel gave birth to a healthy boy, Eugene Wesley Roddenberry, Jr., known affectionately as "Rod."
On Star Trek: The Next Generation, she created the role of Deanna Troi's mother, Lwaxana Troi. She is loud and bossy and as far away from Christine Chapel as anything could be. Majel has carried that role over to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Majel can also be heard as the voice of the ship computer on Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Majel owns and operates Lincoln Enterprises, a mail order business that she and Gene started to deal with the mountain of requests for Star Trek-related materials. Some of her hobbies include golf, gold working, gourmet cooking and gem cutting.
In 1991, Majel lost her husband, Gene Roddenberry, to a debilitating illness.
Official Majel Barrett Roddenberry Fan Club
Filmography
"Track of Thunder"
"The Domino Principle"
"Love in a Goldfish Bowl"
"The Quick and the Dead"
"Sylvia"
"Westworld"
"Star Trek: The Motion Picture"
"Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home"
"Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country"
"Genesis II"
"Planet Earth"
"Spectre"
"The Questor Tapes"
Biography information from startrek.com.
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