Who was Majel Barrett and why was she the First Lady of ‘Star Trek’?

Even if you’ve never heard of Majel Barrett, you surely know her voice. Majel Barrett was the wife of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, and her involvement in the show spanned many decades, and left her with a legacy that rightly sees her called the First Lady of Star Trek.

Work on the original Star Trek

Barrett is the only person to play a role in every Star Trek series from The Original Series through to Enterprise, and many of her voice samples recorded for the Enterprise’s computer are still used in Star Trek productions today. In fact, she has appeared in more Star Trek titles than any other actor.

In the early 1960s, Barrett worked at Desilu Studios, where she received comedy training from the great Lucille Ball. When Star Trek‘s original pilot was filmed in 1964, titled “The Cage,” Barrett was cast in the role of Number One, the First Officer of the Enterprise under Captain Christopher Pike. While the character of Number One did not make it into the regular series, Barrett was recast as Nurse Christine Chapel, a medical officer aboard the Enterprise with a complicated relationship with Spock.

Barrett would return in The Animated Series, an animated continuation of The Original Series. Most of the cast reprised their roles, but Barrett in particular voiced a whole array of characters, including the new addition M’Ress, an anthropomorphic cat who served as the Enterprise’s communications officer. The Animated Series offered more opportunities for Nurse Chapel than had existed in live-action, giving her more prominent roles in the often surreal plots (including being shrunk and falling into a fish tank).

The Next Generation and beyond

When Star Trek returned to television with The Next Generation in the late 1980s, Barrett was given the superb role of Lwaxana Troi, mother of Enterprise counselor Deanna Troi. Putting the comedic training she’d received from Ball to good use, Barrett was able to portray Lwaxana as a character who was immensely funny while also having a surprising amount of depth. Her arc over the show took her from causing endless problems for her daughter, to hunting Picard during her midlife crisis, to becoming a mentor for Worf’s son Alexander, to confronting her own tragic past. Lwaxana would return in Deep Space Nine where she caused similar havoc aboard the station, and formed a surprisingly sweet relationship with Constable Odo.

Barrett’s most enduring role, however, may be that of the voice of Starfleet ship computers, which she portrayed in all official Star Trek media from 1966 to the conclusion of Enterprise in 2005, with many of her voice samples still used by Star Trek: Picard in 2023. Barrett’s performance extended to Star Trek videogames, and even served as the inspiration for Amazon’s Alexa, according to lead developer Toni Reid.

Barrett maintained strong ties to the Star Trek fandom, and even lent her voice to the popular fan production Star Trek New Voyages. In 2002, Barrett and Roddenberry were honored by the Space Foundation with the Douglas S. Morrow Public Outreach Award, for their work in creating public enthusiasm around space travel. Barrett passed away in 2008, and her ashes are set to be launched into space (alongside her husband’s and those of fellow Trek legend Nichelle Nichols) on a capsule that will also contain digital tributes from fans.

In the meantime, two characters brought to life by Barrett – Christine Chapel and Number One – are now prominently featured in the highly acclaimed new Star Trek series Strange New Worlds, where the roles are acted by Jess Bush and Rebecca Romijn respectively. With such an incredible contribution to Star Trek and such an enduring legacy, it’s no surprise that Barrett is considered the First Lady of the franchise.