Commander Beverly Crusher is one of the more typical Enterprise crew members.
Born in 23241, she was drawn to medicine at an early age by her grandmother, who was not a trained doctor but was skilled in the use of herbs and roots to care for the sick. Beverly learned some of her grandmothers skill when she assisted during the Arvada III tragedy.2 She joined Starfleet Academy medical school at the age of 18 and spent eight years there,1 marrying Jack Crusher after being introduced by their mutual friend Walker Keel.3 Jack proposed to Beverly by sending her a book entitled "How to Advance Your Career Through Marriage"4; the two had a child approximately one year after they married, during Beverly's last year of the Academy.5 She did her internship on the planet Delos IV under the tutelage of Doctor Dalen Quaice in 2352.6Beverly spent a good deal of time with her husband's Captain and friend, Jean-Luc Picard, little knowing that he had fallen in love with her. Picard decided not to act on his feelings even after Jack died, feeling that it would be a betrayal of his friend's memory.7 Picard felt a little uncomfortable with Beverly after Jack's death, and when she was assigned as CMO of the Enterprise-D in 2364 he offered her a transfer, which she declined.8 The two gradually became good friends, and spend a lot of time together - for example having breakfast most mornings.7 In 2365 Beverly was promoted to Chief of Starfleet Medical,9 a position which she retained for a year before returning to the Enterprise.5 Whilst she was away she allowed her son Wesley to remain aboard the ship under the care of the senior officers.9
Despite being outside the official chain of command, Beverly took the bridge officer's test and occasionally enjoyed sitting a command shift on the bridge. Late in 2369 she was forced to take temporary command when Captain Picard and all other senior officers engaged in a large away mission; despite her relative lack of experience Beverly was able to destroy a Borg vessel whilst in command.10
In 2370 her grandmother died, and Beverly briefly came under the influence of a mysterious energy being who had been preying on the women of her family for centuries. Beverly was forced to kill the being when he threatened her friends.11 Later in this year Beverly accidentally created a virus which caused ancient segments of the DNA of the Enterprise-D crew to become active, transforming them into various types of animal. Fortunately, Data and Picard were able to reverse the effect, later named Barclays' Protomorphosis Syndrome by Beverly.12
When the Enterprise-D was destroyed in 2371, Beverly was transferred to the Enterprise-E with the other senior officers.13 She remains there as Chief Medical Officer.
Played by
References
