RIP Grace Lee Whitney
On Friday 1st May, Grace Lee Whitney passed away of natural causes at her home in Coarsegold. She was 85 years old.
Originally a dancer and singer, she worked Broadway and had a number of small roles in movies and TV before being cast as Yeoman Janice Rand Trek's first season in 1966. At the time she was struggling with personal issues, getting hooked on alcohol and diet pills. She would also say later that whilst on the show an unnamed executive had raped her. She lasted only eight episodes before being let go, prompting something of a downward spiral over what she saw as the rejection.
She eventually managed to kick her addictions, turning her life around and devoting herself to helping others do the same. She spent more than three decades on that work, and in 2013 she stated that she had gone full circle. She described her life as "happy, joyous, free, sober and saved, and a lot of fun, too. I have a lot of fun."
