Bibi Besch (born Bibiana Maria Köchert; February 1, 1942 – September 7, 1996) was an Austrian-American film, television, and stage actress. She is best known for her portrayal of Dr. Carol Marcus in the science fiction film '' Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan'' (1982). Her other notable film roles were in ''

Who's That Girl Who's That Girl? may refer to: Film and television * ''Who's That Girl'' (1987 film), an American film starring Madonna * ''Who's That Girl'', a Philippine film of 2011 * "Who's That Girl?", an episode of ''Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!'' Music * Who's Tha ...

'' (1987), '' Steel Magnolias'' (1989), and '' Tremors'' (1990). Besch also appeared in a number of television productions, including the television film ''

The Day After ''The Day After'' is an American television film that first aired on November 20, 1983 on the ABC television network. More than 100 million people, in nearly 39 million households, watched the film during its initial broadcast. With ...

'' (1983) and ''

The Jeff Foxworthy Show ''The Jeff Foxworthy Show'' is an American sitcom television series created by Tom Anderson, starring comedian Jeff Foxworthy and based on Foxworthy's stand-up comedy routine. It originally aired from September 12, 1995 to May 5, 1997 on ABC (s ...

'', and received two

Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...

nominations.

Early life

Bibiana Maria Köchert was born in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

in 1942, the younger of two daughters born to theater actress

Gusti Huber Auguste "Gusti" Huber (July 27, 1914 – July 12, 1993) was an Austrian-American actress. She had a successful career on Broadway and was critically acclaimed as Edith Frank in the 1956 production of ''The Diary of Anne Frank''. Early life an ...

, who starred in German films during World War II, and Gotfrid Köchert, an Austrian racing driver, who served in the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...

. She had an elder sister, Christiana Barbara Köchert. Gusti and her two daughters remained in Vienna throughout World War II, immigrating to the United States after the war ended. Joseph Besch, a radio executive and former U.S. Army captain, married Huber, a divorcee, in 1946, and became Huber's daughters' stepfather; his stepchildren took his surname. Huber and Besch later had two children, born in the United States, Drea and Andrew, the half-siblings of Bibiana and Christiana.Profile
AmericanHeritage.com; accessed November 3, 2015. hen accessed on August 4, 2020, this link was no longer active/ref> Bibi, her sister and half-siblings,Gusti Huber obituary
variety.com; accessed November 3, 2015. hen accessed on August 4, 2020, this link was no longer active/ref> grew up in

Chappaqua, New York Chappaqua ( ) is a hamlet and census-designated place in the town of New Castle, in northern Westchester County, New York, United States. It is approximately north of New York City. The hamlet is served by the Chappaqua station of the Metro-N ...

, where they attended local elementary and junior high schools. She graduated from

Horace Greeley High School Horace Greeley High School is a public, four-year secondary school serving students in grades 9– 12 in Chappaqua, New York, United States. It is part of the Chappaqua Central School District. It is consistently ranked among the top high scho ...

there in 1959, and attended Connecticut College for Women, but, before graduating, moved to New York City to become an actress. She had a daughter,

Samantha Mathis Samantha Mathis (born May 12, 1970) is an American actress and trade union leader who served as the Vice President, Actors/Performers of SAG-AFTRA from 2015 to 2019. The daughter of actress Bibi Besch, Mathis made her film debut in '' Pump Up t ...

, also an actress.

Career

Most of Besch's early TV experience came from years spent on New York-based daytime soap operas — '' The Secret Storm'' (1966), ''

The Edge of Night ''The Edge of Night'' is an American television mystery crime drama series and soap opera, created by Irving Vendig and produced by Procter & Gamble Productions. It debuted on CBS on April 2, 1956, and ran as a live broadcast on that netwo ...

'' (1969), '' Love Is a Many Splendored Thing'' (1973) and ''

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lor ...

'' (1974). In later years she was seen in primetime soaps, such as '' Secrets of Midland Heights'' (1980), ''

The Hamptons The Hamptons, part of the East End of Long Island, consist of the towns of Southampton and East Hampton, which together comprise the South Fork of Long Island, in Suffolk County, New York. The Hamptons are a popular seaside resort and one o ...

'' (1983), ''

Dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...

'' (1984), ''

Dallas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

'' (1985), ''

Falcon Crest ''Falcon Crest'' is an American prime time television soap opera that aired for nine seasons on CBS from December 4, 1981, to May 17, 1990. The series revolves around the feuding factions of the wealthy Gioberti/Channing family in the California ...

'' (1985-1986), ''

Knots Landing ''Knots Landing'' is an American prime time television soap opera that aired on CBS from December 27, 1979, to May 13, 1993. A spin-off of ''Dallas'', it was set in a fictitious coastal suburb of Los Angeles and initially centered on the lives ...

'' (1989) and an episode of ''

Melrose Place ''Melrose Place'' is an American prime time television soap opera that aired on Fox from July 8, 1992, to May 24, 1999, for seven seasons. The show follows the lives of a group of young adults living in an apartment complex on Melrose Place, i ...

'' which aired on September 9, 1996, two days after her death. Besch guest starred in a variety of television series, including ''

Street Hawk ''Street Hawk'' is an American superhero television series that aired for 14 episodes on ABC in 1985. The series is a Limekiln and Templar Production in association with Universal Television. Its central characters were created by Paul M. Belou ...

'', ''

The Rockford Files ''The Rockford Files'' is an American detective drama television series starring James Garner that aired on the NBC network from September 13, 1974 to January 10, 1980, and remains in syndication. Garner portrays Los Angeles private investiga ...

'', ''

The Golden Girls ''The Golden Girls'' is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris that aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning seven seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Bea Arthur, Betty Wh ...

'', ''

Murder, She Wrote ''Murder, She Wrote'' is an American crime drama television series, created by Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson and William Link, starring Angela Lansbury, and produced and distributed by Universal Television for the CBS network. The seri ...

'', ''

Backstairs at the White House ''Backstairs at the White House'' is a 1979 NBC television miniseries based on the 1961 book ''My Thirty Years Backstairs at the White House'' by Lillian Rogers Parks (with Frances Spatz Leighton). The series, produced by Ed Friendly Productions, ...

'', and ''

It's Garry Shandling's Show ''It's Garry Shandling's Show'' is an American sitcom that was initially broadcast on Showtime from September 10, 1986 to May 25, 1990. It was created by Garry Shandling and Alan Zweibel. The series is notable for breaking the fourth wall. S ...

''. Having appeared on a 1979 episode of James Arness' western series, '' How the West Was Won'', she reunited with him in the 1981 made-for-TV film ''

McClain's Law ''McClain's Law'' is an American crime drama television series that aired on NBC during the 1981–1982 season. New episodes ended on March 20, and rebroadcasts continued until August 24, 1982. Summary The series starred former ''Gunsmoke'' le ...

'' which served as the two-hour debut episode of Arness' 1981–82 same-named police detective series. She played Dr. Carol Marcus, the early love of Admiral

James T. Kirk James Tiberius Kirk is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise. Originally played by Canadian actor William Shatner, Kirk first appeared in ''Star Trek'' serving aboard the starship USS ''Enterprise'' as captain. Kirk leads ...

in '' Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan'' (1982). Her other films included '' Victory at Entebbe'' (1976), '' The Pack'' (1977), '' The Promise'' (1979), ''

Meteor A meteoroid () is a small rocky or metallic body in outer space. Meteoroids are defined as objects significantly smaller than asteroids, ranging in size from grains to objects up to a meter wide. Objects smaller than this are classified as mi ...

'' (1979), ''

The Beast Within ''The Beast Within'' is a 1982 American horror film directed by Philippe Mora and starring Ronny Cox, Bibi Besch, Paul Clemens, L. Q. Jones, Don Gordon, R. G. Armstrong, Logan Ramsey, Katherine Moffat, and Meshach Taylor. ''The Beast Within'' ...

'' (1982), ''

The Lonely Lady ''The Lonely Lady'' is a 1983 American drama film directed by Peter Sasdy, adapted from Harold Robbins' 1976 novel of the same name, believed to have been based on Robbins' memories of Jacqueline Susann. The film stars Pia Zadora in the title role ...

'' (1983), ''

'' (1983), '' Mrs. Delafield Wants to Marry'' (1986), ''

He's My Girl ''He's My Girl'' is a 1987 American comedy film directed by Gabrielle Beaumont and starring David Hallyday and T. K. Carter. Plot Bryan (David Hallyday) is a singer, and his best friend Reggie ( T. K. Carter) is his manager. They both resid ...

'' (1987), ''

Date with an Angel ''Date with an Angel'' is a 1987 American romantic fantasy comedy film starring Emmanuelle Béart, Phoebe Cates and Michael E. Knight. The film was written and directed by Tom McLoughlin. The original music score was composed by Randy Kerber. ...

'' (1987), '' Steel Magnolias'' (1989), '' Tremors'' (1990), and ''

Betsy's Wedding ''Betsy's Wedding'' is a 1990 American romantic comedy film written and directed by Alan Alda. The film stars Alda, Joey Bishop, Madeline Kahn, Catherine O'Hara, Joe Pesci, Ally Sheedy, Bibi Besch, Burt Young, and Molly Ringwald. It was theatric ...

'' (1990). In 1992, she received an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

nomination for her performance in ''

Doing Time on Maple Drive ''Doing Time on Maple Drive'' is a 1992 American made-for-television drama film written by James Duff and directed by Ken Olin. The movie stars James Sikking, Bibi Besch, William McNamara, Jayne Brook, David Byron, Lori Loughlin and Jim Carrey ...

'', which starred

William McNamara William West McNamara (born March 31, 1965) is an American film and television actor. Personal life Born in Dallas, Texas, McNamara is the son of a Ford Motor Company employee and an interior designer. He attended Salisbury School, Columbia Un ...

and

Jim Carrey James Eugene Carrey (; born January 17, 1962) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian and artist. Known for his energetic slapstick performances, Carrey first gained recognition in 1990, after landing a role in the American sketch comedy t ...

as her sons. She received another Emmy nomination in 1993 for her recurring-character role as the neurotic mother of

Janine Turner Janine Turner (born Janine Loraine Gauntt; December 6, 1962) is an American actress best known for her roles as Maggie O'Connell in the television series ''Northern Exposure'', as Jessie Deighan in the feature film ''Cliffhanger'', and as Katie ...

's character on ''

Northern Exposure ''Northern Exposure'' is an American Northern comedy-drama television series about the eccentric residents of a fictional small town in Alaska that ran on CBS from July 12, 1990, to July 26, 1995, with a total of 110 episodes. It received 57 ...

''. She continued to act, with 11 television and film credits in 1996, her final year.

Death

Bibi Besch died of

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or ...

Daniel Freeman Hospital Centinela Freeman Regional Medical Center, Memorial Campus was a hospital that was located at 333 N. Prairie Ave, Inglewood, California, USA. The hospital was operated by Centinela Freeman HealthSystem, and was one of the three campuses of the ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

on September 7, 1996. She was 54 years old.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Besch, Bibi 1942 births 1996 deaths 20th-century American actresses Actresses from New York (state) Actresses from Vienna American film actresses American soap opera actresses American television actresses Austrian emigrants to the United States Deaths from cancer in California Deaths from breast cancer People from Chappaqua, New York