Robin Curtis (born in

New York Mills, New York New York Mills is a village in Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 3,327 at the 2010 census. The Village of New York Mills is partly in the Town of Whitestown and partly in the Town of New Hartford. It is a western subur ...

) is an American actress. She is best known for replacing

Kirstie Alley Kirstie Louise Alley (January 12, 1951 – December 5, 2022) was an American actress. Her breakout role was as Rebecca Howe in the NBC sitcom ''Cheers'' (1987–1993), for which she received an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe in 1991. From 1997 ...

in the role of

Vulcan Vulcan may refer to: Mythology * Vulcan (mythology), the god of fire, volcanoes, metalworking, and the forge in Roman mythology Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * Vulcan (''Star Trek''), name of a fictional race and their home p ...

Lieutenant

Saavik Saavik is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' universe. She first appeared in the film '' Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan'' (1982) played by Kirstie Alley. Robin Curtis took over the role for '' Star Trek III: The Search for Spock'' (198 ...

in the films '' Star Trek III: The Search for Spock'' and '' Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home''.

Life and career

Film and television work

Although her first appearance as Vulcan Lieutenant

in '' Star Trek III: The Search for Spock'' in 1984 was promoted as being her film debut, in fact, Curtis had already made several film and made-for-television movie appearances. Her performance in the film drew mixed reception from Trek fans and she reprised the role of Saavik for a brief appearance in '' Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home''. She co-starred in the 1983 episode " Short Notice" during the first season of the ''

Knight Rider ''Knight Rider'' is an American entertainment franchise created by Glen A. Larson. The core of ''Knight Rider'' is its three television series: the original '' Knight Rider'' (1982–1986) and sequel series '' Team Knight Rider'' (1997–1998) ...

'' television series. In 1991, she portrayed Carol Pulaski on the soap opera '' General Hospital''. In 1993, Curtis portrayed an unrelated Vulcan character disguised as a Romulan (Tallera/T'Paal) in the two-part episode of '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' "

Gambit A gambit (from Italian , the act of tripping someone with the leg to make them fall) is a chess opening in which a player sacrifices with the aim of achieving a subsequent advantage. The word '' gambit'' is also sometimes used to describe si ...

". In the ''

Babylon 5 ''Babylon 5'' is an American space opera television series created by writer and producer J. Michael Straczynski, under the Babylonian Productions label, in association with Straczynski's Synthetic Worlds Ltd. and Warner Bros. Domestic Televi ...

'' episode " Deathwalker" (1994), she appeared as Abbai Ambassador Kalika. She also appeared in the television series '' Dream On'', ''

Herman's Head ''Herman's Head'' is an American sitcom that aired on the Fox network from September 8, 1991, until April 21, 1994. The series was created by Andy Guerdat and Steve Kreinberg, and produced by Witt/Thomas Productions in association with Touchsto ...

'', ''

Night Court ''Night Court'' is an American television sitcom that aired on NBC from January 4, 1984 to May 31, 1992. The setting was the night shift of a Manhattan municipal court presided over by a young, unorthodox judge, Harold "Harry" T. Stone (portra ...

'', ''

MacGyver Angus "Mac" MacGyver is the title character and the protagonist in the TV series ''MacGyver''. He is played by Richard Dean Anderson in the 1985 original series. Lucas Till portrays a younger version of MacGyver in the 2016 reboot. In both po ...

'', ''Johnny Bago'', Seventh Heaven, and '' The Equalizer''. Curtis's other film work includes ''Hexed'', ''Ghost Story'', ''Shootdown'', ''In Love with an Older Woman'', ''A White Thread, A Black Thread'', and ''LBJ - The Early Years'' in which she played the role of

Jacqueline Kennedy Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis ( ; July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American socialite, writer, photographer, and book editor who served as first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. A po ...

. In 2022 Curtis was cast in the horror film ''Awaken the Reaper'', her first film role since 1999.

Stage and commercial work

Curtis has numerous stage credits in regional and national theatre, including ''Gyspy'', ''

Applause Applause (Latin ''applaudere,'' to strike upon, clap) is primarily a form of ovation or praise expressed by the act of clapping, or striking the palms of the hands together, in order to create noise. Audiences usually applaud after a performa ...

'', ''

Oliver! ''Oliver!'' is a coming-of-age stage musical, with book, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the 1838 novel '' Oliver Twist'' by Charles Dickens. It premiered at the Wimbledon Theatre, southwest London in 1960 before ...

'', ''...And Other Songs'' in New York City. She performed in ''The City Suite''

Off Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

and in ''Garden'' in

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 wor ...

. Other work includes ''The Nerd'', ''The Man of La Mancha'', and

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...

's '' The Apple Tree''. She has also appeared in several television commercials and

infomercials An infomercial is a form of television commercial that resembles regular TV programming yet is intended to promote or sell a product, service or idea. It generally includes a toll-free telephone number or website. Most often used as a form of dir ...

. Curtis made frequent appearances at ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vario ...

'' conventions in the mid-1990s but by 2014 was appearing only occasionally. She became a residential real estate agent in 2004 and the following year debuted her one-woman show, a work-in-progress, ''Not My Bra, You Don't! - The Sexual Odyssey of a Forty-Nine Year Old Woman''.

Personal life

Curtis was briefly married to the actor Kent Williams.

Filmography

Television

*''

(Season 1): Short Notice'' (1983) as Nicole Turner *''

(Season 1): The Gauntlet'' (1985) as Kate Connelly *''

'' (1985 TV series) (Season 2) *'' The Equalizer'' (1986 TV Series - Season 1) as Ginger Brock *'' LBJ: The Early Years'' (1987) as

*''

(Season 6)'' (1990) as Dr. Judith Malloy *'' General Hospital'' (1991) as Carol Pulaski *''

'' (1992) as Diane Shaw *'' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (US TV Series) (1993) in " Gambit, Parts One And Two," as Tallera / T'Paal *''

'' (US TV Series) (1994) as Ambassador Kalika *'' Space: Above and Beyond'' (US TV series) (1995) as Andrea Wilkins

References

External links

* *
Interview with Robin Curtis
on the podcast '' The Future and You'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Curtis, Robin Living people 20th-century American actresses Actresses from New York (state) American film actresses American musical theatre actresses American soap opera actresses American television actresses People from New York Mills, New York American real estate brokers State University of New York at Oswego alumni 21st-century American women Year of birth missing (living people)