20 Star Trek Actors Who Died In 2021
14. Fran Bennett - Vice-Admiral Shanthi
Bennett was born in Arkansas in 1937, going on to have a long career in film and television. She appeared in the Next Generation's fifth season opener, Redemption II. Here, she played Fleet Admiral Shanthi, the officer who gives Captain Picard permission to build his blockade of starships between the Klingon and Romulan borders.
She had appeared in recurring roles in General Hospital, Dynasty, Roots: The Next Generation, and Quantum Leap, alongside Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell, to name but a few. She was a regular on the short-lived series Nightingales in 1989.
She may be known to horror fans as Dr. Heffner, whom she played in Wes Craven's New Nightmare in 1994. This was one of several film appearances over her long career. She also played Olivia Jefferson in a recreation of the pilot episode of The Jeffersons.
She died on September 11, 2021, at 84 years of age.