Star Trek: 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Janice Rand
If you never remembered her name, you'd still remember her hair.
Janice Rand, played by Grace Lee Whitney in The Original Series, four of the films, and one episode of Voyager, is an iconic character. Her appearance is instantly recognisable to both fans and non-fans alike, thanks to the red dress, and beehive hairstyle.
Yet, she was in far fewer episodes than many assume. Though the idea of Rand was present from the beginning, she would miss both pilot episodes, and then find herself being written out of several of the episodes she was originally slated to appear in.
There are various reasons for this, though despite her brief screentime, Yeomen, later Commander, Janice Rand is as much a part of the makeup of Star Trek as Christine Chapel or Hikaru Sulu. This writer may never be able to pull off a skant the way this character could, but it's thanks to her that we have hairstyles to aspire to, rank-rising to dream of, and transporter skills we should probably not go into too much detail about.
10. She Was Involved In Star Trek From The Earliest Days
Yeoman Janice Rand went through a series of developments before the character would appear on-screen, though actor Grace Lee Whitney was involved in Star Trek from the very beginning - even if it took a little longer for her to actually be shown than, say, Leonard Nimoy.
Whitney had worked with Gene Roddenberry before Star Trek, being cast in both The Lieutenant and the unsuccessful pilot Police Story. She, along with Nichelle Nichols and Majel Barrett, was one of the people Roddenberry was determined to have on the Enterprise.
The character of Yeoman Colt, played by Laurel Goodwin, and then later Yeoman Smith, played by Andrea Dromm, were both templates for Rand. Neither of these performers would return after their episodes (The Cage and Where No Man Has Gone Before, respectively) so it was Whitney, and of course, Yeoman Janice Rand, who received the coveted series order. She was contracted to appear in seven out of the first thirteen episodes, for the tidy sum of $750 per episode - which is around $7000 in 2023.