Nana Visitor

Nana Visitor was born Nana Tucker on July 26, 1957, in New York City. Her early life was rooted in the arts, as the daughter of ballet teacher Nenette Charisse and choreographer Robert Tucker. She is also the niece of actress and dancer Cyd Charisse. Visitor began her acting career on the Broadway stage in the 1970s, with notable productions such as “My One and Only” in 1983. Her film debut, under her birth name, was in the 1977 horror film “The Sentinel.” Early television roles included co-starring in the short-lived 1976 sitcom “Ivan the Terrible” and recurring roles in soap operas like “Ryan’s Hope,” “The Doctors,” and “One Life to Live” between 1978 and 1982. She officially adopted the stage name “Nana Visitor” in the early 1980s, an old family name from her mother’s side.

Throughout the 1980s, Visitor made numerous appearances on popular television series, including “Hunter” (1985), “MacGyver” (1985, 1987), “Remington Steele” (1985), “Knight Rider” (1986), “Highway to Heaven” (1986), “Night Court” (1988), “In the Heat of the Night” (1988), and “Doogie Howser, M.D.” (1989). A significant turning point in her career came with her role as Major (later Colonel) Kira Nerys in “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,” which she played from 1993 to 1999 across 173 episodes. This role established her in the science fiction genre and earned her multiple awards and nominations.

Following “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,” Visitor continued to diversify her career. She had a recurring role as Dr. Elizabeth Renfro in the television series “Dark Angel” (2001) and starred as Roxie Hart in both touring and Broadway productions of the musical “Chicago” (2001). She also played Jean Ritter in the ABC Family series “Wildfire” from 2005 to 2008. More recent work includes a role in the 2009 film “Friday the 13th” as Pamela Voorhees, voice acting in “Family Guy” (2009-2014), and appearances in “Ted 2” (2015) and “A Bread Factory” (2018). In 2024, she published her book, “Star Trek: Open a Channel: A Woman’s Trek,” discussing female characters in the Star Trek franchise.