'Star Trek: Deep Space Nine' Actress Louise Fletcher Dies

Louise Fletcher as Kain Winn Adami in STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE's "What You Leave Behind". Image: Paramount.

SEPTEMBER 26, 2022 - She is probably best known for having played Nurse Ratched in the classic adaptation of Ken Kesey’s novel, One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Louise Fletcher, who also put in her time on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, died on Friday at the age of 88, according to Variety.

Fletcher is known to Star Trek fans for her portrayal of the Bajoran spiritual leader Vedek and later Kai Winn Adami in fourteen episodes of DS9. According to Memory Alpha, Fletcher is one of only five Star Trek actresses to have been nominated for a Best Leading Actress Academy Award, and she is the only one to have won. That win was for her performance as Nurse Ratched.

Fletcher was born in Birmingham, Alabama, attended the University of North Carolina, and ended up stranded in Los Angeles after a cross-country trip. She stumbled into acting and debuted on-screen in 1958 on Playhouse 90. She went on to amass over 130 television and film credits, from Maverick and Perry Mason to A Gathering of Eagles and Thieves Like Us, which brought her to the attention of Cuckoo’s Nest director, Milos Forman.

In addition to other awards, including a BAFTA, a Golden Globe, and two Saturns, Fletcher won multiple Best Actress awards from the Online Film & Television Association for her DS9 performances.

For more on Fletcher’s life and career, head over to the full remembrance at Variety.

Please join all of us in offering condolences to the family and friends of Estelle Louise Fletcher.