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Brenda Lee Strong (born 25 March 1960; age 63) from Oregon, is the actress who played the role of Rashella in the Star Trek: The Next Generation first season episode "When The Bough Breaks".

Career[]

Strong's first film role was a bit part as a nurse in Spaceballs, which also featured Tim Russ, Dey Young and Leslie Bevis. She also appeared uncredited in Skin Deep (1989, co-starring Denise Crosby).

She has since had roles in various films, including Malice (1993), The Craft (1996), Black Dog (1998), The Deep End of the Ocean (1999, starring Whoopi Goldberg), and Red Dragon (2002). She also had roles in Starship Troopers (1997, co-starring Clancy Brown, Christopher Curry, Lenore Kasdorf, Dina Meyer, Tami-Adrian George, Julianna McCarthy, Bruce Gray, Stephanie Erb, Brian Tochi, Greg Bronson, and Azalea Davila) and Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation (2004, with Ed Lauter, Bobby C. King, Lawrence Monoson, and Nemesis stuntman Oliver Keller). She recently wrapped production on the independent drama You, co-starring John de Lancie and Jerry Hardin.

Strong, however, has enjoyed far more success on the small screen with recurring roles on several successful television series, including Party of Five, Seinfeld (starring Jason Alexander and with Armin Shimerman), Sports Night, 7th Heaven (starring Stephen Collins and Catherine Hicks, including one episode with Michael Dorn), and Everwood. She has also made guest appearances on such shows as St. Elsewhere (starring Norman Lloyd, Ed Begley, Jr., Alfre Woodard and Jennifer Savidge), Cheers (starring Kelsey Grammer), Murphy Brown, Picket Fences, ER, The John Larroquette Show, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Ally McBeal, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (with Glenn Morshower), Nip/Tuck, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and Shark (starring Jeri Ryan, in an episode with Titus Welliver).

Her most famous television role, however, is one in which she is rarely seen, as Mary Alice Young, the deceased narrator on Desperate Housewives, the highly acclaimed drama series on which she worked from 2004 to 2012. A number of other Trek actors have appeared on the show as regulars and semi-regulars including Teri Hatcher, Steven Culp, Mark Moses, Alfre Woodard, Bob Gunton, Paul Dooley, and Scott Bakula. In 2011, Strong received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance for the Desperate Housewives episode "Come On Over For Dinner" on which she worked with Teri Hatcher, Vanessa Williams, Kevin Rahm, and Tony Plana.

Later appearances include guest roles in episodes of Scoundrels (2010, with Virginia Madsen, Jessica Collins, and Dina Meyer) and Rizzoli & Isles (2010, with Bruce McGill). She also portrayed Ann Ewing in the television revival of the soap opera Dallas (2012-2014, with Marlene Forte). She played Lillian Luthor in Supergirl from 2016 to 2021.

External links[]

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