Gracie Allen, along with her husband George Burns, formed the 20th century husband-and-wife comedy duo "Burns and Allen".
They would end their stage shows and television program with the immortal phrase "Say Goodnight Gracie". This phrase made its first appearance at the Roxy Theater in New York City, in 1932. After attempting to learn humor, with little success, Data accidentally paraphrased their hallmark and elicited laughter among the crew on the USS Enterprise-D. (TNG: "The Outrageous Okona")
The humpback whale, Gracie, was (presumably) named by the staff at the Cetacean Institute for Allen. (Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home)