'Star Trek' Grace Lee Whitney Dies at 85

Grace Lee Whitney, the actress who became well known for her role as Yeoman Janice Rand on the original Star Trek has tragically passed away on Friday at the age of 85, according to reports.

According to the USA Today, her son Jonathan Dweck issued a statement and said his mother died of natural causes at her home in Coarsegold, California, about 50 miles north of Fresno.

Grace Lee Whitney played Yeoman Janice Rand in the first eight episodes before being written out of the series. She returned for the movie franchise, appearing in "Star Trek: The Motion Picture," "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock," "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" and "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country."

Apart from Star Trek, Grace played in many other movies and even had appearances on popular shows, such as Bewitched.

Published in 1998, her autobiography, 'The Longest Trek: My Tour of the Galaxy', provided fans insight into the life of Whitney.  In the book', she wrote that she became an alcoholic before getting treatment and returned to acting with the help of Leonard Nimoy, who starred as Spock in the series.

Whitney described her life in 2011 as a happy grandmother living near Yosemite National Park on a 30-acre land.

Condolences to Whitney's family, may she rest in peace.