Star Trek

Eggar in 2000 with friends

Acclaimed British actress Samantha Eggar brought a long, storied career to her casting as Marie Picard, sister-in-law to the Enterprise-D's skipper, the wife of his stubborn brother Robert and mother to his nephew René back home in France in Season 4’s “Family.” 

Born as "Victoria Louise Samantha Marie Elizabeth Therese Eggar" to a British Army brigadier general in small-town Hampstead, Eggar was steered to art school rather than drama training by her mother, but she nonetheless wound up treading the boards. At 25, she crossed over from stage to film to receive an Academy Award nomination and a Golden Globe for Best Actress for William Wyler's The Collector in 1965. That kicked off an unending string of TV and film on both sides of the Atlantic, co-starring with Cary Grant in his last movie, Walk, Don't Run; opposite Rex Harrison and Anthony Newley in the musical Doctor Doolittle; The Molly Maguires with Sean Connery and Richard Harris; and the TV series Anna and the King with Yul Brynner. Most recentl she has appeared on All My Children, Cold Case and Commander in Chief.

Eggar’s elegant TNG casting—another Brit-accented resident of France!—was one more early kudo for Paramount with the series, as year by year TNG demonstrated the clout and appeal it had for a ever-broadening base of fans worldwide.