Biography
Having regularly landed television roles since the mid 1960s, actress Bibi Besch appeared to be finally winning the acclaim of her peers in the 1990s (as evidenced by a pair of Emmy Award nominations), before her death abruptly ended her career. Besch relocated with her family to Chappaqua, New York (her mother was Austrian theater actress Gusti Huber). Roles on such television soap operas as "The Secret Storm" and "The Edge of Night" served as her start in acting, leading to brief roles on hit 1970s programs ("The Rockford Files," "Charlie's Angels," etc.). One of her better known roles would arrive in the 1982 movie, "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan," as the character Dr. Carol Marcus (the mother of Captain James T. Kirk's son), but two years later she was nominated for a Razzie Award (for "Worst Supporting Actress") for her work in the 1983 film, "The Lonely Lady." The early 1990s saw Besch get her career back on track, with Emmy Award nominations in 1992 ("Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Special" for "Doing Time on Maple Drive") and 1993 ("Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series" for "Northern Exposure"). However, Besch died on September 7, 1996, in Los Angeles (at the age of 56), from breast cancer. Besch's daughter, Samantha Mathis, became a respected actress in her own right.
