Denise Crosby Biography
Denise Crosby is an American actress and model best known for portraying Security Chief Tasha Yar in season one of Star Trek: The Next Generation as well as Yar’s daughter, the half-Romulan Commander Sela, in subsequent seasons.
Crosby is also known for her numerous film and television roles, and for starring in and producing the film Trekkies.
Crosby started modeling and she posed nude for Playboy magazine in 1979, she called it “some kind of rebellion on my part, some way of saying screw you to the family image”.
Denise’s first high-profile role was as Lisa Davis on the soap opera Days of Our Lives. She has also appeared as Dr. Gretchen Kelly in three episodes of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. She has appeared as a sheriff on The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. episode “No Man’s Land”. Denise played the role of the mayor in the short-lived series Key West in the early 1990s.
She had a small recurring role in Aaron Spelling’s prime time drama, Models Inc, a spin-off from Melrose Place. Crosby was a guest star on the eighth season of The X-Files for two episodes. She plays a doctor who examined Agent Scully’s baby. She was a guest star in “The Deadly Nightshade”, a first season The Flash episode as Dr. Rebecca Frost in 1991. She had a recurring role in Southland as Detective Dan “Sal” Salinger’s wife.
Among her first film appearances was in the 1982 Nick Nolte/Eddie Murphy film 48 Hrs. It was followed by a small role in the 1982 film Trail of the Pink Panther, which she reprised in the sequel Curse of the Pink Panther. In 1985, Crosby appeared in the music video for the Chris Isaak song “Dancin'”. In 1986, Crosby appeared in the music video for the Black Sabbath’s song “No Stranger to Love”. Denise played a robotics engineer, Nora Hunter, in the science fiction movie Eliminators in the same year.
She then starred in Stephen King’s Pet Sematary, played the lead role in Dolly Dearest in 1991, and then appeared in Quentin Tarantino’s Jackie Brown, and Deep Impact. Her other film roles included the 2002 western horror film Legend of the Phantom Rider, and the 2005 Tobe Hooper horror film Mortuary.
Denise Crosby Age
Denise Michelle Crosby was born on November 24, 1957, in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, U.S. She is 60 years old as of 2018.
Denise Crosby Siblings | Family
Denise was born to Marilyn Scott and actor Dennis Crosby (whom Denise was named after). Michelle’s mother pursued a sensational, three-year-long lawsuit against her father. At the conclusion, he was ordered to pay child support and legal fees. She is the niece of Mary Crosby, Nathaniel Crosby, and Harry Crosby and granddaughter to Bing and Kathryn Crosby.
The incident deeply embarrassed Dennis and his father, actor and singer Bing Crosby. Bing Crosby died before he met Denise although he died when she was 19.
Denise Crosby Education
She attended LeConte Junior High School and later Hollywood High School and Cabrillo College, where she studied theater. Denise dropped out of college after she was interviewed by a local paper and revealed her famous family background: “One of the drama teachers used the story to illustrate to the class that this crap is what Hollywood’s all about, using people’s names to get somewhere. I was very, very hurt by it. So I just checked out.”
Denise Crosby Husband | Divorce
Crosby married Geoffrey Edwards, son of director Blake Edwards on 21 May 1983. Denise has appeared in a number of her former father-in-law’s films, including 10, Skin Deep, Trail of the Pink Panther, and Curse of the Pink Panther. The couple later divorced in 1990. In 1995, she got married to Ken Sylk and they have a son August William Sylk born in 1998.
Denise Crosby Net Worth
The American actress has an estimated net worth of $6 million.
Denise Crosby Height
Crosby stands at a height of 1.73m.
Denise Crosby Measurements
- Weight 130lb (59kg)
- Measures 30-23-33
- Bra size is 30C
Denise Crosby Red Shoe Diaries
She has also appeared in two episodes of the cable television series Red Shoe Diaries where she plays a different character in each episode.
Denise Crosby Dexter
She was a guest star in Dexter as Dexter’s first victim in 2006.
Denise Crosby Star Trek
In 1987, Denise was cast in the role of Tasha Yar for the much-publicized return of Star Trek to television in the syndicated series Star Trek: The Next Generation in 1987. Crosby had been chosen to play Counsellor Deanna Troi before Gene Roddenberry switched the roles that she and Marina Sirtis had originally been given. Originally, one of the top-billed characters and featured prominently in episodes such as “The Naked Now” and “Code of Honor”, the role of Tasha gradually moved into the background as other members of the ensemble cast became a greater focus of the series. It has also been reported that she grew disillusioned with her role because of its “Uhura-like” status: “I was struggling with not being able to do much with the character. I had all these ideas and couldn’t do them. I was just stage dressing.” Ultimately, Denise decided to leave the show. Her character was killed by the alien creature Armus during the episode “Skin of Evil”. Crosby had appeared in 22 episodes when she left.
Yar Denise Crosby
She approached the TNG production team with the idea of reprising her role of Tasha Yar in the later years. It came to be in season three’s “Yesterday’s Enterprise” in which an alternate timeline is created after the USS Enterprise-C, the predecessor to TNG’s USS Enterprise-D, comes forward 22 years in time, just before it was to be destroyed. Tasha joined the Enterprise-C before it returned to its own time to restore the original timeline. During the documentary Trekkies, she commented that her Tasha Yar character had to die in order to get “the best episodes”.
She also guest-starred in several other TNG episodes including “Redemption” and “Unification” as Romulan Commander Sela, the half-human, half-Romulan daughter of Tasha Yar, who had been taken prisoner in the past while onboard the Enterprise-C. Denise later reprised the role in the Star Trek: Armada video game, and again in the series finale, “All Good Things…”, in which Captain Picard is moving back and forth through time, and encounters Yar during the events just prior to the pilot episode.
She co-produced and narrated the 1997 documentary Trekkies, followed by the 2003 sequel Trekkies 2. Both the films star Denise, who conducts interviews with devotees of Star Trek, more commonly known as “Trekkies”. Crosby is reportedly working on a sequel called Trekkies 3.
Along with other Star Trek actors, Denise has also appeared in the “Blood and Fire” episode of the fan produced series Star Trek: New Voyages, playing Dr. Jenna Yar (grandmother of Natasha Yar).
Denise provided voices for the characters of Tasha Yar and Sela in the Cryptic Studios MMORPG Star Trek Online in 2013. In 2010, she became the first of a new wave of several Star Trek alumni to return to the roles they originated since Leonard Nimoy’s participation at the game’s launch.
Denise Crosby Now
Denise performed alongside Gale Harold and ex-model Claudia Mason in Tennessee Williams’ Orpheus Descending at Theater in Los Angeles in January and February 2010. The cast and production received mostly positive reviews in the Los Angeles Times stating, “Harold, ideally cast, beautifully ignites with Crosby, whose unconventional interpretation is an affecting revelation.”
Denise Crosby Ray Donovan
She has a recurring role on Showtime’s 2013 series Ray Donovan.
Denise Crosby Walking Dead
She appeared in three episodes of AMC’s The Walking Dead as Mary, a member of a group of cannibals in 2014. The character appears first in the penultimate episode of Season 4, “Us”, and made her final appearance in the season five premiere, “No Sanctuary”.
Denise also played the role of widow Margie Curtis in the TV series Bones, Season 3: Episode 4 “The Secret in the Soil”.
Denise Crosby Television Shows
Year
|
Title
|
Role
|
Notes
|
1980
|
Days of Our Lives
|
Lisa Davis
|
Unknown episodes
|
1983
|
Cocaine: One Man’s Seduction
|
Teller
|
Television film
|
1985
|
My Wicked, Wicked Ways: The Legend of Errol Flynn
|
Diana Dyrenforth
|
Television film
|
Stark
|
Kim Parker
|
Television film
|
|
Malice in Wonderland
|
Carole Lombard
|
Television film
|
|
1986
|
The Family Martinez
|
Rachael McCann
|
Television film
|
L.A. Law
|
Joan Turtletaub
|
Episode: “Gibbon Take”
|
|
1987
|
Ohara
|
Rachel Winters
|
Episode: “Laura”
|
1987–94
|
Star Trek: The Next Generation
|
Lieutenant Tasha Yar / Sela
|
31 episodes
|
1989
|
Mancuso, F.B.I.
|
Toni Simmons
|
Episode: “I Cover the Waterfront”
|
1991
|
WIOU
|
Unknown role
|
Episode: “Labored Relations”
|
Hunter
|
Pam Sutton
|
Episode: “All That Glitters”
|
|
The Flash
|
Dr. Rebecca Frost
|
Episode: “The Deadly Nightshade”
|
|
Dark Justice
|
Christina Forbes
|
Episode: “Forbes for the Defense”
|
|
1992
|
Jack’s Place
|
Lindsay
|
Episode: “Everything Old is New Again”
|
1992–94
|
Red Shoe Diaries
|
Officer Lynn “Mona” McCabe / The Psychiatrist
|
Episodes: “You Have The Right to Remain Silent”, “The Psychiatrist”
|
1993
|
Civil Wars
|
Gwen Leary
|
Episode: “Captain Kangaroo Court”
|
Key West
|
Chaucy Caldwell
|
13 episodes
|
|
Johnny Bago
|
Dr. Candace David
|
Episode: “Hail the Conquering Marrow”
|
|
The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.
|
Sheriff Jenny Taylor
|
Episode: “No Man’s Land”
|
|
1994
|
Models Inc.
|
Ursula Edwards
|
Episode: “Good Girls Finish Last”
|
1994–95
|
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
|
Dr. Gretchen Kelly
|
3 episodes
|
1995–96
|
Diagnosis: Murder
|
Didi Harris / Cynthia Holling
|
3 episodes
|
1996
|
Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman
|
Isabelle Maynard
|
Episode: “Fear Itself”
|
1997
|
Baywatch
|
Emily Morgan
|
Episode: “Rendezvous”
|
1998
|
Spy Game
|
Chrysalis
|
Episode: “Go, Girl”
|
Pumpkin Man
|
Laurel Hollway
|
Television short film
|
|
Chance of a Lifetime
|
Katie
|
Television film
|
|
1999
|
The Rockford Files: If It Bleeds… It Leads
|
Mrs. Muller
|
Television film
|
2000
|
Snoops
|
Evelyn Houtch
|
Episode: “The Stolen Diskette”
|
Family Law
|
Doris Collins
|
Episode: “For Love”
|
|
2001
|
The Drew Carey Show
|
Officer Hayes
|
Episode: “The Warsaw Closes”
|
NYPD Blue
|
Lieutenant Susan Dalto
|
Episodes: “Thumb Enchanted Evening”, “Flight of Fancy”
|
|
The X-Files
|
Dr. Mary Speake
|
Episodes: “Empedocles”, “Essence”
|
|
Judging Amy
|
Mrs. Nasretian
|
Episode: “Look Closer”
|
|
2002
|
JAG
|
Mrs. Dietz
|
Episode: “Capital Crime”
|
The Division
|
Alison Tisdale
|
Episode: “This Thing Called Love”
|
|
The Agency
|
Detective Reidy
|
Episode: “Sleeping Dogs Lie”
|
|
2003
|
Threat Matrix
|
Gillian Sadler
|
Episode: “Cold Cash”
|
2004
|
Crossing Jordan
|
Carla Moran
|
Episode: “Fire from the Sky”
|
2005
|
Eyes
|
Justine Canning
|
Episode: “Shots”
|
2006
|
Dexter
|
Nurse Mary
|
Episode: “Popping Cherry”
|
2007
|
Bones
|
Margie Curtis
|
Episode: “The Secret in the Soil”
|
2008
|
Mad Men
|
Gertie
|
Episodes: “For Those Who Think Young”, “The Benefactor”
|
Prison Break
|
Doctor
|
Episode: “Going Under”
|
|
2009
|
Star Trek: New Voyages
|
Dr. Jenna Yar
|
Episode: “Blood and Fire: Part 2”
|
2009–10
|
Southland
|
Susan Salinger
|
3 episodes
|
2011
|
Law & Order: LA
|
Diana Burt
|
Episode: “Big Rock Mesa”
|
2013
|
Invasion Roswell
|
Linda
|
Television film
|
2013–17
|
Ray Donovan
|
Deb
|
15 episodes
|
2014
|
The Walking Dead
|
Mary
|
(Seasons 4-5) 3 episodes
|
2015
|
Scandal
|
Janet Holland
|
Episode: “Even the Devil Deserves a Second Chance”
|
2016
|
The Magicians
|
Genji
|
Episode: “Mendings, Major and Minor”
|
Castle
|
Dr Marion Baker
|
Episode: “Death Wish”
|
|
The Watcher
|
Jeanne
|
Television film
|
Denise Crosby Movies
Year
|
Title
|
Role
|
Notes
|
2015
|
Dark Intentions aka Don’t Wake Mummy
|
Beth’s Mother
|
|
2012
|
Birth Mother
|
Detective Johnson
|
Short film
|
2007
|
Ripple Effect
|
Ronald’s Wife
|
Uncredited role
|
Born
|
Catherine
|
||
2005
|
Mortuary
|
Leslie Doyle
|
|
2003
|
The Bus Stops Here
|
Chatty Woman at Bus Stop
|
Short film
|
2002
|
Legend of the Phantom Rider
|
Sarah Jenkins
|
|
1998
|
Deep Impact
|
Vicky Hotchner
|
|
Divorce: A Contemporary Western
|
Kay
|
||
1997
|
Executive Power
|
Christine Rolands
|
Direct-to-video
|
Jackie Brown
|
Public Defender
|
Uncredited role
|
|
1995
|
Dream Man
|
Barbara
|
Direct-to-video
|
1994
|
Mutant Species
|
Carol-Anne
|
|
Max
|
Jayne Blake
|
||
Relative Fear
|
Connie Madison
|
||
1993
|
Mafia Docks
|
Bella Blu
|
Italian title: Il ritmo del silenzio
|
1991
|
High Strung
|
Melanie
|
|
Dolly Dearest
|
Marilyn Wade
|
||
1989
|
Skin Deep
|
Angie
|
|
Pet Sematary
|
Rachel Creed
|
||
Tennessee Waltz
|
Sally Lomas
|
||
1988
|
Greasy Lake
|
Bad Girl #2
|
Direct-to-video
|
Arizona Heat
|
Jill Andrews
|
||
Miracle Mile
|
Landa
|
||
1986
|
Eliminators
|
Nora Hunter
|
|
1985
|
Desert Hearts
|
Pat
|
|
1983
|
Curse of the Pink Panther
|
Denise
|
|
The Man Who Loved Women
|
Enid
|
||
1982
|
Trail of the Pink Panther
|
Denise, Bruno’s Moll
|
|
48 Hrs.
|
Sally
|
||
1979
|
10
|
Party Guest
|
Uncredited role
|