Terri Garr Terri Ann Garr , aka Teri Garr , from Lakewood , Ohio , is the actress who played Roberta Lincoln in Assignment : Earth } } . She filmed her scenes between Wednesday and Monday at Paramount Stage 5 and on location at Paramount Pictures ' " Windsor Street " backlot . Garr earned an nomination in 1983 for her supporting role in the comedy . She is also well - known for her roles in ' comedy classic ( 1974 , co - starring Kenneth Mars ) and ' s science fiction epic ( 1977 ) . Her other film credits include uncredited appearances in no less than five Elvis Presley movies from 1963 to 1967 , including " Kissin ' Cousins " ( 1964 , with Yvonne Craig and directed by Gene Nelson ) , " Roustabout " ( 1964 , with K . L . Smith ) , " Viva Las Vegas " ( 1964 , with Pete Kellett and Lance LeGault ) , and " Clambake " ( 1967 , with James Gregory , Marj Dusay and Angelique Pettyjohn ) . Her later films include " Maryjane " ( 1968 , with Byron Morrow and her Trek co - star Bruce Mars ) , the Monkees ' movie " Head " ( 1968 , with Logan Ramsey , Abraham Sofaer , Charles Macauley and an uncredited Tania Lemani ) , " The Conversation " ( 1974 ) , " Won Ton Ton , the Dog Who Saved Hollywood " ( 1976 , with Keye Luke , Dean Stockwell , and Ricardo Montalban ) , " Oh , God ! " ( 1977 , with Jeff Corey and David Ogden Stiers ) , " The Black Stallion " ( 1979 ) , " Honky Tonk Freeway " ( 1981 , with Jeffrey Combs ) , " The Black Stallion Returns " ( 1983 ) , " Mr . Mom " ( 1983 , with Christopher Lloyd , Graham Jarvis , Carolyn Seymour , Derek McGrath , Michael Ensign , and Bruce French ) , " Firstborn " ( 1984 , with Peter Weller ) , " After Hours " ( 1985 , with Dick Miller ) , " Mom and Dad Save the World " ( 1992 , with Wallace Shawn , Thalmus Rasulala , and Dennis Madalone ) , " Dumb & Dumber " ( 1994 , with Mike Starr and Charles Rocket ) , " Michael " ( 1996 , with Tom Hodges and Wallace Langham ) , and " Dick " ( 1999 , with Kirsten Dunst and Saul Rubinek ) . In addition , she was seen in Robert Altman ' s films " The Player " ( 1992 ) and " Prêt - à - Porter " ( 1994 ) , both of which also featured Sally Kellerman . The former film also featured appearances by Rene Auberjonois , Paul Dooley , Louise Fletcher , Whoopi Goldberg , Joel Grey , Malcolm McDowell , Bert Remsen , Dean Stockwell , Brian Tochi , and Ray Walston . Besides her appearance on " Star Trek " , Garr has also appeared on such classic television shows as " Batman " ( 1966 , with William O ' Connell ) , " The Andy Griffith Show " , " M * A * S * H " , " The Bob Newhart Show " , and " Barnaby Jones " ( 1974 , with William Sargent and Mariette Hartley ) , and hosted " Saturday Night Live " ( 1983 , while Joe Piscopo was in the cast ) . She also had a recurring role as Sgt . Phyllis Norton on the crime series " McCloud " , starring Diana Muldaur and Ken Lynch . Others she worked with on this show include Lawrence Montaigne , Michael Pataki , Nehemiah Persoff , Brock Peters , Eugene Roche , Joseph Ruskin , and Gregory Sierra . Most recently , she had a recurring role as Phoebe Buffay ' s biological ( and namesake ) mother on " Friends " , voiced the role of Mary McGinnis on " Batman Beyond " and in the movie " Batman Beyond : Return of the Joker " ( with Dean Stockwell and Frank Welker ) , and has guest - starred on such shows as " Frasier " ( starring Kelsey Grammer ) , " ER " , and . Garr publicly revealed in 2002 that she had been diagnosed some years earlier with . Garr joins David L . Lander as a " Trek " actor afflicted with the disease . Despite this , she has continued to work occasionally in film and television . In December 2006 , she underwent surgery to treat a brain aneurysm and is said to be " recovering nicely . "