Grace Lee Whitney Grace Lee Whitney was an American actress and entertainer best known for her portrayal of Yeoman Janice Rand in . Her character was originally intended to be a major part of the series , however , she was written out after eight episodes . Whitney returned to the role for several cameo appearances in subsequent " Star Trek " movies , and featured in the episode . She retained an active interest in Star Trek fandom , appearing in several fan film s . Biography . Born Mary Ann Chase , in Ann Arbor , Michigan , she was adopted by the Whitney family who named her Grace Elaine Whitney . She became a prolific actress in the 1950s and 1960s , debuting on the Broadway stage in " Top Banana " before going on to appear in the 1954 motion picture of the same name . She worked with Jeffrey Hunter in the film " The Man from Galveston " ( 1963 ) . Whitney guested on several well - known television series including " Bewitched " , " Batman " , " Cimmaron Strip " , " The Virginian " , " Mannix " , and Gene Roddenberry ' s own " Police Story " , co - starring DeForest Kelley . She also appeared alongside her TOS co - star George Takei in a 1998 episode of " Diagnosis : Murder " . Grace had two sons , Scott and Jon Dweck , who also appeared in " Star Trek " productions . She died peacefully at her home in Coarsegold , California , at the age of 85 . " Star Trek " . Intended to appear in far more episodes than she ultimately did , Whitney ' s Yeoman Rand was written out of several episodes , and ultimately dropped from the series after eight episodes . The exact reason for Whitney ' s dismissal is uncertain ; her struggle with alcohol and use of diet pills are sometimes cited as causes , while creator Gene Roddenberry ' s biography suggests that her departure was simply a budget cutback . In her autobiography , " " , Whitney describes an incident in which she was sexually assaulted by an executive of the " Star Trek " production team , who is not identified by name , and she drew a link between this incident and her sacking a few days later , but afterwards states her role was going to be eliminated in any case . Her last appearance was in the background of the episode , , with her character replaced by Dr . Helen Noel in . According to " Inside Star Trek " , Whitney slid deeper into alcohol addiction after being fired from the show . Speaking of her termination from the series , Whitney stated , " " they wanted William Shatner to have romances in each episode with a different person , because for him to be stuck with one woman was not good for him and it wasn ' t good for the audience . That ' s what they told me , so I was written out . There were two blonde girls and one black girl . Nichelle was a more important character and couldn ' t be written out . Everything ' s political in America . One of the blondes had to go . The other one was engaged to the boss , so guess who went ? I just about killed myself . I drank , that ' s what we do , we drink to get rid of pain . I was really mad . My God , was I bitter . " " Roddenberry later apologized for the dismissal and said it was the " dumbest mistake " he ever made . Whitney enjoyed appearing in the that involved her . She said of her casting in , " " It gave me a feeling as if I had turned back my life ten years . " " ( " " , p . 55 ) Whitney began her recovery in the 1980s and has gone on to appear in many more " Star Trek " productions , most recently the 2007 fan film " Star Trek : Of Gods and Men " and the " Star Trek : New Voyages " episode " World Enough and Time " ( 2007 ) , in which she appeared alongside George Takei , Majel Barrett Roddenberry , James Cawley , Jeffery Quinn , and John Carrigan . The episode was directed by Marc Scott Zicree , written by Zicree and Michael Reaves , and stunt coordinated by Leslie Hoffman . Whitney filmed her scenes for " The Enemy Within " on Thursday , Friday and Tuesday , her scenes for " The Man Trap " between Thursday and Monday , her scenes for " The Naked Time " on Thursday and Friday , and her scenes for " Charlie X " between Tuesday and Friday , all at Desilu Stage 9 .