Nana Visitor Nana Visitor is an American actress best known for her portrayal of Major ( and later Colonel ) Kira Nerys on the television series . She also voiced the character in the games " " and " " . Career . Early life and roles . Visitor was born as Nana Tucker in New York City , the daughter of a Broadway choreographer and a ballet instructor . She began acting on stage while attending high school in the 1970s , and although she had been accepted into Princeton University , she chose instead to pursue a professional acting career . She continued acting on the New York stage , ultimately landing roles on Broadway . She also landed her first television gig as a regular – credited as Nana Tucker – on the short - lived sitcom " Ivan the Terrible " , which ran during the 1976 - 77 season . She also made her film debut in 1977 ( still credited as Tucker ) with a small role in the horror movie " The Sentinel " , which starred future DS9 guest actor Chris Sarandon . She then became a regular on the TV soap opera " Ryan ' s Hope " during the 1978 - 79 season , although future star Kate Mulgrew and DS9 co - star Andrew Robinson , who were also regulars on the series , had left the cast by that time . 1980s . It was in the 1980s that Nana Tucker began acquiring major roles on Broadway , including the title role in " Gypsy " and a double role in " My One and Only " ( co - starring Bruce McGill ) . It was during this time that she took on a stage name , " Nana Visitor " , as " Visitor " is " an old family name on her mother ' s side . " With this new name , she not only continued her stage career but also became a regular on another soap opera , " The Doctors " , from 1980 through 1981 , during which time fellow " Star Trek " alumni Glenn Corbett and Terry O ' Quinn were also regulars on the series . She also had a recurring role on " One Life to Live " in 1982 . Visitor moved to Los Angeles , California in 1985 , having recently starred in a revival of the play " 42nd Street " in that city . There , she acquired guest spots on such TV shows as " Hunter " ( which featured Bruce Davison as a regular , in an episode with Gregory Itzin as a fellow guest star ) , " MacGyver " ( two episodes , one in 1985 , another – with Clive Revill – in 1987 ) , " Matlock " ( three episodes – one in 1987 with Bert Remsen and Jason Wingreen , another in 1989 with Michael Durrell and James Sloyan , and a third in 1993 with Daniel Roebuck ) " Remington Steele " ( in an episode with future DS9 guest star Kenneth Mars ) , " Knight Rider " , " Highway to Heaven " , " Night Court " ( starring John Larroquette ) , " L . A . Law " ( co - starring Corbin Bernsen , Larry Drake , and one - time DS9 guest star Deborah May ) , " thirtysomething " ( with David Clennon ) , and " Doogie Howser , M . D . " ( starring James B . Sikking and Lawrence Pressman ) . She was also seen in an episode of a series called " Ohara " with actress Denise Crosby , and had a brief recurring role on the " Dynasty " spin - off series " The Colbys " in 1987 . Additionally , she appeared in the made - for - TV movies " The Spirit " ( 1987 , with Daniel Davis , Bumper Robinson , and Garry Walberg ) , " Meet the Munceys " ( 1988 , with Dan Gauthier ) , and " A Father ' s Homecoming " ( also 1988 , with Michael McKean ) . 1990s . Visitor went on to star on the short - lived sitcom " Working Girl , " which aired for twelve episodes in 1990 , opposite Sandra Bullock . Afterward , Visitor continued making guest appearances on various TV shows – including " Murder , She Wrote " and " Empty Nest " – before auditioning for the role of Major Kira Nerys in . According to Visitor , the role piqued her curiosity because it wasn ' t " " a mother , or a wife , or a prostitute , or a killer . [ Kira ] is fully realized . " " In December 1989 Visitor married fellow dancer Nick Miscusi . The two had a child , Buster , in 1992 , but divorced in 1994 . Visitor ' s role as Kira Nerys was written into the series after Michelle Forbes rejected the offer to star in the series as Ro Laren , her character from . When Visitor auditioned for the role of Major Kira , she decided to remain " in character " as Kira throughout the audition process . She later said that the producers " " thought [ she ] was perfect for the role but would be a nightmare to work with . " " Visitor ' s regular makeup artist on the series was Camille Calvet . Visitor , who is extremely claustrophobic , had great difficulty filming the episode due to the Cardassian makeup she had to wear . Due to this experience , she could not bring herself to wear the foam rubber head that was required for the holosuite scene in in which Quark ' s head is programmed onto Kira ' s body . As a result , a body double had to be used in Visitor ' s place . ( " " ) During the course of " Deep Space Nine " , Visitor became involved with her DS9 co - star Alexander Siddig . The union ultimately produced a son , and Visitor ' s pregnancy was written into the series . Their son , named Django El Tahir El Siddig , was born on 16 September 1996 , during production on the episode . Visitor and Siddig married the following year , although they divorced in 2001 , two years after DS9 came to an end . Several costumes and costume components worn by Vistor throughout the run of " Deep Space Nine " were sold off on the It ' s A Wrap ! sale and auction on eBay , including her baseball cap from the episode . After DS9 . " Chicago " . After spending seven years on DS9 , Visitor was cast as Roxie Hart in a production of the hit musical " Chicago " in Detroit , Michigan . She continued playing the role in Las Vegas and Washington before joining the prestigious Broadway version of the show in 2001 . Television . Visitor was a recurring performer on James Cameron ' s cult science fiction series " Dark Angel " , playing the evil Dr . Elizabeth Renfro , aka " Madame X " . She then made appearances on such series as " Frasier " ( starring Kelsey Grammer in the title role , in an episode also featuring Ann Cusack and Harve Presnell ) , " Las Vegas " ( with Nikki Cox , Sherman Howard , and Patrick Kilpatrick ) , and " CSI : Crime Scene Investigation " ( with Tina Lifford and Wallace Langham ) . From 2005 through 2008 , Visitor starred as Jean Ritter in Michael and Shawn Piller ' s ABC Family drama series , . The series ran for four seasons , concluding on 26 May 2008 , despite a campaign by fans attempting to keep the show on the air . In 2008 , Visitor was seen as a cancer patient in the sixth episode of the last season of Ronald D . Moore ' s " Battlestar Galactica " , entitled " " . Besides Moore , who wrote and produced for DS9 , Visitor will also reunited with writers David Weddle and Bradley Thompson and artist Doug Drexler . According to Thompson , Visitor was the first person Weddle thought of after reading the script . According to Weddle , Moore attempted to cast Visitor in the previous season and jumped at the opportunity to cast her in this episode . " " We have always thought she is a tremendous actress with great range , " " Weddle said . " " We thought she could deliver an amazing performance in this particular role . She did not disappoint us . " " Visitor also became one of the many " Star Trek " performers to have a voice - over role on Seth MacFarlane ' s hit animated series , " Family Guy " . For this show , she was the voice of Rita , an older woman with whom Brian Griffin ( voiced by MacFarlane ) begins dating , in the eighth season episode " Brian ' s Got a Brand New Bag . " The episode aired on 8 November 2009 . Visitor had voice - over roles in two subsequent episodes of " Family Guy " . Among the other " Star Trek " alumni to lend their voices to " Family Guy " are Visitor ' s former DS9 co - stars Rene Auberjonois , Wallace Shawn , and ex - husband Alexander Siddig , as well as Majel Barrett , Connor Trinneer , and the entire cast of . In 2011 , Visitor appeared in " Torchwood : Miracle Day " , the fourth season of the " Doctor Who " spin - off series , " Torchwood " . John de Lancie also appeared in the series . Visitor appeared in the seventh and eighth episodes and de Lancie appeared in the last three . Jane Espenson and John Shiban wrote some of the episodes . In 2012 , Visitor appeared on ABC ' s in a season with Penny Johnson joining the series as a regular and Michael Dorn in a recurring role . Films . Visitor had a role in the 2006 comic drama " Mini ' s First Time " , her first feature film since 1977 ' s " The Sentinel " . She followed this with a supporting role in the horror movie " Babysitter Wanted " . She also appeared in the 2008 political comedy film " Swing Vote " , along with Charles Esten , Kelsey Grammer , and Mark Moses . More recently , she worked on the independent drama " In My Pocket " with Glenn Morshower . Visitor played Pamela Voorhees , the mother of hockey - masked serial killer ( played by stuntman Derek Mears ) , in the 2009 remake of the horror film " Friday the 13th " . Although Visitor ' s scenes were not included in a recent test screening of the film in Los Angeles due to some then - unresolved problems with a scene , she was added for the movie ' s final cut . Her voice was also heard in the trailers and television spots for the film , with Visitor ( as Mama Voorhees ) providing narration using lines from the original 1980 film . The film also features " Trek " actress Kathleen Garrett and stuntman Michael Owen . In 2015 , Visitor appeared in " Ted 2 " , which also stars Michael Dorn , Bill Smitrovich , and Ron Canada .