Natalia Nogulich Natalija Nogulich is an American actress who portrayed the recurring character of Admiral Alynna Nechayev in both and . Career . Born Natalija Nogulich , she began her acting career at the age of 28 with a small role in the 1978 film based in her home city of Chicago . Over the next few years , Nogulich appeared in a number of television series and movies including , ( 1981 ) , and . In 1987 , Nogulich guest - starred in an episode of the long - running television soap opera followed by an appearance in the popular show and the short - lived television remake of . Nogulich ' s first recurring role came in the television series , in which she played Aunt Miriam . This was followed by guest roles on , , , and , in the latter of which she played two separate characters . Following her appearances as Admiral Nechayev in the early nineties , Nogulich played two roles in the television series , and also played Louise Talbot in two episodes of . She nearly gained the recurring role of Agent Mulder ' s reluctant informant " X " in season two of " The X - Files " but was replaced at the last minute . Footage of her in the role can be found in the " X - Files " Season Two DVD set . In 1995 , she gained recurring roles playing Bernadette McDowell and Martina Spector in and , respectively . In 1997 , Nogulich gained the four - time recurring role of Judge Stevens in . This was followed by guest appearances on " C - 16 : FBI " , , ( with Kelsey Grammer in the title role ) and , as well as an episode of . In 2001 , she appeared in six episodes of the popular long - running soap , in which she played the role of Ingrid Mitchell . Nogulich ' s success improved throughout the 2000s , with appearances in increasingly popular TV series such as , , , , and . The late - 2000s saw Nogulich appear in the popular crime series , and " 24 " . More recently , she played the role of Elena in the short - lived ABC series , the one - time guest role of Judge Maddox on , and Helen Clark on . Admiral Nechayev . In an interview with SubspaceCommunique . com , Nogulich revealed she was given the part of Nechayev after interviewing for two different roles on " Star Trek : The Next Generation " . Though she was unsuccessful in the auditions , the producers were impressed by her work and later offered her the role of Nechayev . As Nogulich recalled , " " They liked my work , they seemed interested in me , but they said I wasn ' t quite right for that particular role , or whatever it was . " [ . . . ] " And then I went in the second time for something else , and it also wasn ' t a complete fit . But again , they were clearly interested in having me be , you know . . . when they ask you back to audition more than once , it ' s a sign that they ' re appreciative of your work . " [ . . . ] " So anyway , finally , the third time , my agent said , you know , you ' re going for this role which will probably recur and it ' s a very strong part . . . and they had actually gotten feedback about me from the other roles , I was too strong for whatever the other roles were . So this one is a really strong character and you can go for it and they seem to think it ' s a good match for you . So , I really dug my teeth in for the audition and worked very hard on it , and went in very prepared . It just felt great when I did it . It felt like I nailed it and indeed , what was a day later , or later that day , I ' m not sure , I got the call from my agent that I was going to do it . And then I ended up doing another , and another , and another . " " Nogulich came to believe that , had " The Next Generation " gone into another season , her character would have been developed even more with Picard so that their relationship wasn ' t as adversarial . Looking back on playing Nechayev , she recalled , " " It was a perfect fit . I mean , I have a Slavic background , she had a Slavic name . I do tend to play strong characters . I ' m a character actor and that was a good fit . " " When playing Nechayev , Nogulich was influenced by the experiences of her family , many of whom had served in the military . She drew particular influence from her father who had served in World War II , taking part in the Normandy invasion ; and her grandfather who was a Congressional Medal of Honor recipient . " " So having this background of , you know , military , " " Nogulich explained , " " I did look to that , what I had learned and observed from stories from them , and then . . . I realized what she was saying and realized this woman , Nechayev , was passionate about principle . She really believed in what she was saying was the absolute best thing for the Federation . And I got from her , like most leaders , she had to make hard decisions that were not popular . She couldn ' t afford to be the humanitarian that Picard was . She couldn ' t afford to say , ' well yeah , maybe the Borg are people too and we should be nice to them ' , you know . They were our enemies and she needed to the be the one who said , ' next time , you have an opportunity to destroy them , you will do it ' . " [ . . . ] " So , I guess when you ask me who historically . . . I really look to my dad and my grandfather . " " In a 2013 interview with Ellis Martin , Nogulich recalled a US Marine approaching her during the Official " Star Trek " Convention in Las Vegas and telling her of generals who watched her performance as Nechayev in order to get an idea of how to speak to their subordinates . Though she was flattered by the comment , Nogulich commented , " " It all goes back to the writing , I have to bow my head to that . Because they wrote a great character . And they wrote worthy conflict between me and Captain Picard . And also between me and Captain Sisko – Avery Brooks . " [ . . . ] " And perhaps it was fueled by the fact I was a woman , I don ' t know . " "