Joanne Linville Joanne Linville is an actress from Bakersfield , California who guest - starred on in , playing the Romulan commander in the episode . As such , she was the first actress to play a female Romulan in the " Star Trek " franchise , and it may be this role for which she is most well - known . According to the " " , Linville was asked to reprise her role as the Romulan commander for the episode , but was unavailable . Linville filmed her scenes on Wednesday , and between Monday and Wednesday at Desilu Stage 9 and Paramount Stage 3 . Linville began acting on television in the 1950s , appearing on several popular anthology series such as " Alfred Hitchcock Presents " , " Kraft Television Theatre " , and " One Step Beyond " . Perhaps her earliest was a 1954 episode of " Studio One " co - starring fellow TOS guest performer David Opatoshu . She went on to make three more appearances on " Studio One " ( including one with Fritz Weaver ) , and even had a recurring role on the show . Another early appearance for Linville was a 1956 episode of " The Kaiser Aluminum Hour " entitled " Gwyneth " , in which Linville played the title character . This episode also marked the first of several times Linville would work with her future " Star Trek " co - star William Shatner . She and Shatner next appeared together in a 1958 episode of " The United States Steel Hour " and then in a 1961 episode of " The Defenders " – both times playing husband and wife – before working together on " Star Trek " . She also worked with Leonard Nimoy prior to " Star Trek " , co - starring together ( with Paul Carr ) in a 1962 episode of the drama " Sam Benedict " . In 1959 , Linville co - starred with the man who played the " first " Romulan commander seen on " Star Trek " , Mark Lenard , on a " DuPont Show of the Month " production of " Don Quixote " . In 1961 , she starred as a Civil War widow unaware of the fact that she ' s dead in the episode of entitled " The Passerby " , co - starring with fellow " TOS " guest stars James Gregory and Rex Holman . She also guest - starred with Celia Lovsky in an episode of " Gunsmoke " that same year . She went on to appear on such shows as " Ben Casey " , " I Spy " , " The Fugitive " ( in an episode playing the wife of James Daly with Arch Whiting ) , " Bonanza " ( playing the daughter of Jeff Corey ' s character ) , two episodes of " Hawaii Five - O " ( including the two - part episode " Once Upon a Time " with Vince Howard , William Schallert , and Bill Zuckert ) , " Kojak " ( with Malachi Throne ) , " The Streets of San Francisco " , " CHiPs " ( with Robert Pine ) , " Charlie ' s Angels " ( with Bill Zuckert ) , and " Mrs . Columbo " ( starring Kate Mulgrew in the title role ) . She also co - starred with both Fritz Weaver and Jason Wingreen in one episode of two different shows : " The F . B . I . " in 1969 ( having previously appeared in an episode with William Smithers ) and " Barnaby Jones " in 1970 ( on which she had previously appeared with Richard Derr ) . Lee Meriwether was a regular on the latter series . " The FBI " episode with Linville and Fritz Weaver also featured Barry Atwater . Linville ' s career also included small roles in a few feature films , most notably as Burt Lancaster ' s wife in the 1973 action thriller " Scorpio " , which also featured fellow " Trek " veterans John Colicos , James B . Sikking , William Smithers , and Celeste Yarnall . Other films in which she appeared include 1976 ' s " A Star Is Born " and " Gable and Lombard " and 1982 ' s " The Seduction " ( starring Michael Sarrazin and Kevin Brophy ) . Her earliest film , however , was the Academy Award - nominated 1958 drama " The Goddess " . Additionally , Linville had roles in a number of made - for - TV movies , including 1970 ' s " House on Greenapple Road " , in which she played the wife of the character played by William Windom . Tim O ' Connor , Paul Fix , Ned Romero , Peter Mark Richman ( billed as Mark Richman ) , and Ena Hartman were also in this film . She also appeared in Lou Antonio ' s TV movie " The Critical List " in 1978 . During the 1980s , Linville made two appearances on the soap opera " Dynasty " ( starring Joan Collins and Lee Bergere ) , an episode of " L . A . Law " ( starring Corbin Bernsen and Larry Drake ) , and the 1989 TV movie " From the Dead of Night " ( with Merritt Butrick ) before retiring from acting . Linville was married from 1962 until 1973 to director Mark Rydell , and it was only for a supporting role in his 2001 TV biopic on James Dean that she briefly came out of retirement . She and Rydell had two children together – actors Amy and Chris Rydell , the latter of whom has appeared on . Amy Rydell later reprised her mother ' s role as the Romulan Commander for the fan series " Star Trek Continues " two - part finale , " To Boldly Go " . Linville herself participated in the fan audio drama " Starship Excelsior " for the 50th anniversary special , " Tomorrow ' s Excelsior " , reprising her role as the Romulan Commander .