Madge Sinclair Madge Sinclair was an Emmy Award - winning Jamaican - born American actress who made two appearances in the " Star Trek " franchise . She first portrayed the captain of the in . Although she did not receive on - screen credit for this role , she was the first female Starfleet captain to be seen in the history of " Star Trek " . She later played Captain Silva La Forge in the seventh season episode in . Outside of " Star Trek " , Sinclair is perhaps best remembered for her six - year , three - time Emmy Award - nominated role as Nurse Ernestine Shoop on the CBS television drama series " Trapper John , M . D . " She is also known for her Emmy - nominated portrayal of Bell Reynolds in the ground - breaking mini - series " Roots " , for her roles in the films " Conrack " ( 1974 ) , " Convoy " ( 1978 ) , and " Coming to America " ( 1988 ) , and for voicing Queen Sarabi in Disney ' s " The Lion King " ( 1994 ) . She is noted for her frequent collaboration with Academy Award - nominated actor ( which includes the aforementioned " Coming to America " and " The Lion King " , in which they played king and queen ) , though she has also had a long professional history with her on - screen " The Next Generation " son , LeVar Burton . Personal life . Sinclair was born Madge Dorita Walters in Kingston , Jamaica . She was first married to Royston Sinclair , a policeman , with whom she had two children . She was a teacher in Jamaica until 1968 , when she left for New York to become an actress , leaving her sons with their father . She was divorced from Sinclair the following year . In the early 1980s , while working on " Trapper John , M . D . " , Sinclair was diagnosed with leukemia , but she continued working regardless . In 1982 , she married an actor named Dean Compton . They remained married until December 1995 , when Sinclair died from leukemia in Los Angeles , California at the age of 57 . Career . Films . Sinclair made her film debut in the 1974 drama " Conrack " , opposite Paul Winfield . Like Sinclair , Winfield later appeared in a " Star Trek " film ( namely , ) and guest - starred in an episode of . ( She later worked with Winfield on the 1993 mini - series " Queen " , directed by John Erman . ) Sinclair ' s next film was 1975 ' s " Cornbread , Earl and Me " , which co - starred fellow " Star Trek " alumni Bernie Casey , Stefan Gierasch , Logan Ramsey , and Thalmus Rasulala . The following year , Sinclair appeared in " I Will , I Will . . . for Now " , with Paul Sorvino , and played the female lead in " Leadbelly " , co - starring Albert Hall . Her subsequent film credits were " Convoy " ( 1978 , with Seymour Cassel ) and " Uncle Joe Shannon " ( 1978 , with Bert Remsen ) . Perhaps Sinclair ' s best known film role is that of Queen Aoleon , wife of James Earl Jones ' King Joffe Joffer and mother of Eddie Murphy ' s Prince Akeem , in the 1988 Paramount Pictures comedy " Coming to America " . Sinclair and Jones again played King and Queen in Disney ' s animated 1994 hit " The Lion King " , in which she voiced Queen Sarabi opposite Jones ' King Mufasa . Whoopi Goldberg also worked on " The Lion King " , supplying the voice of Shenzi the Hyena . Television . With LeVar Burton and Ben Vereen . Sinclair ' s character in " Interface " was the mother of LeVar Burton ' s Geordi La Forge . Sinclair had in fact played Burton ' s mother in three prior television projects . She first worked with Burton in the 1976 PBS short " Almos ' a Man " , with Burton playing a boy and Sinclair his mother . This movie also starred Robert DoQui . Sinclair and Burton reunited the following year for the ground - breaking mini - series , although they did not play mother and son ; in fact , they didn ' t share any scenes together . In the series , Burton played the young Kunte Kinte while Sinclair played Bell Reynolds , the wife of the " older " Kinte , played by actor John Amos . The following year , however , Sinclair and Burton were back to playing mother and son when they co - starred together in the telefilm " One in a Million : The Ron LeFlore Story " . She again worked with Burton and again portrayed his mother in the 1980 TV movie " Guyana Tragedy : The Story of Jim Jones " , which also featured Brad Dourif , Meg Foster , and Ed Lauter . Interestingly , Sinclair ' s character on TNG was also the wife of Edward M . La Forge , played by Ben Vereen . Vereen was an actor on " Roots " , as well , where he played the grandson of Sinclair ' s character , Bell . Regular television roles and Emmy Awards . Sinclair was nominated for an Emmy Award as Outstanding Lead Actress for a Single Appearance in a Drama or Comedy Series for her performance in " Roots " . Afterward , she was given the role of Madge on the NBC sitcom " Grandpa Goes to Washington " . This series , however , only lasted for eleven episodes , from September 1978 through January 1979 . In 1980 , Sinclair joined the cast of the CBS medical drama " Trapper John , M . D . " , in which she played Nurse Ernestine Shoop . She received three consecutive Emmy Award nominations for her work on this series from 1983 through 1985 . She remained with the show until it ended its run in 1986 . Afterward , she became a regular on the ABC series " Ohara " , which ran for two seasons from January 1987 through May 1988 . During the 1990 - 1991 television season , Sinclair starred as Empress Josephine opposite James Earl Jones ' Gabriel Bird in the ABC series " Gabriel ' s Fire " . For her performance on this series , Sinclair won the 1991 Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series . The series was renewed for a second season and renamed " Pros and Cons " , but the series was canceled shortly thereafter . In 1994 , Sinclair was cast as Mary Tower , the live - in mother - in - law of Steve Harvey ' s Steve Tower , in the ABC situation comedy series " Me and the Boys " . This series only lasted for nineteen episodes before it was canceled ; the last episode aired in February 1995 . This show proved to be Sinclair ' s final screen work . Guest appearances . Sinclair has worked with other " Star Trek " performers as a guest - star on the following television series : " Star Trek : The Next Generation " was Sinclair ' s final work as a guest star .