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I stumbled across this screenshot which apparently comes from the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode 'Suspicions':

side view of a woman with shoulder-length red hair, wearing a blue uniform

It was described as Beverly Crusher, but the more I look at it, the more something doesn't seem right.

I can't quite say what is wrong. Who is this? I don't remember another red-haired female Starfleet officer in the episode, so it has to be Crusher right? Is it a body double for Gates McFadden? The person bears quite the resemblance to Crusher but it's just not quite dead on to me, but I keep going back and forth. The person does seem familiar though for other reasons, but I can't quite place it.

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  • 21
    Definitely Beverly Crusher, whether or not it is Gates McFadden idk
    – Tdmut
    Commented Sep 18, 2015 at 0:25
  • 15
    It very well could be Wesley.
    – Major Stackings
    Commented Sep 18, 2015 at 4:46
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    It's totally Beverly Crusher. -- This is going to be the new "The Dress" for nerds -- is it "blue" or "black"?
    – BrainSlugs83
    Commented Sep 18, 2015 at 12:46
  • 1
    Good ol' Lyta Alexander.
    – Omegacron
    Commented Sep 18, 2015 at 17:31
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    My bounty message seems to have gone away, so for posterity's sake: all there was to go on was a frame with just a glancing side view but I got what I needed from user Praxis within minutes. Then he/she responded to my throwaway comment about the face seeming familiar by updating the answer with all kinds of interesting info about Patricia Tallman's roles in star trek and sci-fi. I don't really need or want all the reputation I got from asking this question, so I've donated part of what I've earned in thanks for this impressive answer!
    – Avatar_sully
    Commented Sep 23, 2015 at 0:42

1 Answer 1

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This is Beverly Crusher, but played by Gates McFadden's body double, Patricia Tallman.

the two actresses side-by-side, both have red hair and a blue uniform; they look very much alike

Here she is on the set of the film Star Trek: Generations, again doubling for McFadden:

Ms. Tallman seen from above, smiling, while wearing a heavy jacket, on a filming set. Crewmember in the background

This is another instance where you can see Tallman's face in the finished product. In the corresponding scene from the film, Data is conversing with Crusher played by McFadden, but it is Crusher played by Tallman who actually gets pushed into the water. You can see Tallman's face when the camera turns to Crusher being unhappy in the water.

If Tallman seems familiar to you, it could be because:

  • she guest starred many times in all of the TNG-era Star Trek series, playing a multitude of characters
  • she played telepath Lyta Alexander on Babylon 5

Tallman was also the body double for Nana Visitor (Kira Nerys in DS9) and Terry Farrell (Jadzia Dax, also in DS9).

Here she is guest starring as various other characters on Star Trek:

woman in a door frame, short red hair, yellow and black uniform woman pointing a gun at the camera, looking angry, she visibly means business woman with long hair staring at the camera, wearing thick shoulder pads. Two men in the background angry-looking woman with a black bowlcut, cranial ridges and pointy ears surprised woman wearing a blue and yellow uniform, her hair is tied same woman holding a device emitting light and wearing an emblem on her chest woman with long red hair wearing a yellow uniform

Finally, here she is as Lyta Alexander on Babylon 5:

credits line for a red-haired woman reading "Patricia TALLMAN as Lyra Alexander"

Tallman is also a professional stuntwoman, and her stunt work appears in many films and television series, including Jurassic Park (1993), TNG, DS9, Voyager, and Babylon 5.

You can read more about her and her contributions to Star Trek here.

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    wow - i knew Patricia Tallman played a crewman once, but never realised how many other roles she had in ST, or that she was a body double for Gates McFadden
    – HorusKol
    Commented Sep 18, 2015 at 4:12
  • 13
    Makes me think of Spaceballs...
    – Oliphaunt
    Commented Sep 18, 2015 at 8:47
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    Just as she had been a body double for 3 different people, that suggests to me that "doubling" is a special skill in and of itself
    – Gaius
    Commented Sep 18, 2015 at 9:05
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    @T.J.Crowder : J. Michael Straczynski or "JMS", the creator of Babylon 5 (just to clarify for others). ;-)
    – Praxis
    Commented Sep 18, 2015 at 15:10
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    Must suck, however, to be around Trek for so long playing separate roles and never landing a full gig
    – user001
    Commented Sep 18, 2015 at 16:31

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