Bibi Besch - Definition and Overview

Bibi Besch (February 1, 1940, September 7, 1996) was one of those performers whom fans often recognize by their face, but rarely their name. She was born in Vienna, and by the early 60's had moved to the United States, and spent 1965 to 1976 appearing in a variety of daytime soaps such as The Secret Storm, The Edge of Night, Love is a Many Splendored Thing, and finally, Somerset. In addition to her theater career, she began appearing in more nationally known primetime features, such as the 1979 miniseries Backstairs at the White House. Her most famous role was probably as Dr. Carol Marcus, the mother of Captain Kirk (William Shatner)'s son in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. She also had a small role as the much-hated Belle in the hit movie Steel Magnolias.

In 1992 she received her first acting nomination (not counting a Razzie for the Pia Zadora film The Lonely Lady) for the landmark TV-movie Doing Time on Maple Drive. She received another a year later for her performance as Janine Turner's neurotic mother in a Northern Exposure episode. She continued to appear in films and television (including ER and Melrose Place) right up to her 1996 death from breast cancer. Ironically, she died one day before the 30th anniversary of the premiere of Star Trek.

Besch's mother was actress Gusti Huber, and her daughter is actress Samantha Mathis.

External Links

• [1] (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000935/?fr=c2l0ZT1kZnxteD0yMHxzZz0xfGxtPTIwMHxwbj0wfHE9YmliaSBiZXNjaHxodG1sPTF8bm09b24_;fc=1;ft=2) IMDB profile