Linville was born in Bakersfield, California, on January 15, 1928.[2] She attended high school in Long Beach, California, and worked as an oral surgeon's assistant before studying acting. While she studied with Stella Adler, she danced professionally to pay her tuition.[3]
In 1959, Linville appeared on the CBSdaytime dramaThe Guiding Light as Amy Sinclair, a runaway drug addict whose daughter was nearly taken from her as part of an illegal adoption scam ring. Linville starred in two television presentations of One Step Beyond— as Aunt Mina in the episode "The Dead Part of the House" (1959) and as Karen Wadsworth in the episode "A Moment of Hate" (1960).
In 1968, she guest-starred as a Romulan commander in Star Trek[5] episode "The Enterprise Incident". In this episode she falls for Spock after taking him aboard her spaceship for violating Romulan territory. She offers Spock an opportunity to command a ship of his own if he agrees to lead some Romulans on board the Enterprise and bring it to Romulus. Spock pretends to go along with her in order to steal the cloaking device from her ship, and he is successful. In the aftermath, however, Spock tells her that although “military secrets are the most fleeting of all”, he hopes that what they exchanged between them is “something more permanent”. This role earned Linville cult status, and remains her best-known performance.[6]
Linville retired from acting in the 1980s to concentrate on teaching.[6] She taught "The Power of Language" course at the Stella Adler Academy in Los Angeles in 1985.[5] One of her students was Mark Ruffalo, who wrote that she "does not theorise about great acting. She is great acting".[6]
Personal life
Linville was married to actor/director Mark Rydell from 1962 until their divorce in 1973. Linville had two children with Rydell: Amy and Christopher, both actors.[6] Her daughter Amy Rydell reprised her mother's role as Romulan commander Charvanek on episodes 10 and 11 of fan production Star Trek Continues.
Linville was also an amateur tennis player, and appeared at charity events where people were invited to pay $100 to challenge her in a game.[6]
^ ab"Joanne Linville". stellaadler.la. Stella Adler Academy of Acting & Theatre-Los Angeles. Archived from the original on November 9, 2019. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
^Marill, Alvin H. Movies Made for Television: The Telefeature and the Mini-Series 1964-1986, pp. 88, 190, 351, 367, 434
^Brooks, Tim and Marsh, Earle. The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows 1946-Present (4th edition). New York, Ballantine Books, 1988, p. 70
^"Joanne Linville". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Archived from the original on November 9, 2019. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
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