Who did Patti Yasutake play in Star Trek? Character explored as actress passes away at 70

Patti Yasutake, 70, unexpectedly passed away on August 5, 2024, after a long battle with cancer. She became popular for her performance as Nurse Alyssa Ogawa in three projects of the Star Trek franchise.

Yasutake's death was first confirmed to People magazine by her manager Kyle Fritz, who described her as a "family member" and added:

"She was the very first actress I ever signed and a friendship of over 30 years ensued. It was an honor to know her, work with her and love her."

When news of Patti Yasutake's death went viral, social media was flooded with tributes, praising her memorable performances.

Yasutake grew up in California and Inglewood and earned a theatre degree from the University of California. Besides acting, she directed plays such as Doughball and Father and I Must Have Rice. She also played Marsha in the 1988 film, The Wash, and was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female for the same.

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Patti Yasutake accumulated a huge fanbase from her performance in Star Trek

Yasutake's acting career originally started back in the 80s and she portrayed several memorable roles throughout her career. But the most famous in the list was Nurse Alyssa Ogawa, who appeared in two films of the Star Trek franchise along with a TV show. The projects came out during the 90s.

Patti Yasutake's character was a Starfleet officer inside the USS Enterprise and although she joined as an ensign in 2367, she was promoted to lieutenant junior grade in 2370. Apart from these, she even served as a senior sickbay staff member and had once tried to stop the metamorphosis of the Tarchannen III aliens.

She was even impacted by the psychotropically addictive effects of the Ktarian Game and was a nurse when the genetronic replicator was used for the first time as a part of conducting surgery on Lieutenant Worf's spinal column. On another occasion, she helped Dr. Crusher to perform an autopsy on engineer Joshua Kelly.

She participated in the investigation that was launched into the deaths of Jo'Bril and Reyga. She assisted Amanda Rogers in packing a shipment of tricorders for being transported to the planet.

Alyssa had once treated Commander William T. Riker alongside helping in the evacuation of sickbay and taking care of the injured crew members when the saucer section of Enterprise-D crashed. She shared a close friendship with characters such as Sam Lavelle, Taurik, and Sito Jaxa.

Ogawa was initially dating an Enterprise-D crew member and was romantically linked to characters like Markson and Lieutenant Andrew Powell.

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Patti Yasutake was active as an actress for around 39 years

Patti Yasutake's career dates back to the 80s when she was seen in several films. Her work on stage also received praise from the audience and she helmed workshop presentations at places such as the Los Angeles Theater Center.

Yasutake eventually shifted her focus to films and television, starting with the police drama, T.J. Hooker. She additionally had multiple TV films in her credits such as Blind Spot and Donato and Daughter.

Apart from Star Trek, she appeared as Fumi Nakai in the Netflix series, Beef. In an interview with Tudum last year, Patti opened up on her career after graduation and said:

"There [were] really no opportunities to have a career as an Asian American actress; I didn't do martial arts, I didn't speak a second language. Especially back then, that's all they saw you as."

Patti Yasutake played important roles in films including Dangerous Intentions, Drop Dead Gorgeous, and Unbelievable!!!!! Her survivors include siblings Linda Hayashi and Steven Yasutake.