Bibi Besch

Bibi Besch (born Bibiana Maria Köchert; February 1, 1942 – September 7, 1996) was an Austrian-American film, television, and stage actress. She is best known for her portrayal of Dr. Carol Marcus in the science fiction film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982). Her other notable film roles were in Who's That Girl (1987), Steel Magnolias (1989), and Tremors (1990). Besch also appeared in a number of television series and received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations.

Bibi Besch
Born	Bibiana Maria Köchert (1942-02-01)February 1, 1942 Vienna, Austria
Died	September 7, 1996(1996-09-07) (aged 54) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1954–1996
Spouse(s)	Donald B. Mathis ​ ( m. 1965; div. 1973)
Children	Samantha Mathis
Parent(s)	Gotfrid Köchert Gusti Huber

Early life

Bibiana Maria Köchert was born in Vienna in 1942, the younger of two daughters born to theater actress Gusti Huber, who starred in German films during World War II, and Gotfrid Köchert, an Austrian racing driver, who served in the Wehrmacht. She had an elder sister, Christiana Barbara Köchert (August 17, 1939 – August 13, 2004). Gusti and her two daughters remained in Vienna throughout World War II, immigrating to the United States after the war ended. [1] Joseph Besch, a radio executive and former U.S. Army captain, married Huber, a divorcee, in 1946, and became Huber's daughters' stepfather; his stepchildren took his surname. Huber and Besch later had two children, born in the United States, Drea and Andrew, the half-siblings of Bibiana and Christiana.[2] Bibi, her sister and half-siblings,[3] grew up in Chappaqua, New York, where they attended local elementary and junior high schools. She graduated from Horace Greeley High School there in 1959, and attended Connecticut College for Women, but, before graduating, moved to New York City to become an actress. Her only child is Samantha Mathis, also an actress.

Career

Most of Besch's early TV experience came from years spent on New York-based daytime soap operas — The Secret Storm (1966), The Edge of Night (1969), Love Is a Many Splendored Thing (1973) and Somerset (1974). In later years she was seen in primetime soaps, such as Secrets of Midland Heights (1980), The Hamptons (1983), Dynasty (1984), Dallas (1985), Falcon Crest (1986), Knot's Landing (1989) and an episode of Melrose Place which aired on September 9, 1996, two days after her death.

Besch guest starred in a variety of television series, including Street Hawk, The Rockford Files, The Golden Girls, Murder, She Wrote, Backstairs at the White House, It's Garry Shandling's Show, and Date with an Angel. Having appeared on a 1979 episode of James Arness' western series, How the West Was Won, she reunited with him in the 1981 made-for-TV film McClain's Law which served as the two-hour debut episode of Arness' 1981–82 same-named police detective series.

She played Dr. Carol Marcus, the early love of Admiral James T. Kirk in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982). Her other films included Victory at Entebbe (1976), The Pack (1977), The Promise (1979), Meteor (1979), The Beast Within (1982), The Lonely Lady (1983), The Day After (1983), Mrs. Delafield Wants to Marry (1986), He's My Girl (1987), Who's That Girl (1987), Steel Magnolias (1989), Tremors (1990), and Betsy's Wedding (1990).

In 1992, she received an Emmy Award nomination for her performance in Doing Time on Maple Drive, which starred William McNamara and Jim Carrey as her sons. She received another Emmy nomination in 1993 for her recurring-character role as the neurotic mother of Janine Turner's character on Northern Exposure. She continued to act, with 11 television and film credits in 1996, her final year.

Death

Bibi Besch died at Daniel Freeman Hospital in Los Angeles on September 7, 1996 at age 54 following a long battle with breast cancer.[4]

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1975	Distance	Joanne Morse
1976	Victory at Entebbe	German Woman	TV movie
1977	The Pack	Marge
1979	Hardcore	Mary
1979	The Promise	Dr. Faye Allison
1979	Meteor	Helen Bradley
1981	McClain's Law	Annie Lammon	TV movie
1982	The Beast Within	Caroline MacCleary
1982	Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan	Dr. Carol Marcus
1983	The Lonely Lady	Veronica Randall
1983	The Day After	Eve Dahlberg	TV movie
1983	Likely Stories, Vol. 3	Beth Warner
1986	Mrs. Delafield Wants to Marry	Doreen Delafield	TV movie
1987	Who's That Girl	Mrs. Worthington
1987	He's My Girl	Marcia
1987	Date with an Angel	Grace Sanders
1989	Kill Me Again	Jack's Secretary
1989	Steel Magnolias	Belle Marmillion
1990	Tremors	Megan as The Doctor's Wife
1990	Betsy's Wedding	Nancy Lovell
1991	Lonely Hearts	Maria Wilson
1995	My Family	Mrs. Gillespie
1999	California Myth	Harriet	(final film role)

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominated work	Result
1984	4th Golden Raspberry Awards	Worst Supporting Actress	The Lonely Lady	Nominated
1992	44th Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Special	Doing Time on Maple Drive	Nominated
1993	45th Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series	Northern Exposure	Nominated

References

1. "BIBI BESCH, APPEARED IN TV ROLES". Retrieved May 18, 2015. [when accessed on August 4, 2020, this link was no longer active]
2. Profile Archived 2007-09-29 at the Wayback Machine AmericanHeritage.com; accessed November 3, 2015. [when accessed on August 4, 2020, this link was no longer active]
3. Gusti Huber obituary, variety.com; accessed November 3, 2015. [when accessed on August 4, 2020, this link was no longer active]
4. Van Gelder, Lawrence (September 14, 1996). "Bibi Besch, 54, Dies; TV and Film Actress And a Force in Guild". The New York Times. Retrieved August 4, 2020.

External links

• Bibi Besch on IMDb
• Bibi Besch at AllMovie

• Bibi Besch at Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)
• Bibi Besch at Find a Grave