Karen Montgomery

Actress, producer and film executive Karen Montgomery was best-known in front of the camera for her guest spot on "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (Syndication, 1987-1994) and behind it for her development work with several indie companies. Born in Chicago, IL but raised in California, Montgomery graduated from the University of Berkeley before landing her first industry role as an assistant on Hal Ashby's Oscar-nominated drama "Coming Home" (1978). Montgomery made her acting debut in the same year with a cameo on "Kojak" (CBS, 1973-78) and went onto bag minor parts in comedy films "Going in Style" (1979), "Willie and Phil" (1980) and "Coast to Coast" (1980), sitcom "Aloha Paradise" (ABC, 1981-82) and spoof anthology "Amazon Women on the Moon" (1987). But it was behind the scenes where Montgomery's career truly flourished with roles as a story analyst for IPC Films, Director of Development for American Filmworks and VP of Production for Euroscreen Partners. Following a one-off appearance as Princess Beata, the leader of female-dominated planet Angel I in "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (Syndication, 1987-1994), Montgomery began to move away from the spotlight with associate producer credits on the Forest Whitaker-starring crime drama "Diary of a Hitman" (1991), romantic comedy "'Til There Was You" (1997) and Jon Bon Jovi vehicle "Row Your Boat" (1999). Montgomery then teamed up with director husband Christopher Monger to produce a tribute documentary to her former acting coach, "Special Thanks to Roy London" (2005), and three years later achieved her final production credit on Rachel Carson biopic "A Sense of Wonder" (2008). Following a decade-long battle with breast cancer, Montgomery died in 2015 aged 66.