Patti Yasutake, known for her roles onStar Trek: The Next GenerationandBeef, has died of cancer. News of Yasutake’s passing was reported toDeadlineby Yasutake’s longtime friend and agent,Kyle Fritz. Yasutake as 70.
Born in Los Angeles on August 08, 2025, Yasutake graduated with honors from UCLA’s theater program, and began acting with the East West Players, an Asian-American theater group co-founded by, among others, veteran actorsMakoandJames Hong. She made her TV debut on a 1985 episode of theWilliam Shatnercop showT.J. Hooker, and hit the big screen a year later in theMichael KeatoncomedyGung Ho, playing the wife of Japanese auto plant managerGedde Watanabe. Both Yasutake and Watanabe returned for the short-lived TV version of the movie. In 1988, she starred alongside Mako in the filmThe Wash; her performance was well-received, and she was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award.
Who Is Nurse Alyssa Ogawa?
One of Yasutake’s best-known roles came about in 1990, when she was cast as a Starfleet nurse on “Future Imperfect”, a fourth-season episode ofStar Trek: The Next Generation. Typically used to give Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) a sounding board, the character proved popular, and was soon given a name, Alyssa Ogawa; she ultimately appeared in sixteen episodes of the show’s last four seasons. In the seventh season, she was spotlighted on the episode “Lower Decks”, and was part of a multi-episode subplot about her romance and eventual marriage to a fellow crew member, and her subsequent pregnancy. Yasutake reprised the role in two movies with theNext Generationcast; 1994’sStar Trek: Generationsand 1996’sStar Trek: First Contact. She also appeared in-character as Ogawa in a 1993 TV commercial for Hallmark’sUSS EnterpriseChristmas ornament.
Yasutake made a number of TV guest appearances; series she guested on includeGrey’s Anatomy,The Closer,Boston Legal, andNCIS: Los Angeles. She also appeared in a number of films, includingStop! Or My Mom Will Shoot,Drop Dead Gorgeous, and theStar TrekparodyUnbelievable!!!!!alongside a number of other Star Trek alumni. Recently, Yasutake had a prominent role on Netflix’s acclaimed miniseriesBeef, starring asFumi Nakai, the passive-aggressive mother-in-law of Amy (Ali Wong). She was also a prominent stage actor and director.
Yasutake died peacefully at her home, surrounded by family and friends. She is survived by two siblings,Linda HayashiandSteven Yasutake, and by many nieces and nephews.
