Gabrielle Beaumont, the First Woman to Direct a Star Trek Episode, Dies
Gabrielle Beaumont directs Brent Spiner as Data, Michael Dorn as Worf and Gates McFadden as Beverly Crusher in the STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION episode “The High Ground”. Image: Paramount.
DECEMBER 16, 2022 - Last year we celebrated the birthday of this pioneering director, who lobbied to get Joan Collins cast on Dynasty and who was Daphne du Maurier’s cousin. We must now let you know that the British producer and director Gabrielle Beaumont has died, at the age of 80.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Beaumont died peacefully at her home in Spain on October 8. After Beaumont’s work on British horror films, Aaron Spelling hired her to direct television episodes, and she went on to work on many series, including M*A*S*H, Hill Street Blues, and Law & Order. Beaumont became the first woman to direct an episode of Star Trek, Star Trek: The Next Generation’s season three entry, “Booby Trap.” In all, she directed seven episodes of TNG and one episode each of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager.
In 1986, Beaumont received an Emmy nomination for outstanding directing in a drama series, for Hill Street Blues.
For more on the life and career of Gabrielle Beaumont, head over to The Hollywood Reporter, and please join us in offering our condolences to her friends and family.
David is a contributing writer for Daily Star Trek News on the Roddenberry Podcast Network. He is a librarian, baseball fan, and book and movie buff. He has also written for American Libraries and Skeptical Inquirer. David also enjoys diverse music, but leans toward classical and jazz. He plays a mean radio.
