Biography

A former Screen Actors Guild board member, she later went on to become president of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

The scene where her L.A. Law (1986) character Rosalind Shays is discovered in bed with her enemy Leland McKenzie, played by Richard Dysart, was ranked as the 38th greatest moment in television (the list originally appeared in the March 1991 issue of EGG magazine).

Said in an interview in People Magazine in 2000, that the L.A. Law (1986) actors were like family to her, but that she didn't have fond memories of the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987).

In celebration of the Star Trek (1966) 40th Aniversary, several conventions were held in its honor. Diana hadn't done a Star Trek convention in 10 years. She participated in one in Las Vegas on Sept. 15, 2006, along with several other Star Trek veterans.

Often plays characters with the title Doctor. Her most noted ones in Trek lore were, respectively: biologist "Dr. Ann Mullhall" (original series episode: Return to Tomorrow (1968)), psychologist "Dr. Miranda Jones" (original series episode: Is There in Truth No Beauty? (1968)) and physician "Dr. Katherine Pulaski" (season two of Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987)). Each having an open-minded view of the Universe.

On doing a "Star Trek" convention after 10 years: "One of the main reasons I'm here, if not the entire reason I'm here, is to celebrate Gene Roddenberry. He discovered me, in many ways, when I was a kid in Hollywood, and he put me in two different segments of the original Star Trek (1966), which were a total joy to do. I cannot tell you how inventive and how creative everybody was who worked on that show, from the actors, the makeup, the hair, the camera ... I will never forget it as long as I live" (2006).

"Most of my career I have played interesting - particularly in my day which was a long time ago - interesting roles that were women doing something other than just motherhood. Sometimes it was just motherhood, which was also just as important. But also it was doctors, lawyers... Certainly that's how Gene always saw me, as a human being on the face of this Earth with some dignity, which is what I have tried to portray in all of my roles ... I think we tend as people to denigrate ourselves often, and the joy of trying to bring whatever that basic wonderful dignified thing is, that is in each and every human being, is very important to me." (2006)

About Gene Roddenberry: "The qualities that I admired so in him were his creativity, because in Hollywood they buy you because you're creative and then they try to take it all out of you, to make you commercial, and he never ever gave in." (2006)

I worked with him in the mid-'60s on Broadway in New York, and I was just a kid starting out and he was a big star and a character star, and the joy was that because he looked older he was playing wonderful older character roles which made him, I think, the great actor that he is today...he's wonderful! - about her L.A. Law (1986) co-star Richard Dysart.

I just fell in love with it, in love with the history of it, with all of it. I didn't discover film until much later. Beneath my dignity, film was. I was one of those repulsive creatures. (on her early days acting in school plays)