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Earlier this month,Star Treklost an actor of one of its beloved characters.Patti Yasutake, who played Nurse Ogawa,passed away due to cancer on June 01, 2025. Yasutake had an extensive acting career, especially considering that when she was first auditioning in the 1970s, there were very few roles for Asian American actors. This was even more difficult as Yasutakeneither did any martial artsnor spoke a second language. However, she worked hard, taking on a number of TV guest roles and commercials while also acting on the stage. One of Yasutake’s last roles, Fumi, the controlling artist mother-in-law to Ali Wong’s Amy inBeef,is a layered and memorable performance. But forStar Trekfans, Yasutake will always be Nurse Ogawa.
Nurse Alyssa Ogawa was a recurring role onStar Trek: The Next Generation.The character appeared in 16 episodes as well as two films,Star Trek GenerationsandStar Trek: First Contact. Although she might not have been as front and center to the series as Patrick Stewart’s Jean-Luc Picard orMichael Dorn’s Worf, Nurse Ogawa was beloved by fans and writers alike. Cheerful, responsible, and relatable, Nurse Ogawa is not only an excellent officer, but a great character and role model as well.
Nurse Ogawa Earned Her Career Achievements
Nurse Alyssa Ogawa first appeared on the Enterprise-D in Season 4, Episode 8 “Future Imperfect.” Although her initial appearance was part of a simulation, Ogawa would soon prove to be a very real and integral part of the medical staff. Serving initially as a head nurse and ensign, she was cheerful and pleasant to work with, but could revert to professionalism and focus whenever the situation required it. She was present for a number of surgeries,including Trill ambassador Odan,and even assisted during a risky surgery on Worf’s spinal column in Season 5, Episode 16, “Ethics.”
Eventually, Nurse Ogawa earned a promotion to lieutenant junior grade. By the time of Star Trek: First Contact, she had risen to the rank of full lieutenant, where she was serving on the USS Enterprise-E. Considering her stellar performance, it is easy to see how she quickly maneuvered up the ranks in Starfleet. But like all good Star Trek characters, there was more to her than her job performance.
Ogawa Flourished in Friendship and Love
Nurse Ogawa was friends with several crew members. This was most apparent in Season 7, Episode 15 “Lower Decks,” where she discusses promotions, plays games, and even mourns Ensign Sito Jaxa with her friends. However, her most important friendship on-screenwas with Dr. Beverly Crusher. Dr. Crusher not only trusted Nurse Ogawa with sensitive information, but showed an interest in Ogawa’s personal life.
Nurse Ogawa went on a few dates with crew members, until she fell in love with and later married Lieutenant Andrew Powell. Nurse Ogawa’s pregnancy in Season 7, Episode 19, “Genesis,” even holds a key to saving the crew of the USS Enterprise-D from de-evolution. Data utilized her amniotic fluid, which had protected Nurse Ogawa’s baby, as a template to create a retrovirus that would restore the crew back to normal.
In Season 6, Episode 22 “Suspicions,” Dr. Crusher believes that a Ferengi scientist’s death was a murder. Against the wishes of his family, who have made plans to perform the Ferengi death ritual, Dr. Crusher performs an autopsy. As a result ofviolating the Prime Directive, Dr. Crusher is temporarily relieved of duty. Nurse Ogawa decides to risk her career and to help Dr. Crusher in her investigation, proving herself to be a loyal friend and colleague.
One of Nurse Ogawa’s greatest contributions toStar Trekis also, arguably, her simplest: visibility. As Christine Dinh notes in herarticle on Nurse Ogawa featured on StarTrek.com, Nurse Ogawa and Keiko O’Brien weretwo visible Asian American womenon television during an era when such representation was rare. The positive impact of Nurse Ogawa, as an Asian American nurse who was not only great at her job but a well-rounded character as well, has been noted decades after Star Trek: The Next Generation’s final episode. The spirit of Star Trek has always been about moving forward and creating a better world. What better way to create that world than to show all kinds of people, especially unrepresented groups, working together with a common goal?
Although Nurse Alyssa Ogawa was not a main character in Star Trek: The Next Generation, she nonetheless had a positive impact. Patti Yasutake’s performance will be remembered for generations as the upbeat nurse who was not just great at her job, but a loyal friend who enjoyed romance and even became a mother during her time on the show. Star Trek has broken barriers with its representation since the beginning of the first series. As the franchisecontinues to expand into exciting, new projects, the hope is that it will continue to feature characters who, like Nurse Ogawa, will make a positive impact through thoughtful representation. After all, everyone deserves to live long and prosper.
