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Posted in: Paramount+, Star Trek, TV | Tagged: Madge Sinclair, paramount, star trek, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, star trek: discovery, Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: Remembering Madge Sinclair & Her Impact on The Franchise
With Star Trek: Discovery ending its run, we look back on Madge Sinclair's impact as the first person of color & woman to serve as captain.
Article Summary
- Madge Sinclair paved the way as the first female and POC Starfleet captain in Star Trek IV.
- Her collaborations with LeVar Burton in Roots and TNG highlighted her societal influence.
- Sinclair's legacy extends beyond Star Trek, with key roles in other film and television works.
- Sinclair set a foundation in the franchise, inspiring future leads like Sonequa Martin-Green.
It's easy to get lost in the fanfare of Star Trek given the franchise's rich history producing generations of pioneering characters, especially within the last 40 years embracing diversity in leadership roles. As we wind down the fifth and final season of Discovery with Star Trek's first African American female lead Sonequa Martin-Green, it would be easy to miss anyone who may have helped pave her way. While everyone points to the contributions, and deservedly so, of The Original Series star Nichelle Nichols, one unsung hero of Star Trek is the late Madge Sinclair, who would have turned 86 on April 28th. The actress, who passed in 1995, has been a veteran of film and TV since her debut in 1972's Madigan, becoming a regular ongoing presence for over three decades.
Madge Sinclair's Pioneering Roles on Star Trek
Sinclair, best known for her work on CBS's Trapper John, M.D., ABC's Gabriel Fire, and Paramount's Coming to America, was tapped in an uncredited role as captain of the U.S.S. Saratoga in 1986's Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, marking the first time in franchise history, we've seen not only a woman in such a high position but also a POC with also a nod to Brock Peters' Admiral Cartwright and Paul Winfield's Capt Terrell. Sinclair, who developed a long working relationship with The Next Generation star LeVar Burton (including the groundbreaking miniseries Roots), would return to the franchise for TNG playing his mother and captain of the doomed U.S.S. Hera, Sylvia La Forge in the season seven episode "Interface", in one of her final roles.
Sinclair's "return" to the captain's chair in October 1993 was on the tail end of another franchise-making moment with the premiere of Deep Space Nine with Avery Brooks playing Star Trek's first POC lead in Benjamin Sisko, the Starfleet commander-turned-captain in January. Two years later, Kate Mulgrew would be the first female franchise lead when Voyager premiered in 1995 on UPN. Martin-Green would be the next pioneer in 2017 when Discovery premiered as a flagship series for Paramount+. In her final years, Sinclair would continue making magic with appearances on HBO's Dream On, ABC's Me and the Boys, and her final signature role as Sarabi in Disney's animated classic The Lion King (1994). Sinclair deserves far more than to be a footnote in Star Trek's history, she should be celebrated in the same vein as Nichols, Brooks, Mulgrew, and Martin-Green.
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