Visitor began her acting career in the 1970s on the
Broadway stage in such productions as
My One and Only. Her film debut (billed by her birth name, Nana Tucker) came in the 1977 horror film
The Sentinel. On television, Visitor co-starred in the short-lived 1976 sitcom
Ivan the Terrible and from 1978 to 1982, had short-lived regular roles on three soap operas: ''
Ryan's Hope,
The Doctors,
and One Life to Live.'' Upon the suggestion of her older brother Paris, she adopted the stage name "Nana Visitor" in the early 1980s, and had her name legally changed to "Visitor" some time later. In 1984, she appeared in a season-two episode of
Hunter. In 1985, Visitor made appearances on the television series
MacGyver, in the season-one episode "Hellfire" as Laura Farren, and in the season-two episode "DOA: MacGyver" as Carol Varnay. She also made an appearance in the fourth-season
Remington Steele episode titled "Steele Blushing" the same year. In 1986, she appeared in "Hills of Fire", a fourth-season episode of
Knight Rider, as well as third-season
Highway to Heaven episodes "Love at Second Sight" and "Love and Marriage, Part II" as Margaret Swann. In 1987, Visitor appeared as Ellen Dolan in a failed
television pilot for Will Eisner's pulp comic creation
The Spirit, starring
Sam J. Jones as the title character and
Garry Walberg as her father, Commissioner Dolan. In 1988, she made an appearance on the sitcom
Night Court as a mental patient who is obsessed with the movies. That same year, she made an appearance on the television series
In the Heat of the Night as the owner of the Sparta newspaper. She also made an appearance that year in an episode of
Matlock. In 1989, Visitor appeared in the fifth episode of the television series
Doogie Howser, M.D. as Charmagne, a rock star who has a throat nodule removed at Doogie's hospital, and as Miles Drentell's glamorous girlfriend, in "Success", a 1989 episode of
Thirtysomethings second season. In 1990, Visitor co-starred with
Sandra Bullock in the short-lived sitcom
Working Girl, which was based on the feature film of the same name. From 1993 to 1999, Visitor appeared on
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine as Major (later Colonel)
Kira Nerys, a former freedom fighter/terrorist from the planet Bajor, who fought against the occupation of her world by the
Cardassians. After the occupation ended, she was appointed as first officer of the series's eponymous space station, built by the Cardassians and turned over to
Starfleet. She revisited the character, as a voice actress, in the third season of the animated series
Star Trek: Lower Decks. She was also interested to play the character of
Kathryn Janeway in the series
Star Trek: Voyager, filmed at the same time. at the 2011 Star Trek convention in Las Vegas After
DS9 ended, Visitor had a recurring role as villain Dr. Elizabeth Renfro on the television series
Dark Angel. Visitor then starred as Roxie Hart in both the touring and Broadway companies of the musical
Chicago, including starring as Hart as curtains rose again after September 11, 2001. Visitor was then cast as Jean Ritter on the
ABC Family series
Wildfire, which premiered on June 20, 2005. In 2008, she appeared as Emily Kowalski, a dying cancer patient in "
Faith", an episode of the reimagined
Battlestar Galacticas fourth season. Visitor had a small role as
Pamela Voorhees in the 2009 version of
Friday the 13th. She has also lent her voice in a few appearances on the sitcom
Family Guy, such as Rita in the episode "
Brian's Got a Brand New Bag", and as the voice of the
Enterprise in "
Extra Large Medium." In 2011, she had a small part in the Hammer Horror film
The Resident, playing the realtor. She appeared in
Torchwood: Miracle Day episodes seven ("
Immortal Sins") and eight ("
End of the Road"). In 2012, she appeared as Dr. Patty Barker, a canine psychotherapist, in "An Embarrassment of Bitches", a
season-four episode of ABC's
Castle. 2024 saw the publication of her book, "Star Trek: Open a Channel: A Woman's Trek", a look at the female characters of the Star Trek franchise, and the actors who portrayed them. ==Personal life==