Bibiana Besch was an Austrian/American actress. Born in Vienna, Austria, she was the daughter of theater actress Gusti Huber, who starred in German films during World War II and left Austria in the mid 1940s.] Besch had a stepfather, Joseph Besch, a radio executive and former captain in the U.S. army. She had two sisters, Drea and Christina, and a brother, Andrew. She grew up in Chappaqua, New York and later moved to New York City.

Desiring to follow her mother's career as an actress, her mother insisted she try college instead. She attended a college for women in Connecticut for two years, before going to a New York acting school, the HB Studios. Before becoming an actress, she considered going into the Peace Corps.

Her most famous role was probably as Dr. Carol Marcus, the mother of Captain James T. Kirk's son in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

She started in soap operas in the late 1960s, playing the role of 'Janet Hill' on "The Secret Storm" (1966 to 1967), and the role of 'Susan Forbes' on "The Edge of Night." I remember watching her portray Iris Garrision every afternoon with my mother on "Love is a Many Splendored Thing" and my sister and I were faithful fans of her character, Eve Lawrence, when she was on "Somerset."

She worked steadily in television for the next twenty years, playing numerous small bit roles, and tried her hand at several movies, including "Steel Magnolias" (1989), "Tremors" (1990), and "Lonely Hearts" (1991). Over the course of her career, she worked steadily, and earned two supporting actress Emmy nominations for her role in the television movie, "Doing Time on Maple Drive," (1992) and for a guest appearance on the series, "Northern Exposure," (aired February 3, 1992) in which she played the role of 'Jane', the mother of 'Maggie O'Connell'. She also had a small role as the much-hated "Belle Marmillion" in the hit movie "Steel Magnolias." She continued to appear in films and television, including ER and Melrose Place, right up until her death.

Following a long battle with breast cancer, Bibi Besch died in September 1996, at the home of her sister-in-law, Jenny Besch. She was 56 years old. She left behind one daughter, actress Samantha Mathis.

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