Star Trek cast members’ health, age and body stats
Nearly 60 years after the original series premiered, the Star Trek cast list reads like a case study in aging well. Three of the original bridge crew are still alive and still working. One of them flew to actual space at 90. Another spent eight shows a week on Broadway at 78.
The franchise also put some strange demands on its actors’ bodies — two-hour Klingon prosthetics, corsets so tight they caused fainting spells, headpieces that triggered migraines, and gold body paint applied every single morning for seven years. Below are the height, weight, age and health details for 11 cast members spanning TOS through Strange New Worlds.
1. William Shatner
Image: Super Festivals from Ft. Lauderdale, USA / CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Born March 22, 1931, Shatner turns 95 in 2026. He stands about 5 ft 9 in and has hovered near 175 lbs for decades. On October 13, 2021, he flew aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard NS-18 at age 90, briefly making him the oldest person ever to reach space.
His best-known health issue is tinnitus, caused by a pyrotechnics explosion on the TOS set of “Arena,” and he’s long been a spokesman for the American Tinnitus Association. He credits horses with keeping him moving — he breeds American Saddlebreds and ran the Hollywood Charity Horse Show for over three decades.
2. George Takei
Takei was born April 20, 1937, making him 88. He’s about 5 ft 8 in and around 160 lbs — essentially the same frame he had as Sulu in 1966. A lifelong runner, he has completed the Los Angeles Marathon.
At 78 he starred in the Broadway musical Allegiance, performing eight shows a week in a production based on his family’s WWII incarceration at Rohwer and Tule Lake. He married Brad Altman in 2008 and keeps a brutal travel and convention schedule well into his late 80s.
3. Jennifer Hetrick
Born May 21, 1958, Hetrick is 67. She’s listed around 5 ft 7 in and about 130 lbs. Trek fans know her as Vash, Picard’s archaeologist love interest, across three episodes — “Captain’s Holiday,” “Qpid” and the Deep Space Nine installment “Q-Less.”
Outside the franchise she logged dozens of episodes as Corinne Hammond on L.A. Law and appeared on Melrose Place and Falcon Crest — a rare guest star who became permanent Trek lore off three appearances.
4. Patrick Stewart
Image: John Manard / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Stewart, born July 13, 1940, is 85. He’s about 5 ft 10 in and about 170 lbs. He started losing his hair at 19 — which is exactly why he looked ageless across 25 years of playing Picard.
In 2017 he went public about using a cannabis-based oral spray and ointment daily to manage arthritis in both hands, saying it helped him make a fist again. He led Picard for three seasons from 2020 to 2023, wrapping the final season at 82.
5. Jonathan Frakes
Image: TheMighty (photo), Dapete (cropping) / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
At 6 ft 2 in, Frakes is one of the tallest regulars the franchise has had. Born August 19, 1952, he’s 73 and carries around 195 lbs. His height is the practical origin of the “Riker maneuver” — swinging a leg over chair backs rather than folding himself into them.
He’s since become the franchise’s go-to director, helming episodes of Discovery, Picard, Lower Decks and Strange New Worlds, plus the features First Contact and Insurrection.
6. Michael Dorn
Dorn is 6 ft 3 in and about 215 lbs, born December 9, 1952 — he’s 73. He’s appeared in more Star Trek episodes than any other actor, about 270 across TNG and DS9, each requiring up to two hours in the Worf prosthetic chair.
He’s a longtime vegan and a licensed pilot who has owned and flown fighter jets, including an F-86 Sabre. Not many 73-year-olds are cleared for that.
7. Kate Mulgrew
Born April 29, 1955, Mulgrew is 70. She’s around 5 ft 5 in and about 130 lbs. She played Captain Janeway across 172 episodes of Voyager from 1995 to 2001, then returned to the role in Prodigy in her late 60s.
Her second act as Red on Orange Is the New Black ran seven seasons. She’s also written two memoirs and spent years advocating on Alzheimer’s awareness after her mother’s diagnosis.
8. Jeri Ryan
Ryan, born February 22, 1968, is 57. She’s 5 ft 8 in and about 130 lbs. The original Seven of Nine costume was notoriously brutal — a one-piece corseted suit so restrictive she couldn’t sit down between takes and passed out on set more than once from the compression.
She returned as Seven at 51 for Picard in 2020, this time in a far more practical costume, and stayed through the 2023 finale.
9. Walter Koenig
Born September 14, 1936, Koenig is 89. He’s about 5 ft 7 in and about 150 lbs. Along with Shatner and Takei, he’s one of only three surviving main cast members from the original series.
Chekov’s famous mop-top was a wig for most of the first season — producers hired him partly for a Monkees-style youth appeal. He later played the far darker Alfred Bester on Babylon 5.
10. Anson Mount
Mount, born February 25, 1973, is 52. He’s 6 ft 0 in and around 185 lbs — a build he first put together for five seasons of hard-riding Western work on Hell on Wheels.
As Captain Pike he’s handled a heavy stunt load on Strange New Worlds since 2022. He’s also spoken publicly about meditation as a daily practice.
11. Rebecca Romijn
At 5 ft 11 in and about 140 lbs, Romijn is the tallest woman on this list. Born November 6, 1972, she’s 53. Before Trek she modeled for Victoria’s Secret and Sports Illustrated.
Playing Mystique in the X-Men films meant up to nine hours of full-body paint and prosthetics per shooting day. Number One on Strange New Worlds is, by her own account, considerably easier on the skin.
The pattern is hard to miss: long-running Trek actors stay physically active, keep working into their 70s and 80s, and treat the convention circuit like a part-time cardio program. Shatner flying to space at 90 and Takei running marathons into his senior years aren’t flukes — they’re the extreme end of a cast that’s aged better than almost any ensemble in television.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the oldest Star Trek cast member still working?
William Shatner, born March 22, 1931, turns 95 in 2026 and still keeps an active convention and production schedule. He stands about 5 ft 9 in and has stayed near 175 lbs for decades.
Which Star Trek actor actually flew to space?
William Shatner flew aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard NS-18 on October 13, 2021, at age 90. The trip briefly made him the oldest person ever to reach space.
How does this Star Trek list choose its cast members?
The list covers 11 actors spanning The Original Series through Strange New Worlds, detailing their height, weight, current age and documented health conditions.
Which Star Trek cast members have public health conditions?
William Shatner has tinnitus caused by a pyrotechnics explosion on the TOS set of ‘Arena,’ and Patrick Stewart went public in 2017 about using a cannabis-based spray and ointment daily for arthritis in both hands.
What physical demands did Star Trek make on its actors?
Actors endured two-hour Klingon prosthetics, corsets tight enough to cause fainting spells, headpieces that triggered migraines, and gold body paint applied every morning for seven years.
Which Star Trek actor is the most athletic?
George Takei, 88, is a lifelong runner who has completed the Los Angeles Marathon and performed eight shows a week on Broadway in Allegiance at age 78.
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Last Updated: October 30, 2026 | Source: Healthy Celeb
