Star Trek and Beef actress Patti Yasutake dies aged 70

Patti Yasutake, best known for her roles in the Star Trek franchise and Netflix drama Beef, has died at the age of 70.

The US actress died of cancer in Santa Monica, California, on Monday, her manager Kyle Fritz told the PA news agency.

“It was my honour to be Patti’s friend and manager for over 30 years,” he told PA.

“She was aged 70, she would have been 71 on September 6.”

Yasutake’s last TV role was one of the most high profile of her career, playing mother and widow Fumi Nakai in Beef, a drama about a duo (Steven Yeun and Ali Wong) who start a life-changing feud after a road rage incident.

The series dominated awards season this year, winning gongs including at the Primetime Emmy Awards, the Golden Globes and the Critics Choice Awards.

Yasutake also played Nurse Alyssa Ogawa on Star Trek: The Next Generation, a role she reprised in the 1994 film Star Trek Generations.