Susanna Thompson
A versatile character actress, she brought regal authority and deep emotion to roles from the Borg Queen on Star Trek to the tragic matriarch Moira Queen on Arrow.
Born 1958 (age 68)·American actress·Birthday: January 27·Baby Boomers
Biography
Susanna Thompson possesses a commanding, intelligent presence that she has deployed across science fiction, network drama, and film for decades. Based in San Diego before moving to Los Angeles to pursue acting, she built her career not on leading-lady fame, but on a series of indelible, nuanced supporting turns. To genre fans, she is unforgettable as the chilling yet strangely vulnerable Borg Queen on 'Star Trek: Voyager,' and as the Trill scientist Lenara Kahn on 'Deep Space Nine,' in a landmark episode featuring television's first same-sex kiss between female characters. On network television, she brought grounded warmth to the divorced mother Karen Sammler on 'Once and Again' and later, a steely, tragic grandeur to Moira Queen, the morally complex mother on the CW's 'Arrow.' Thompson specializes in characters who contain multitudes—women of strength navigating profound loss, duty, and resilience.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Susanna was born in 1958, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Susanna Was Born
The biggest hits of 1958
#1 Movie
South Pacific
Best Picture
Gigi
#1 TV Show
Gunsmoke
Susanna's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1958Born
NASA founded
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,050Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Volare" — Domenico ModugnoBest Picture: Gigi
1963Started school
JFK assassinated in Dallas; Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,100Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Sugar Shack" — Jimmy Gilmer & The FireballsBest Picture: Tom Jones
1971Became a teenager
Voting age lowered to 18 in the US
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $18,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Joy to the World" — Three Dog NightBest Picture: The French Connection
1974Could drive
Nixon resigns the presidency
Gas: $0.53/galHome: $22,600Min wage: $2.00/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"The Way We Were" — Barbra StreisandBest Picture: The Godfather Part II
1976Could vote
Apple Computer founded; US bicentennial
Gas: $0.59/galHome: $29,300Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Silly Love Songs" — WingsBest Picture: Rocky
1979Turned 21
Iran hostage crisis begins; Three Mile Island accident
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $37,900Min wage: $2.90/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"My Sharona" — The KnackBest Picture: Kramer vs. Kramer
1988Turned 30
Pan Am Flight 103 bombed over Lockerbie
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $74,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Faith" — George MichaelBest Picture: Rain Man
1998Turned 40
Google founded; Clinton impeachment
Gas: $1.06/galHome: $107,300Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Too Close" — NextBest Picture: Shakespeare in Love
2008Turned 50
Barack Obama elected first Black US president; financial crisis
Gas: $3.27/galHome: $153,100Min wage: $6.55/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Low" — Flo RidaBest Picture: Slumdog Millionaire
2018Turned 60
Royal wedding of Harry and Meghan; Parkland shooting
Gas: $2.72/galHome: $211,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"God's Plan" — DrakeBest Picture: Green Book
2026Age 68 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Portrayed the formidable Borg Queen in multiple episodes of 'Star Trek: Voyager,' becoming one of the few actors to play the iconic villain.
- Played a central role as Karen Sammler on the critically acclaimed ABC drama series 'Once and Again' for three seasons.
- Appeared as Moira Queen, the mother of the title hero, throughout the first three seasons of the hit series 'Arrow.'
Did You Know?
She played Dr. Lenara Kahn in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Rejoined," which featured a much-publicized kiss between her character and Jadzia Dax (Terry Farrell).
Before her on-screen career took off, she performed in numerous theatrical productions in regional theatre.
She holds a degree in drama from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
“I am drawn to characters who hold a deep intelligence and a certain amount of mystery.”
