Susan Bay

Susan Linda Bay Nimoy, born Susan Linda Bay on March 16, 1943, is an American actress, director, and producer. She is known for her television and film appearances, as well as her work behind the camera and her advocacy for female representation in Hollywood. Among her recognizable roles, she portrayed Admiral Rollman in two episodes of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

Bay made her acting debut in 1963 with appearances in the television series The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis and the film The Skydivers. Throughout the remainder of the 1960s, she appeared in guest roles on television programs such as Dr. Kildare in 1964 and Perry Mason in 1965. In 1967, Bay secured her feature film debut in a leading role in the Jerry Lewis comedy The Big Mouth, portraying Suzie Cartwright, the love interest of Lewis's character.

Her acting career continued through the 1970s and 1980s with various television appearances. Her credits during this period included episodes of One Day at a Time, Starsky and Hutch, Hart to Hart, Family Ties, and Remington Steele. She also held a lead role in the 1980 television pilot Alone at Last. In the 1990s, Bay portrayed Admiral Rollman in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episodes Past Prologue in 1993 and Whispers in 1994. Her later acting work included the 2009 feature film Mother and Child, and in 2019 she appeared in the CDC's Anti-Smoking Campaign Tips from Former Smokers to discuss her late husband's battle with COPD.

In addition to acting, Bay expanded into directing and production. In 1979, she was one of the Original Six, a group of women directors who established the Women's Steering Committee of the Directors Guild of America to protest gender discrimination in Hollywood and support female employment on film and television sets. She worked as a production consultant on the 1988 film The Good Mother, served as executive producer for the 1998 documentary film Liza Lou, and worked on documentary projects about Twyla Tharp and Mother Jones magazine.

Bay's directorial work includes staging the 2007 American premiere of Vern Thiessen's solo play Shakespeare's Will. She returned to film directing with the 2018 project Eve, a film addressing themes of aging and mourning. Bay wrote the script while grieving the death of her husband, Leonard Nimoy, and stepped into the starring role to help address the lack of older women represented on screen. The film was positively received and screened at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival.

Bay has also engaged in philanthropic efforts and governance, serving as a board member for the Foundation for National Progress. She and Nimoy made significant contributions to the arts and public institutions, including a $100,000 donation to the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles in 1999, support for the 2007 MOCA exhibition WACK! Art and the Feminist Revolution, and a $1 million donation to Griffith Observatory in 2008 for The Leonard Nimoy Event Horizon Theater.

In her personal life, Bay is a cousin of film director Michael Bay and Rabbi John Rosove. She married actor John Schuck in 1978, and the couple had a son, Aaron, in 1981 prior to their divorce in 1983. In 1989, she married Leonard Nimoy, remaining with him until his death in 2015. She was also photographed for Nimoy's monochrome art photography book Shekhina.