Actress Stephanie Niznik, who starred in Everwood and Star Trek: Insurrection, died unexpectedly in Encino, California, on June 23, Variety reported Friday. She was 52.
The cause of her death remains unclear.
A winding path to acting
Niznik was born in Bangor, Maine. She did not intend to become an actress, but instead wanted to be a geneticist when she enrolled at Duke University. But at some point, the acting bug bit her, and she graduated with majors in theater and Russian.
A master’s degree from the California Insitute of the Arts (CalArts) rounded out her education, Variety reported. The young actress soon began getting small parts in TV shows and movies.
Niznik was most well-known for her role as neighbor Nina Feeney on Everwood. According to Fox News, Niznik attended the 15-year anniversary panel for the Everwood TV series in 2017.
Niznik also played Kell Perim in the film Star Trek: Insurrection, and held recurring and guest appearances on TV series like Nash Bridges, Diagnosis: Murder, NCIS, Lost, CSI: Miami, and Murder, She Wrote.
Colleagues mourn death of beloved actress
TV Line reported that colleagues including Everwood creator Greg Berlanti and showrunner Rina Mimoun mourned the death of the beloved actress.
The pair wrote in a statement: “We recently lost the mother of our tribe, Stephanie Niznik. Stephanie played Nina, the next-door neighbor to Andy Brown, and the woman who helped raise his children as he struggled with being a single father.”
They added that Niznik was “an artist who brought warmth, compassion, and humor to every episode and our set. Everyone who was lucky enough to know and work with her will miss her dearly,” they wrote.
Tributes also came in for Niznik from co-stars like Scott Wood, who played her long-time on-screen boyfriend, Jake.
Niznik was active in several charities, according to MSN. She volunteered for animal rescue organizations, hunger relief efforts, and children’s charities, and also worked with Four Winds Heart-Centered Healing.
She had two beloved dogs, Nucleus and Jake, who survive her along with several family members.
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