Patti Yasutake has died at the age of 70. The actor was known for playing George’s (Joseph Lee) mother, Fumi Nakai, in Netflix‘s Beef and Nurse Alyssa Ogawa in Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Yasutake’s death was announced by her manager and friend, Kyle Fritz, to Deadline. Fritz said that Yasutake died peacefully on Monday, August 5 following a long battle with cancer. She was surrounded by friends and family at the time of her death.
“Patti was my first client when I began over thirty years ago,” Fritz said in a statement. “We enjoyed every day we got to work together, and I will miss her spirit talent and tenacity but most of all her friendship.”
Yasutake was most recently seen in Beef Season 1, but she also played Nurse Alyssa Ogawa in several Star Trek titles, including the Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek Generations films. She appeared in 16 episodes of the Star Trek: The Next Generation series from 1990-1994.
Yasutake had guest star roles in many TV shows, including Grey’s Anatomy Season 2 Episode 7, a memorable episode involving a man who believed he was pregnant but really had a massive tumor in his abdomen. Yasutake played Elaine Verma, mother of Nicole Verma, one of Derek’s (Patrick Dempsey) patients. Other TV credits include Notorious, Pretty Little Liars, NCIS: Los Angeles, The Closer, The Young and the Restless, ER, and more. Beef was her most high-profile TV role to date.
Yasutake was born and raised in Gardena and Inglewood in Los Angeles County, California. She studied theater at UCLA and went on to work with the East West Players company, which was founded by the acclaimed and pioneering Japanese-American actor Mako. Yasutake was with the company for six years, during which time she performed on stage and served on the company’s staff and the board. Her theater credits span three decades and included directing.
The East West Players is hosting a memorial for Yasutake. Her surviving family (including a sister and brother and many nieces and nephews) asks that a contribution to the theater be made in lieu of flowers.