Salome Jens

Salome Jens, born May 8, 1935, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is an American actress and dancer whose career has spanned stage, film, and television across more than six decades. After briefly attending the University of Wisconsin–Madison and Northwestern University, where she studied acting, Jens relocated to New York City. There she worked as a secretary while pursuing her artistic training, studying dance under Martha Graham and acting at HB Studio.

Her Broadway career ran from 1956 to 1971 and included a range of dramatic productions. Jens took starring roles in First One Asleep, Whistle, and Night Life, and also appeared in Mary Stuart, A Patriot for Me, and the musical I'm Solomon. Beyond Broadway, she built a substantial presence in New York theater, most notably earning strong notices for her portrayal of Josie in A Moon for the Misbegotten at Circle in the Square Theatre in the late 1960s. She also played the thief in the New York premiere of Jean Genet's The Balcony and performed with the American Shakespeare Theatre company in Antony and Cleopatra in 1972. In 2007, Jens received a Back Stage West Garland Award for her work in the play Leipzig.

Jens made her film debut as the title character in Terror from the Year 5000 in 1958, a film later featured in the eighth season of Mystery Science Theater 3000. She went on to appear in Angel Baby (1961), in which she played the title role and received an introductory screen credit, followed by The Fool Killer (1965), Seconds (1966), Me, Natalie (1969), Savages (1972), The Boy Who Talked to Badgers (1975), Diary of the Dead (1976), Cloud Dancer (1980), Harry's War (1981), and Just Between Friends (1986).

On television, Jens accumulated an extensive body of work beginning in the early 1960s. She appeared in a 1962 episode of The Defenders, and in 1963 had roles on both The Untouchables and The Outer Limits. Later guest appearances in the decade included episodes of The Rat Patrol and I Spy. In 1967, she joined the cast of the soap opera Love Is a Many Splendored Thing, playing Audrey Hurley in approximately 500 episodes through 1973. During the 1970s, her television work included episodes of Bonanza, Gunsmoke, McMillan and Wife, The New Land, Gibbsville, and Medical Center. From 1976 to 1977, she played Mae Olinski in 43 episodes of the soap opera parody Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman.

Throughout the 1980s, Jens appeared in episodes of The Colbys, Cagney and Lacey, MacGyver, Falcon Crest, The Hogan Family, and The Wonder Years. She portrayed Martha Kent, Clark Kent's mother, in multiple episodes of the television series Superboy from 1988 to 1992. In 1992 and 1993, she appeared in a three-episode arc of the seventh season of L.A. Law and played Joan Campbell in several episodes of the first season of Melrose Place, returning for a single episode in the show's sixth season in 1997.

Jens became widely recognized among science fiction audiences through her work in the Star Trek franchise. In 1993, she appeared in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Chase" as a member of the ancient race responsible for seeding the galaxy with humanoid life. She then took on the recurring role of the Female Changeling in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, appearing across five seasons from 1994 to 1999. In 2018, she reprised that role for the video game Star Trek Online.

In addition to her acting work, Jens provided narration for documentary projects including The Great War and the Shaping of the 20th Century, and voiced the female Guardian in the 2011 animated film Green Lantern.