The South African actress who starred in a sci-fi cult classic

Alice Krige is one of South Africa’s most renowned thespians, having performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company. However, many may be more familiar with her role as the Borg Queen in the Star Trek franchise.

Krige was born in Upington in 1954 and grew up in what she has described as a “very happy family”. Her mother, Patricia, was a professor of psychology, and her father, Louis, was a physician.

She had two brothers who followed in the footsteps of their parents, with one becoming a physician and the other a professor of surgery.

While she also had plans to pursue a similar career path, attending Rhodes University in Grahamstown to study psychology, Krige decided to turn to the arts after taking an acting class at the institution.

This led her to study for a Bachelor of Arts and then a BA Honours degree in drama, which she completed with distinction.

Krige made her professional debut at the age of 22 when she played the female lead in the romantic drama film Vergeet My Nie, directed by Elmo De Witt.

Obsessed with theatre, she decided to go overseas to further her studies and attended the Central School of Speech and Drama in London.

The institution boasts several famed performers and writers, including Dame Judi Dench, Carrie Fisher, Andrew Garfield, and Harold Pinter.

While in England, she made her British television debut in an episode of BBC2 Playhouse, and a year later starred as Lucie Manette in A Tale of Two Cities, alongside Chris Sarandon.

After appearing in two more British films, Chariots of Fire and Ghost Story in 1981, she joined the Royal Shakespeare Company.

There, she played Cordelia in King Lear, Miranda in The Tempest, Bianca in The Taming of the Shrew, and Roxanne in Cyrano de Bergerac.

The year she joined, she was presented with the Laurence Olivier Award for Most Promising Newcomer after her performance in a West End theatre production of George Bernard Shaw’s Arms and the Man.

The beginning of television and cinema

After leaving the RSC, Krige starred in a number of made-for-television films and miniseries, such as Ellis Island, Wallenberg: A Hero’s Story, and Dream West, between 1984 and 1986.

She married British director Paul Schoorman, who had directed Chariots of Fire.

The rest of the decade saw her appear in films such as King David, Barfly, Haunted Summer, and See You in the Morning, as well as Sleepwalkers, written by Stephen King, in the early 1990s.

In 1996, Krige played the Borg Queen in Star Trek: First Contact, the eighth movie of the franchise.

For the performance, which required an immense amount of makeup, she won the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress the following year.

Krige would return to play this role for the Star Trek: Armada II video game and the series’ grand finale of Star Trek: Voyager.

The early 2000s saw her take on several horror roles in movies such as The Little Vampire, The Calling, Silent Hill, and Stay Alive.

Krige’s performances up until this point earned her an honorary doctorate in literature from Rhodes University.

Returning to her roots in 2008, Krige appeared in the South African biographical drama Skin, which explores the issues faced by the main character, played by Sophie Okonedo, who was classified as Coloured by the apartheid government.

Over the next decade, she took on numerous television roles, appearing in Spooks and Waking the Dead, as well as making guest appearances on Six Feet Under, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, The 4400, Dirty Sexy Money, and NCIS.

In 2015, Krige was presented with the Special Jury Award at the International Film Festival for Peace, Inspiration, and Equality in Jakarta, alongside Andy Garcia and Jimmy Carter, for her performance in the film Shingetsu.

In the film, she plays a war-traumatised surgeon with Doctors Without Borders.

Since then, Krige has taken on several Netflix roles, including starring in The OA, A Christmas Prince, and the 2022 remake of Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

Other films she appeared in during this period include Echoes of the Past and Gretel and Hansel.

Today, Krige and her husband live what she calls an “itinerant” lifestyle. Although they do have a permanent home in the US, they spend most of their time abroad.