This is my philosophy since 'Star Trek' and 'Battlestar': You have to be willing to have fandom hate what you're doing or love it and not care either way on a certain level, because you cannot become a slave to their emotion or their vote. It's not a democracy, as I'm always fond of saying.

I think I started watching 'Trek' in the mid-'70s when I was in elementary school, and I was just into space. Somewhere along the way, I started realizing there were really interesting ideas in the show.

What got my interested in science fiction was actually the American space program.

Looking back now on our workload, I just shake my head at our pace. 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' was my first series, so I didn't know anything about that when I started. I just assumed it was normal to make 26 episodes a year on a seven-day shooting schedule.

My mom was such an amazing example. She was a mom, wife, and a career woman.

When I was a little girl, I dreamt of winning grand slams and being No. 1 in the world. That dream stays the same as long as you're doing the career that you're on. I think it would be silly for that to change.

I am not a politician. I am an engineer who has spent most of his career working in factories that manufacture the world's most advanced devices.

Married at 23, a mother at 24, and blindsided by divorce at 28, I found myself struggling, like many young women I meet today, to strike a balance between my personal life and my career.