Jeri Ryan, who began her Star Trek journey on the sci-fi series Voyager and who has returned in Star Trek Picard season 3, literally changed history. And we’re not even talking about some Borg time-travel plot.
Ryan joined the Star Trek series Voyager half-way through its run, but swiftly became one of the fan-favourite Star Trek characters. Her relationships with Captain Janeway, the EMH, and Tuvok in particular allowed her to shine as she struggled to reconnect with her humanity after being saved from Borg assimilation.
Away from the TV series though, Ryan’s legacy also includes facilitating the election of former US president Barack Obama. No, really.
Jeri Ryan was married to Jack Ryan between 1991 and 1999. Jack Ryan was the Republican candidate for the US Senate from Illinois in 2004, however he dropped out of the race (where his Democrat opposition came from Barack Obama) when details about his divorce from Jeri Ryan five years earlier became public.
With Jack Ryan’s resignation, and the scandal that surrounded him, Barack Obama was able to overcome the odds and he won the vote against the Republican candidate who replaced Ryan. With his new place in the senate, for which Jeri Ryan’s divorce paved the way, Obama was able to find a platform from which he would successfully launch his campaign for the US presidency.
Of course, Obama would go on to serve as the US president for two terms. But, if the divorce between Jeri and Jack Ryan had never taken place then it’s likely he would have never even made it to the Senate. Even when she wasn’t travelling through space, Seven of Nine was literally shaping history.
Now, Ryan stars in Star Trek Picard season 3 as the first officer of the USS Titan under Captain Shaw. For more on Star Trek Picard, learn about Jack Crusher and the Pah-wraiths. Or, find out if Vadic is really dead, and check out what we know about the Star Trek Strange New Worlds season 2 release date.