The Truth About William Shatner's Daughters
William Shatner will always be known as Captain James T. Kirk from the original "Star Trek" series and as a record-setting space traveler who became the oldest person to go to space when he stepped aboard Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin in October 2021. However, there's plenty about the Canadian actor that many don't know. His untold truth includes getting his big break in 1956 because the legendary Christopher Plummer had kidney stones, being an accomplished equestrian, and getting married (and divorced) four times. There's also an underlying shady side to Shatner, and in recent years it's been discovered that his "Star Trek" castmates didn't particularly like working with him, that he had a feud with the iconic Carrie Fisher, and more.
Despite numerous reports of the nonagenarian having an ego that's out of this world, there are three people who may disagree with those portrayals: his daughters. As it turns out, one of the actor's biggest secrets might be that he's a passionate girl dad, as difficult as that may be to believe when he's been portrayed as "Captain Jerk" in the press. These days, Leslie Carol, Lisabeth, and Melanie Shatner are all grown up, but as the Irish Times noted in 2021, the actor appears very close to his kids. In fact, they and all of his grandkids live close to him in Los Angeles, ensuring that his home is, as he explained, always filled "with love."
Let's take a closer look at just who William Shatner's daughters are.
What we know about Leslie Carol Shatner
It was 1956 when William Shatner penned a TV play called "Dreams" for the CBC, which led him to meet his first wife, Canadian actor Gloria Rand. Shatner told Archive of American Television in 1999, "I wrote a television drama in which I cast the girl that I subsequently married and became the mother of my three children." The couple dated for just four months before getting engaged. They then tied the knot that same year at Rand's parents' home in Toronto. Their first daughter, Leslie Carol Shatner, was born soon after on August 31, 1958, per Hollywood Life.
Leslie Carol has kept a low profile, but she did have a brief acting career on "Star Trek: The Original Series." She made two appearances on her father's TV show, per IMDb, playing "Brunette Girl" in the 1966 episode "Miri" when she was eight and as "Child" in the 1968 episode "And the Children Shall Lead." Though she enjoyed these early acting opportunities, Leslie Carol did not follow in her father's footsteps — perhaps by design. As she admitted during a 1989 episode of "This Is Your Life," she and sister Lisabeth were both cast on "Star Trek" early on because their dad "didn't want us to get any glamorous notions of what acting was all about."
As for her personal life, Leslie Carol married Gordon T. Walker and they have two sons, Grant and Eric Walker, per Hollywood Life.
Meet his middle child, Lisabeth Shatner
The first of Leslie Carol Shatner's younger sisters, Lisabeth Shatner, was born on June 6, 1961, per Closer Weekly. The middle child of the family was just five years old when she made her small screen debut opposite her dad in "Star Trek: The Original Series," per IMDb. Lisabeth played the character of "Girl in Red-Striped Dress" in a 1966 episode titled "Miri," which also featured her older sister. During a 1989 episode of "This Is Your Life," Lisabeth admitted that being on the famed show was anything but glamorous. Rather, she called it "really awful," explaining how William Shatner made her and Leslie Carol "sit there [for] hours and hours and we got this idea that it was really quite awful. So I decided to be a writer, and Leslie became an advertising art director."
Before that career shift, Lisabeth did briefly give acting one more try (sort of) when she appeared in a 1982 music video for Huey Lewis and the News' song, "Do You Believe in Love." In the end, her writing career in Hollywood didn't last much longer. She first wrote a 1986 episode of "T.J. Hooker," then a 1996 episode of "TekWar," though that's where her credits end, per IMDb. On the personal front, she married Andy Clement in 2005, reported Closer Weekly.
Melanie Shatner's acting career
The youngest of William Shatner's three daughters, Melanie Shatner, was born on August 1, 1964, per Hollywood Life. Of the three Shatner siblings, she's the one who took acting the most seriously and really tried to make it in the family biz, which brought her parents together in the first place. Just like Leslie Carol and Lisabeth, Melanie's first taste of the small screen came courtesy of her father when she landed an uncredited role playing "Jogger" in 1986's "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home," per IMDb.
Her first real role came three years after that, when she played Marsha on an episode of the TV series "Knots Landing." Throughout her 12-year career in Hollywood, Melanie amassed 20 acting credits, appearing in a handful of shows and films, including "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier" and "TekWar" opposite her dad. The pair was also cast in an Oldsmobile commercial in 1988, according to The Free Lance-Star. Her final roles came in 1998, when she appeared in the film "Surface to Air," the TV movie "His Bodyguard," and the TV series "Mercy Point."
The following year, Melanie tied the knot with Joel Gretsch and they had two daughters, Kaya and Willow Gretsch, reported Closer Weekly.
Why William Shatner's youngest daughter left Hollywood behind
It seems a career in Hollywood simply wasn't meant to be for the three Shatner sisters. But after leaving the small and big screens behind in the late '90s, Melanie Shatner decided to give another passion a go. Speaking with The Free Lance-Star in 2015, she opened up about why she ultimately chose not to follow in her parents' footsteps, admitting, "I didn't fully enjoy acting. I made a living acting for a while, but wanted to be successful in other ways."
Those ways included starting her own business. In 1999, she opened Dari Boutique on Ventura Boulevard in Studio City, California. According to its Facebook page, the shop is a "women's boutique ... that carries local, coveted and unique designers." Despite the switch, she had her dad's full support. As Melanie told The Free Lance-Star, "He was probably relieved because acting can be a brutal profession. But really, anything I wanted to do was OK by him." She went on to reveal that he "even helped by loaning me the money to get the store started." Indeed, the transition made perfect sense to William Shatner. Recalling how his youngest daughter "was always the kid wearing smart clothes," he enthused, "She just knew about style," adding, "Her sisters and all the other kids used to ask her for fashion advice."
It's unclear how well the business venture did, however, as all of Dari Boutique's social accounts have been inactive since 2016.
Melanie Shatner's special bond with her dad
William Shatner's daughters haven't given many interviews, but when Melanie Shatner appeared on a 1989 episode of "This Is Your Life," she gave viewers a rare glimpse at what growing up with Captain Kirk was really like. "He has a habit of taking us on wild adventures," she shared, reminiscing about a ski trip to Utah when they were hit by a blizzard and "the whole camper froze over." Recalling how "our water froze, our heat froze, the bathroom froze," she added with a laugh, "So in order for the little babies to go to the bathroom, my dad would have to hold us outside." Melanie then mimicked the actor dangling them outside the camper door. She also shared how he'd turn on the gas stove for heat and quipped, "I was fortunate enough to have the bed that was crammed up by the ceiling, so all the heat would go up to my bed."
She again spoke about their special bond in 2015. Telling The Free Lance-Star, "When we were younger, he'd take one sister at a time away on location for a whole week," she added that they "all have such great memories of getting to hang out with him." Once their parents divorced, they'd see him on the weekends. "He would do whatever it took to get home to see us, even if it meant driving all night," she revealed, concluding, "I think that illustrates what a wonderful, committed father he was and is."
William Shatner's parenting (and grandparenting) style
William Shatner has spoken candidly about his 1969 split from Gloria Rand after 13 years of marriage, readily admitting his career caused their downfall. He explained in his memoir, "Up Till Now," that he "wasn't good at being married;" however, he didn't let that impact his relationship with his girls. Speaking with The Guardian in 2014, the actor mused, "I must have been a hands-on dad because that's what my children tell me. In my mind, I was gone a lot of the time in an effort to make a living, so I am gratified that my kids think that they are who they are today because of my influence on them and my sense of being there for them — although it was only at weekends."
Calling them "three of the greatest mothers," he shared how his daughters "have brought their family up in the way I wish I'd brought them up." Adding he's "always worried about whether I've done a good job as a parent," Shatner is now making up for lost time. He sees his kids "every weekend," they vacation together, and he's a doting grandfather of five. Calling becoming a grandparent "the greatest joy for me," the actor said he loves that he has "the time now to grab a grandchild and talk, and hug and kiss them, and make sure that I'm taking time to be with them, and to give them some aspect of the things I've learned."