'Star Trek' Emmy-nominated writer, producer Jeri Taylor dies at 86

Jeri Taylor, the showrunner who spent more than a decade co-creating Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Voyager, has passed away at the age of 86.

Her son Andrew Enberg confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that his mother breathed her last on Wednesday night at an assisted living facility in Davis, California. Her death has been cited as due to natural causes.

In addition, Taylor’s son paid tribute to his mother for paving her way through a male-dominated industry with her kind personality.

"My mother succeeded in a male-dominated industry," he told the news publication. "But she did it without being super aggressive. She did it with compassion and kindness."

"She was like a den mother to everyone," Enberg described.

The Emmy-nominated producer, writer, director and showrunner wrote and produced episodes of popular network crime fare, including In the Heat of the Night, Jake and the Fatman, Magnum, M.E., P.I., and Quincy, before getting started with her Star Trek adventure.

In 1994, Taylor earned an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Drama Series after joining the syndicated Next Generation as a writer during its fourth season, initially as a writer in 1990.

She then transitioned to co-executive producer alongside Rick Berman and Michael Pillar during the show’s sixth season before serving as the showrunner of the Patrick Stewart-starrer for its seventh and final campaign during the 1993-94 period.

Later, Taylor, Berman, and Pillar created Star Trek: Voyager, which came out in January 1995. She was the showrunner for its first four seasons through 1998 and a creative consultant for its final three seasons.