Mary Chieffo

Mary Elizabeth^[1] Chieffo (born November 7, 1992) is an American actress known for portraying the Klingon L'Rell on the television series Star Trek: Discovery.^[2]

Mary Chieffo
Born	(1992-11-07) November 7, 1992 (age 32) Los Angeles, California, US
Education	Juilliard School (BFA)
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1998–present
Mother	Beth Grant

Personal life

Chieffo was born on November 7, 1992,^[3] in Los Angeles, California.^[4] She grew up in the neighborhood of Valley Village, Los Angeles in California, only daughter of actors Michael Chieffo and Beth Grant.^[4]

She attended the Drama division of Juilliard School in New York City, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 2015.^[5] One of her classmates was future Star Trek: Discovery castmate Mary Wiseman.^[6]

Chieffo came out publicly as a lesbian on the red carpet prior to the Star Trek Day event held September 8, 2021, at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles, California.^[7] She later clarified that she identifies as "panromantic demisexual and proudly in a lesbian relationship".^[8] A few days later, she confirmed via her Twitter feed that she was dating writer and actor Madi Goff.^[9] Chieffo wrote the introduction essay for the 2023 edition of Marvel's Voices: Pride #1,^[10] reflecting on the need for queer representation in media.^[11]

Career

Her first high profile acting position was on Star Trek: Discovery, where she played the recurring character of L'Rell, a Klingon warrior and spy who becomes leader of the Klingon Empire at the end of Season 1.^[12] Her writing and producing debut was Operation Othello, a virtual reality adaptation of Shakespeare's Othello, where she also plays Lt. Iago in a gender twist from the original play.^[13] In 2022, she reprised her role as Iago in Iago: The Green Eyed Monster, a six-minute futuristic musical AR prequel to Othello, nominated for "Best Immersive Experience" in the 2022 Tribeca Festival.^[14] In 2024, she voiced a Klingon in an episode of the animated show Star Trek: Lower Decks.

Filmography

Film and television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2017–19	Star Trek: Discovery	L'Rell[15]	recurring character (13 episodes)
2020	Operation Othello	Ensign Iago	VR TV movie, she was also the writer and producer.[13]
2022	Iago: The Green Eyed Monster	Iago	VR short movie, she was also the writer and director.[14]
2024	Star Trek: Lower Decks	K'Elarra [16][17][18]	Voice, Episode: "A Farewell to Farms"