Louise had two big major roles she’ll be remembered for with the public. With Boomers, she was the evil Nurse Ratched in the film adaptation of Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. The villain who is supposed to be helping all these mentally-ill patients but instead, she’s more accurately their tormentor and jailer. Given that all the patients are men and Kesey’s love of mind-altering substances, I’m sure there’s a hidden message about how women like Ratched are emasculating the “poor” men. I read the novel in high school and unlike The Great Gatsby, Brave New World or To Kill a Mockingbird, I don’t recall Nest in such detail as I found much of it implausible. Trust me, the movie is a rare case of it being better than the book as Chief Broom’s mental perceptions were impossible to film.
With Mills and younger, she was Kai Winn on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Originally, her character was a vedek, the Bajoran equivalent of a cardinal or bishop, the Kai is their pope. Thanks to Roddenberry’s death Louise played a recurring guest character who at times was a pain in the ass as she represented the more conservative faction of the Bajoran’s faith, especially when she claimed the Federation taught blasphemy because Keiko O’Brien explained the nearby wormhole as an astronomical event not, a divine location. I need to rewatch the whole series when I pony up for Paramount+ again, right after I finish Star Trek: Next Generation. (I ran out of gas with the Eighties show due to the show hitting a painful doldrum in its last three seasons). I do know, Louise’s character finally embracing the evil Pah Wraiths with Gul Dukat wasn’t a weird turn. Winn had many run-ins with the Federation yet was never an outright enemy, more of a cultural speed bump Captain Sisko had deal with. However, when Bajor suffered for being on the front lines of the Dominion War, I could see her turning against the Federation and losing faith in the energy beings known as the Prophets.
Thanks for everything Louise! You were an incredible actress, person, parent and advocate for the deaf.