# Emily Banks (actress)
**Emily Banks** (full name Emily Ann Banks; January 23, 1933 – September 17, 2023) was an American actress and model whose screen career ran from 1966 to the mid-1980s. She is best remembered as Yeoman Tonia Barrows in the *Star Trek* episode "Shore Leave" and for the female lead in the western *Gunfight in Abilene* opposite [Bobby Darin](https://www.edgepedia.org/bobby-darin).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0052148/bio/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born / died | January 23, 1933, Norfolk, Virginia; September 17, 2023, Beverly Hills, California (aged 90)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0052148/bio/) |
| Modeling career | Elected "Miss Rheingold" in 1960, appearing in ads for the beer brand; featured as a model on a game show in 1963[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0052148/bio/) |
| Signature TV role | Yeoman Tonia Barrows in *Star Trek* S1E15 "Shore Leave", first broadcast December 29, 1966[2](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/46755/emily-banks) |
| Film roles | Louisa Maud Frederici in *The Plainsman* (1966); Amy Martin in *Gunfight in Abilene* (1967); a receptionist in Elvis Presley's *Live a Little, Love a Little* (1968)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0052148/bio/) |
| Star billing | *The Tim Conway Show* (1970), a short-lived sitcom, as the girlfriend of a charter line pilot[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0052148/bio/) |
| Active years | 1966–1986, across comedy, drama, western, and action-adventure genres[3](https://www.allmovie.com/artist/emily-banks-an192248) |
## Early life and modeling
Banks was born in [Norfolk, Virginia](https://www.edgepedia.org/norfolk-virginia), and spent much of her childhood in [Cambridge, Massachusetts](https://www.edgepedia.org/cambridge-massachusetts), where her father served in the military and later worked as a graphic artist. After high school she graduated from Simmons University in Boston and began a brief modeling career, which culminated in her election as "Miss Rheingold" in 1960. The [Rheingold](https://www.edgepedia.org/rheingold) election was described in the trade press at the time as the nation's second largest election, decided by millions of voters in a televised spectacular. She made several advertisements for the beer brand and appeared as a model on a game show in 1963.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0052148/bio/) • [4](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-TV-Radio-Age/50s/1959/Television-Radio-Age-1959-12-28.pdf)
## Film work
Banks went on screen in 1966 and appeared rarely in theatrical films. She played [Buffalo Bill](https://www.edgepedia.org/buffalo-bill)'s wife Louisa Maud Frederici in *The Plainsman* (1966) and took the nominal female lead, Amy Martin, in the Universal western *Gunfight in Abilene* (1967), opposite Bobby Darin, who also wrote the film's theme song; the cast also included [Leslie Nielsen](https://www.edgepedia.org/leslie-nielsen).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0052148/bio/) • [5](https://9c519110712a1cc5ffdf-b1b745d17d9877b298ac94fd86f5428e.ssl.cf2.rackcdn.com/CableMoviesC-April2024.pdf) Her other notable film part was a small role as an RKC&P receptionist in the [Elvis Presley](https://www.edgepedia.org/elvis-presley) vehicle *Live a Little, Love a Little* (1968).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0052148/bio/) • [6](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/emily-banks/) She also appeared in *The Fakers* (1970) as Jill Harmon.[6](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/emily-banks/)
## Television career
Television was where Banks was better utilized. Her most-remembered role was Yeoman Tonia Barrows in "Shore Leave", a first-season *Star Trek* episode in which the Enterprise crew visits a planet that turns thoughts into reality; Barrows was briefly trapped on the planet and blamed herself when Dr. McCoy was apparently killed by a Black Knight. The actress later recalled the physical demands of the part, filmed largely at Africa USA in Florida: "They don't want an actress, they want an athlete."[2](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/46755/emily-banks) • [7](https://wixiban.com/downloads/em-mags-regular/reg-mag-079-harry-mudds-class-j-starship.pdf)
In 1970 she achieved star billing in *The Tim Conway Show*, a short-lived sitcom in which she played the girlfriend of a charter line pilot; in real life, one of her own aspirations had been to become a pilot.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0052148/bio/) Her guest appearances spanned three decades of American series television, including *Mannix* (as Barbara West in 1968 and Alyce Taggert in 1971), *The Wild Wild West*, *Dragnet*, *Bewitched*, *Love, American Style*, *Fantasy Island* (as Linda Smith, 1980), *Knight Rider* (as Priscella Ragsdale, 1984), *Airwolf* (as Nurse Hilda), *Simon & Simon*, and *Highway to Heaven* (as Betty in the two-part "A Song for Jason", 1985).[2](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/46755/emily-banks) • [8](https://www.metacritic.com/person/emily-banks/) She also appeared in the television movie *When Hell Was in Session*.[6](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/emily-banks/)
## Later life
Banks died on September 17, 2023, in [Beverly Hills, California](https://www.edgepedia.org/beverly-hills-california), at the age of 90.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0052148/bio/)
## Other people named Emily Banks in acting
The name is shared by a younger American actress and writer, born on Eaker Air Force Base in Blytheville, Arkansas, who grew up in the Memphis area and studied finance and theater at the [University of Mississippi](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-mississippi). She made her film debut opposite [Red West](https://www.edgepedia.org/red-west) in *Almost Made*, shot in Memphis, and made her television debut in 2015 in the [Nickelodeon](https://www.edgepedia.org/nickelodeon) series *Chase Champion*, playing the mother of the title character; her credits also include a supporting role in Clint Eastwood's *J. Edgar* (2011). She is a separate person from the 1933–2023 actress and is listed on IMDb under a different identifier.[9](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1766251/bio/) • [10](https://resumes.actorsaccess.com/emilybrookebanks)
## References
1. [Emily Banks (1933–2023) – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0052148/bio/)
2. [Emily Banks – TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/46755/emily-banks)
3. [Emily Banks – AllMovie](https://www.allmovie.com/artist/emily-banks-an192248)
4. [Television Age, December 28, 1959 (Miss Rheingold 1960 election)](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-TV-Radio-Age/50s/1959/Television-Radio-Age-1959-12-28.pdf)
5. [Cable Movies guide, April 2024 (Gunfight in Abilene cast)](https://9c519110712a1cc5ffdf-b1b745d17d9877b298ac94fd86f5428e.ssl.cf2.rackcdn.com/CableMoviesC-April2024.pdf)
6. [Emily Banks – Actress, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/emily-banks/)
7. [Star Trek magazine feature on "Shore Leave" and Tonia Barrows](https://wixiban.com/downloads/em-mags-regular/reg-mag-079-harry-mudds-class-j-starship.pdf)
8. [Emily Banks – Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/person/emily-banks/)
9. [Emily Banks (II) – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1766251/bio/)
10. [Emily Banks – Resume, Actors Access](https://resumes.actorsaccess.com/emilybrookebanks)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 1940s to 1960s › Surnames A to Bo*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 11, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license