# Mary Wiseman (actress)
**Mary Wiseman** is an American actress best known for playing Cadet Sylvia Tilly on the science fiction series *Star Trek: Discovery* (2017-2024), a role she later reprised as a guest star on *Star Trek: Starfleet Academy*. Trained at Juilliard's Drama Division, she built her early career on New York and regional stages, including a Broadway debut in *Thérèse Raquin* in 2015, before moving into television with roles on *Longmire*, *Baskets*, and *The Characters*.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/mary-wiseman/) • [2](https://www.headstark.com/persons/mary-wiseman/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1985, Milford, Pennsylvania[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/mary-wiseman/) |
| Training | BFA in Theater, Boston University, 2007; Juilliard School Drama Division, 2011-2015[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6384402/bio/) |
| Broadway debut | *Thérèse Raquin* (October 29, 2015 - January 3, 2016), original cast as Suzanne[4](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/mary-wiseman-502365) |
| Signature role | Sylvia Tilly on *Star Trek: Discovery*, 2017-2024, 57 episodes[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6384402/) |
| Recent television | Marvella, the White House executive chef, in Netflix's *The Residence* (2025, 8 episodes)[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6384402/) |
| Return to Star Trek | Guest star as Tilly in *Star Trek: Starfleet Academy* (2026), one episode[6](https://www.cinemablend.com/interviews/starfleet-academy-voyager-doctor-different-place-upcoming-star-trek-series) |
## Early life and training
Wiseman was born in Milford, Pennsylvania, and grew up there and in [Gaithersburg, Maryland](https://www.edgepedia.org/gaithersburg-maryland).[2](https://www.headstark.com/persons/mary-wiseman/) Her performing background began early: she attended the DC Shakespeare Theatre's high school outreach program, then the theater's Academy for Classical Acting, before earning her [Bachelor of Fine Arts](https://www.edgepedia.org/bachelor-of-fine-arts) in Theater from [Boston University](https://www.edgepedia.org/boston-university) in 2007.[2](https://www.headstark.com/persons/mary-wiseman/) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6384402/bio/) She then studied at the Juilliard School's Drama Division in New York City from 2011 to 2015; her Discovery castmate Mary Chieffo was in the same Juilliard class.[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6384402/bio/) • [7](https://www.startrek.com/news/mary-chieffo-talks-discovery-becoming-a-klingon-more)
## Stage career
Her professional work began while she was still a student. In 2015 she starred opposite [Justin Long](https://www.edgepedia.org/justin-long) in Boo Killebrew's play *Romance Novels for Dummies*.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/mary-wiseman/) That same year she made her Broadway debut as Suzanne in the original production of *Thérèse Raquin*, which ran from October 29, 2015 to January 3, 2016 alongside [Keira Knightley](https://www.edgepedia.org/keira-knightley).[4](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/mary-wiseman-502365) • [8](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Mary-Wiseman/)
Her off-Broadway and regional credits grew quickly. She appeared in Branden Jacobs-Jenkins's *An Octoroon* at Theatre for a New Audience and Soho Rep, in *Off the Main Road* at the Williamstown Theatre Festival, and in *Clybourne Park* and *Comedy of Errors*.[8](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Mary-Wiseman/) In 2017 she played Sabina in the Theatre for a New Audience revival of [Thornton Wilder](https://www.edgepedia.org/thornton-wilder)'s *The Skin of Our Teeth*; she later said she had also played Emily in *Our Town* while at Juilliard, giving her a long familiarity with Wilder's work.[8](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Mary-Wiseman/) • [9](https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/mary-wiseman-star-trek-starfleet-academy-interview-theater-canon) She continued to return to the stage during her television years, playing Carlo in Lincoln Center Theater/LCT3's *At the Wedding* in 2022 and Faye in the [Atlantic Theater Company](https://www.edgepedia.org/atlantic-theater-company) world premiere of [Ethan Coen](https://www.edgepedia.org/ethan-coen)'s *Let's Love!* in 2025.[8](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Mary-Wiseman/) • [10](https://www.forbes.com/sites/dawnstaceyennis/2022/04/02/mary-wiseman-shines-in-at-the-wedding-a-clever-queer-dramedy/)
## Star Trek: Discovery
Wiseman's first television roles were one-off and recurring parts: a role opposite comedian John Early in his episode of the Netflix sketch series *The Characters* (2016), Meg Joyce on the crime drama *Longmire*, and Trinity on the FX sitcom *Baskets*.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/mary-wiseman/) • [5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6384402/) In 2017 she was cast in the lead ensemble of *Star Trek: Discovery* on CBS All Access as Sylvia Tilly, a cadet in her final year at Starfleet Academy who joins the crew of the starship Discovery during the series' first season.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/mary-wiseman/) • [11](https://www.paramountplus.com/shows/star-trek-discovery/news/1007664/cadet-sylvia-tilly-is-a-big-believer-in-starfleet-on-star-trek-discovery/)
The character became one of the show's most popular figures. StarTrek.com described Wiseman as "deservedly emerging as one of Discovery's breakout talents" during the first season.[12](https://www.startrek.com/news/interview-wiseman-talks-tilly-finale-more) Across five seasons and 57 episodes, Tilly rose from cadet to lieutenant and, in the series' fourth season, left the ship to become an instructor at Starfleet Academy; Wiseman also voiced Tilly in the short-form series *[Star Trek: Short Treks](https://www.edgepedia.org/star-trek-short-treks)* and in the game *Star Trek Online*, and appeared as "Captain Killy" in a Mirror Universe storyline in the third season.[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6384402/) • [13](https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/star-trek-discoverys-mary-wiseman-on-tilly-short-treks-and-food-fights/) • [14](https://www.forbes.com/sites/dawnstaceyennis/2020/12/17/fan-favorite-mary-wiseman-is-killying-it-on-star-trek-discovery/?s=09) Wiseman herself has drawn a distinction between her own temperament and the character's, telling an interviewer, "She sounds like me and looks like me, but I'm different."
## After Discovery
After *Discovery* ended in 2024, Wiseman moved into other high-profile work. She played Marvella, the hot-headed executive chef in the White House kitchen, in the Netflix mystery series *The Residence* (2025).[15](https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/tv-shows/the-residence-cast/) She played Karen Gacy in the miniseries *Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy* (2025), appeared as a theater actor in [Noah Baumbach](https://www.edgepedia.org/noah-baumbach)'s film *Marriage Story* (2019), and plays Clair in the Netflix romantic comedy *Office Romance* (2026) opposite [Jennifer Lopez](https://www.edgepedia.org/jennifer-lopez) and [Brett Goldstein](https://www.edgepedia.org/brett-goldstein).[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6384402/)
Her [Star Trek](https://www.edgepedia.org/star-trek) connection carried into the spinoff *Star Trek: Starfleet Academy* (Paramount+, 2026). Because Tilly had been established in *Discovery*'s fourth season as an Academy instructor, her appearance on the new series was expected; Wiseman ultimately appears as a guest star in one episode.[6](https://www.cinemablend.com/interviews/starfleet-academy-voyager-doctor-different-place-upcoming-star-trek-series) In the season's eighth episode, "The Life of the Stars," Tilly teaches the cadets Thornton Wilder's play *Our Town* to help them process their grief, a plot built around Wilder's 1938 play about community, love, and mortality in small-town [New Hampshire](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-hampshire).[9](https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/mary-wiseman-star-trek-starfleet-academy-interview-theater-canon) • [16](https://www.space.com/entertainment/space-movies-shows/starfleet-academy-creators-talk-bringing-a-20th-century-american-play-into-32nd-century-star-trek-interview) Wiseman called the casting of the play natural for her: "I freaked out because I love Thornton Wilder."
The theater thread also runs through her television work more broadly. She has described stage acting as central to her identity as a performer, and reviewers of her *Star Trek* appearances in the show's final season noted the character's growth from an insecure cadet into a mentor figure, a shift Wiseman attributed in interviews to the early mentor relationships Tilly received on the ship that she then wanted to pass on.[17](https://www.startrek.com/news/warp-five-mary-wiseman-season-5-discovery)
## Personal life
IMDb records that Wiseman married actor Noah Averbach-Katz, her *Discovery* castmate, on February 16, 2019; the marriage ended in divorce in 2023.[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6384402/)
## References
1. [Mary Wiseman - Actress, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/mary-wiseman/)
2. [Mary Wiseman, HeadStark](https://www.headstark.com/persons/mary-wiseman/)
3. [Mary Wiseman - Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6384402/bio/)
4. [Mary Wiseman - Broadway Cast & Staff, IBDB](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/mary-wiseman-502365)
5. [Mary Wiseman - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6384402/)
6. [Starfleet Academy Is Bringing Back Voyager's Doctor, CinemaBlend](https://www.cinemablend.com/interviews/starfleet-academy-voyager-doctor-different-place-upcoming-star-trek-series)
7. [Mary Chieffo Talks Discovery, Becoming a Klingon & More, StarTrek.com](https://www.startrek.com/news/mary-chieffo-talks-discovery-becoming-a-klingon-more)
8. [Mary Wiseman - Broadway & Theatre Credits, BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Mary-Wiseman/)
9. [A Newish Star Trek Character Is Suddenly Part Of The Old Guard, Inverse](https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/mary-wiseman-star-trek-starfleet-academy-interview-theater-canon)
10. [Mary Wiseman Shines In 'At The Wedding,' Forbes](https://www.forbes.com/sites/dawnstaceyennis/2022/04/02/mary-wiseman-shines-in-at-the-wedding-a-clever-queer-dramedy/)
11. [Cadet Sylvia Tilly Is A Big Believer In Starfleet, Paramount+](https://www.paramountplus.com/shows/star-trek-discovery/news/1007664/cadet-sylvia-tilly-is-a-big-believer-in-starfleet-on-star-trek-discovery/)
12. [INTERVIEW: Wiseman Talks Tilly, Finale & More, StarTrek.com](https://www.startrek.com/news/interview-wiseman-talks-tilly-finale-more)
13. [Star Trek: Discovery's Mary Wiseman On Tilly, Short Treks, and Food Fights, Den of Geek](https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/star-trek-discoverys-mary-wiseman-on-tilly-short-treks-and-food-fights/)
14. [Fan Favorite Mary Wiseman Is Killying It On 'Star Trek: Discovery', Forbes](https://www.forbes.com/sites/dawnstaceyennis/2020/12/17/fan-favorite-mary-wiseman-is-killying-it-on-star-trek-discovery/?s=09)
15. [Meet the Cast of Netflix's 'The Residence', Marie Claire](https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/tv-shows/the-residence-cast/)
16. ['Star Trek: Starfleet Academy' creators talk bringing a 20th-century American play into 32nd-century 'Star Trek', Space.com](https://www.space.com/entertainment/space-movies-shows/starfleet-academy-creators-talk-bringing-a-20th-century-american-play-into-32nd-century-star-trek-interview)
17. [WARP FIVE: Mary Wiseman Brings Her Academy Experiences Aboard Discovery, StarTrek.com](https://www.startrek.com/news/warp-five-mary-wiseman-season-5-discovery)
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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: 2000s onward › Surnames Wh to W*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 19, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 19, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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