Beverly Crusher
Commander Beverly G. Crusher, MD (née Howard) was the chief medical officer aboard the  and its successor, the , both under the command of Captain Jean-Luc Picard. She briefly left her post as CMO of the Enterprise-D to become head of Starfleet Medical, only to return shortly after. She was a Fellow of the Academy of Starfleet Surgeons (Sol Chapter). (; ; )

Early life 
Crusher was born as Beverly Howard in Copernicus City on Earth's moon on October 13, 2324. () Her ancestry was from North America, () although her distant ancestors hailed from Scotland. While Beverly was still a young child, both of her parents were killed. She was raised by her grandmother, Felisa Howard, whom Beverly referred to as "Nana", and who belonged to the noble Howard family, themselves related to the English Dukes of Norfolk. ()

Both Howards were present during the terrible disaster at the Arvada III colony, and it was during this time Felisa learned how to use herbs and roots for medicinal purposes after regular medical supplies had been exhausted. This inspired Beverly to a career in medicine. () Beverly and Felisa later moved to the Caldos colony, where Felisa became a healer until her death in 2370. ()

Beverly's childhood was mostly happy, though she did go through the same difficulties in making friends and relating to other children that most youngsters experience. ()

As a thirteen-year old, rebellious Beverly changed her hair color to brunette, although she recalled years later that she "couldn't change it back fast enough." ()

In her later teens, Beverly admitted she developed a smart-aleck mouth, which often got her into trouble. She brought a date with a young man named Tom Norris to an abrupt end with the question "Is that a beard or is your face dirty?" Beverly later realized that she had really hurt him, and from that point on she was more conscious of others' feelings. ()

Academy and early Starfleet career 

Beverly attended Starfleet Academy from 2342 to 2350. () During her training, she earned her Doctor of Medicine. ()

During this time, she became romantically involved with Jack Crusher after being introduced by their mutual friend, Walker Keel. () It took months for her to realize their attraction. () The two were married in 2348 after Jack proposed to her through a gag gift, a book entitled How to Advance Your Career Through Marriage. ()

Jack later served aboard the  under Picard, and the couple became good friends with the captain. Picard later admitted he had fallen in love with Beverly, but did not ever express his feelings because he felt that doing so would betray his friend. ()

Almost a year later, the Crushers welcomed a son, Wesley Crusher, in 2348. ()

After Beverly graduated in 2350, she interned with Dr. Dalen Quaice on Delos IV in 2352. ()

Jack died on an away mission while serving aboard the Stargazer in 2353, Picard having been forced to choose between saving another team member or his friend. Picard brought Jack's body home to the grieving Beverly and Wesley. () He also accompanied her to see Jack's body in the morgue at Starbase 32. Beverly appreciated the gesture despite the fact that Picard felt it would be better for her to remember him alive rather than as a corpse. () Beverly never fully recovered from his death. ()

Crusher took the bridge officer's test in 2362, and was promoted to commander. ()

Aboard the USS Enterprise

The Enterprise-D 

Dr. Crusher was appointed chief medical officer of the  in 2364, and joined the ship at Farpoint Station with Wesley, () reporting on board on stardate 41154. () Picard initially had reservations about her presence, but she assured him that the past would have no effect on her duties and she had no problem serving under his command. () 

An energy-based lifeform from the Beta Renner cloud was accidentally trapped aboard the Enterprise later in 2364. It initially inhabited Lieutenant Worf's body, but next moved to Crusher. It controlled her for a brief period of time, attempting to learn how to use the Enterprise navigational systems in order to return home. The being then transferred itself to the ship's computer system, then took control of Captain Picard. ()

In mid-2364, Captain Picard invited Crusher on a holodeck adventure set in the fictional world of Dixon Hill. They were joined by Data and ship's historian Whalen. Unfortunately, a malfunction in the holodeck systems due to a Jarada scan caused the safeties to become disengaged, trapping the group at the whim of Cyrus Redblock. They were later freed, but not before Redblock shot Whalen and threatened to kill Beverly. ()

Crusher was offered a position as head of Starfleet Medical in 2365 and left the Enterprise during that year. She was replaced by Dr. Katherine Pulaski. () While at Starfleet Medical, she worked with the notorious Lieutenant Commander Calvin Hutchinson. () Crusher found it difficult to be away, however, and decided to return to the ship the following year. () After his first encounter with Dr. Crusher following her return, Q commented, "Ah, Doctor Crusher. I see Starfleet has shipped you back into exile." ()

Dr. Quaice retired in 2367 shortly after the death of his wife, and the Enterprise-D picked him up at Starbase 133 to ferry him home. Although he was in good spirits, he was slightly saddened at the prospect of facing the future without many of his friends, a feeling Beverly knew all too well. At the same time, Wesley Crusher was experimenting with a novel warp bubble. Beverly became trapped in this bubble, and her thoughts at the time created a universe where everyone and everything quickly began disappearing. With the assistance of The Traveler, Wesley was able to create a gateway back to the normal universe. Dr. Crusher was able to deduce what was happening in her universe, and escaped through Wesley's gateway just before the bubble collapsed. ()

Beverly was questioned in connection with the explosion that crippled the Enterprises warp core in 2367. Her testimony was twisted by Admiral Norah Satie in order to implicate the quarter-Romulan crewman Simon Tarses in the incident, later determined to be an accident. ()

When the Enterprise entered a temporal causality loop while exploring the Typhon Expanse, Beverly's feelings of déjà vu during a poker game and evidence of temporal phenomena lead to a solution which allowed the ship to break the cycle. ()

The senior staff of the Enterprise traveled back to the late 19th century in order to stop Devidian lifeforms from feeding on the neural energy of Humans from that era, and prevent the apparent death of Commander Data in that time. Beverly assumed the guise of a nurse and, along with Deanna Troi, experienced quite a bit of discomfort with the corsets of the period. Crusher determined why the Devidians traveled back to that era, and was almost a victim of their energy-draining device. ()

In 2369, Beverly developed a close friendship when she mentored Amanda Rogers, who was aboard the Enterprise as part of her Starfleet officer's training. It was later discovered that Rogers was the child of two former members of the Q Continuum who had abandoned the Continuum and had established a new life in Kansas as Humans. They were killed when a tornado struck their home. It was later revealed that this was punishment levied by the Continuum. Q appeared on the Enterprise and, in his own way, began to mentor Rogers in the ways of the Continuum. Beverly objected to Q's interference and was silenced briefly by Q when he transformed her into a dog. Rogers, using her new-found powers, restored Beverly to Human form. () 

That same year, Admiral Alynna Nechayev assigned Crusher, along with Captain Picard and Lieutenant Worf, to a covert mission to seek out and destroy a Cardassian metagenic weapon on Celtris III. Her purpose was to locate and destroy any biological material related to the weapon. The group went through a rigorous training program for the mission, and it was physically straining on Beverly. She used her charms to get a Ferengi, DaiMon , to secure the team passage to Celtris III, and navigated the dangerous caves of Celtris to what was believed to be the launching point for the weapon. It turned out to be a ruse intended to capture Picard, although Worf and Crusher escaped. () As a form of psychological torture under Gul Madred, Picard was offered freedom, but was told Beverly had been captured. Madred said that she would be tortured if Picard left, forcing the captain to stay. ()

Discoveries and research 

Crusher had to deal with various epidemics aboard the Enterprise, including a polywater intoxication in 2364. The affliction was different than that encountered at Psi 2000 by the older  nearly a century prior, and the antigen created by Dr. McCoy was ineffective; Crusher had to develop a new version. ()

Another disease ravaged the ship later that year, when students returning from a field trip on Quazulu VIII brought along a deadly respiratory virus. Fortunately, Beverly's skills led her to an antidote, averting disaster. ()

Beverly helped reconstruct Lore after the Enterprise found him abandoned on Omicron Theta, becoming very familiar with Data's workings in the process. ()

Crusher was the first to observe the parasites which attempted to take control of the Federation in 2364, and determined a way to remove them from the host. ()

A Romulan scout was found crashed on Galorndon Core in 2366, and Crusher was in charge of treating the sole survivor. Although she improvised as much as she could, there was not much medical knowledge available on Romulans and the survivor later died. ()

While visiting the Borg cube which invaded Federation space in 2367, Crusher came up with the idea of damaging the Borg ship's power nodes in order to halt their progress towards Earth. () She worked with Commander Data to develop a modification to the nanites which could be introduced to the Borg in order to destroy their mechanical systems, but the changes would take several weeks. Crusher later helped Data link with Locutus of Borg, Picard's assimilated alter ego. She realized that the Borg interdependency was a great weakness, and suggested Data use a seemingly benign command to shut the Borg down. After the crisis, Crusher pioneered the surgical techniques used for removing implants from Picard. ()

When young Willie Potts was poisoned after eating a native plant on Ogus II, Crusher stabilized his condition and kept him healthy enough to live until the ship arrived at a medical facility designed to treat the poisoning. This task was complicated by the fact that the Enterprise had been hijacked by Data after his "father", Noonian Soong, sent out a signal to bring him to Soong's location. Power was needed from the quarantine field in order to restore the ship's systems, and Dr. Crusher needed to determine the precise amount of energy needed to keep Willie safe. ()

In 2367, Beverly assisted in the delivery of a large spaceborne lifeform whose mother was accidentally killed by the Enterprise. ()

Later that year, Dr. Crusher developed a method of treating victims of the Tarchanne; unfortunately, the treatment was only effective on individuals who had only recently begun metamorphosis. ()

Dr. Crusher was the first non-Trill to study their anatomy and transplant a symbiont into a new host. ()

When non-corporeal criminals imprisoned on Mab-Bu VI took over the bodies of Troi, Data, and Miles O'Brien, Crusher helped design a neutrino field that would force out and then trap the lifeforms. However, the timing was not right and the crew was forced to abandon the use of the device. ()

Worf was paralyzed after an accident in the cargo bay in 2368. Beverly invited the noted neuroscientist Dr. Toby Russell to the Enterprise to confer on treatments. Crusher wanted to use traditional treatment options, but Russell pushed for a radical new surgical technique using a genetronic replicator. Dr. Crusher turned down the plan, feeling it to be too risky. Russell suggested the replicator to Worf anyway, angering Beverly. She later relieved Russell from duty after she used one of her experimental drugs to treat a disaster victim when a traditional medication would have saved his life. Furthermore, Crusher was frustrated by the fact that Worf wanted to commit suicide rather than live as a paraplegic. She was adamant that neither the surgery or suicide was possible, but after talking to Captain Picard, she realized that the genetronic replicator was Worf's best chance at staying alive. Crusher reluctantly granted permission for the surgery and it was ultimately successful thanks to the redundancies of Klingon anatomy, although Crusher still did not approve of Russell's methods. ()

When Ambassador Ves Alkar began using Deanna Troi as a receptacle for his psychic "waste" in 2369, Crusher developed a way to break his link on her and restore Troi to normal. ()

Crusher was the first to study a macroscopic coalescent organism found on Relay Station 47 in 2369. Her entire hand was duplicated by the organism while she was studying it in the Enterprise sickbay. ()

Also in 2369, Beverly was a major participant in the race to  the final research of Dr. . Her contributions, along with those of the Enterprise-D crew and various other interests, led to the discovery of a message from the ancient humanoids, the oldest sentient humanoid species. ()

Crusher unwittingly caused the first case of Barclay's Protomorphosis Syndrome in 2370. She used a synthetic T-cell to treat Lieutenant Reginald Barclay's case of Urodelan flu, intending for the T-cell to activate a dormant gene and allow him to fight the infection. Another anomaly in Barclay's genes caused the T-cell to mutate, and it began activating other dormant introns. The T-cell became airborne and rapidly spread to the rest of the ship, causing the entire Enterprise crew to "de-evolve" to earlier evolutionary stages. ()

In command 

As a fully-certified bridge officer, Crusher commanded the Enterprise-D on several occasions, most notably in 2370 while nearly the entire crew was searching for Data on a renegade Borg planet. The ship was attacked by a Borg vessel, but her quick thinking allowed the Enterprise to escape and destroy the Borg ship. () She also occasionally commanded night watch shifts in order to stay on top of starship operations. ()

Conflicts with the Prime Directive 
Dr. Crusher's empathy for her patients and her concern for their care above everything else occasionally caused problems, as she openly challenged Captain Picard's unwillingness to intervene on a situation in 2364 where the Brekkians were supplying the Ornarans with an addictive drug. Such an intervention would have been a direct violation of the Prime Directive. () 

Another instance of Beverly's empathy getting the better of her was when she rescued a native of Mintaka III during an emergency mission to a cultural observation outpost on the Bronze-age world. The Mintakan, Liko, awoke in the Enterprise sickbay and saw Captain Picard, believing him to be a god. After he was returned to his people, his story caused confusion and paranoia until Picard was able to prove that he too, was mortal. ()

Also in 2366, Beverly was taken captive on the war-torn planet of Rutia IV after tending to citizens wounded during an Ansata attack. Their leader, Kyril Finn, wanted to have her cure the internal damage caused as a result of the terrorists' use of a folded-space transport device. Crusher was shocked that Finn compared himself to George Washington, but also began to wonder whether or not the Federation's involvement with the official Rutian government was appropriate. She also had a great deal of sympathy for a small child who helped her tend to those injured by the transport device, and she was able to gain Finn's confidence as he sketched several pages of drawings modeled after her. Eventually, Beverly realized Finn was extremely irrational and misguided after he kidnapped Captain Picard and attempted to destroy the Enterprise. She was rescued when the Enterprise crew was able to locate the Ansata compound and Finn was killed. The child picked up a weapon and attempted to assassinate Picard and Alexana Devos, a Rutian security official, but Beverly convinced him to stand down. ()

Crusher made her feelings about the empathic metamorph Kamala and her "duty" quite clear when the Enterprise played host to peace negotiations between Krios and Valt in 2368. She felt Kamala was being forced into what amounted to slavery, and resented the fact that she was confined to quarters aboard the ship. () 

In 2368, the Enterprise discovered a crashed Borg scout ship in the Argolis Cluster. There was one survivor, Third of Five, later known as Hugh. Although Lieutenant Worf, Commander Riker and several Enterprise crewmembers wanted to kill the drone, it was due to Crusher's insistence that he was brought aboard and nursed back to health. Beverly strongly disagreed with the plan to send Hugh back with a computer virus designed to infect the Borg Collective, being the sole member of the senior staff who refused to recognize the Borg threat, but eventually helped Chief Engineer Geordi La Forge work with Hugh to construct such a weapon. Eventually, Captain Picard decided against using the virus, but the Enterprise crew did not realize at the time that the personality Hugh developed working with Crusher and the rest of the crew would be nearly as damaging. ()

Beverly attended the Altine Conference in 2369, and learned of the research of a Ferengi scientist named Reyga. He believed he had found the secret to metaphasic shielding, but many other scientists were skeptical of his claims. Crusher organized a small conference aboard the Enterprise and invited several leading scientists in the field of subspace morphology to view a test of the technology on the shuttlecraft Justman. Unfortunately, the test was sabotaged by a Takaran scientist named Jo'Bril, who staged his own death and then murdered Reyga by making it appear he had committed suicide in order to discredit the Ferengi. Jo'Bril had planned to steal the design for his own malicious use. Beverly felt responsible for the two deaths, and was determined to find the cause of the accidents. Crusher broke a number of rules, including performing an autopsy on Reyga against the tenets of the Ferengi death ritual, and was relieved of duty. After some helpful encouragement from Guinan, she eventually discovered Jo'Bril's plan, prevented him from stealing the data, and proved the technology was valid. Aboard the shuttlepod, Beverly was attacked by Jo'Bril and she was forced to kill him in self-defense. Crusher was exonerated and returned to duty shortly following the incident. ()

The Enterprise observed the destruction of Boraal II's biosphere in 2370. Crusher supported Dr. Nikolai Rozhenko's plan to save a small group of the Boraalans, feeling that the Prime Directive did not apply since the people would be destroyed anyhow. She was saddened when Picard did not take any action, and was confronted with a new dilemma when Rozhenko went over Picard's head and transported the group to the Enterprise holodeck. Along with Commander Data, Crusher had to decide on an appropriate new home for the Boraalans, a decision which weighed heavily on her shoulders. She correctly assumed that any choice made would shape the development of the Boraalan civilization for centuries to come. The Boraalan group was subsequently moved to Vacca VI, which had a climate somewhat less hospitable, but was in a secluded location. ()

Medical record 
In 2364, Crusher was hit by the mostly harmless energy stun effect generated by the Beta Renner entity. ()

Crusher sustained superficial phaser burns after she tried to prevent Lore from betraying the Enterprise crew in 2364. ()

Also that year, Dr. Crusher was injured during an away mission to the planet Minos. She and Captain Picard were being chased by one of the automated weapon drones on the planet, and the pair fell into an abandoned bunker. Crusher had lost her medical kit and was going into shock, but she kept awake long enough to instruct Picard on how to use the native plants to treat her wounds. She was rescued after Picard and Data figured out how to disable the weapons. ()

A Ullian named Jev visited the Enterprise in 2368, and mentally attacked several crewmembers, including Crusher, causing them to fall into a coma for a brief period of time, initially blamed on Iresine Syndrome. Crusher was forced to revisit the time when she and Picard visited Jack's body. Jev took the place of both Jack and Picard at various times, resulting in a terrifying experience. ()

Q turned Beverly into a dog in 2369, but Amanda Rogers, another Q, returned her to Human form. ()

Under the tutelage of Worf, Beverly was very eager to learn advanced Klingon martial arts. She attempted the techniques as fast as possible, to varying degrees of success. She was slightly injured during a training session in 2369, although she admitted it was more of a blow to her pride. ()

Crusher was nearly buried by a cave-in while scouting the underground caverns of Celtris III, but she escaped with minor injuries. ()

The Enterprise aided a Romulan Warbird damaged after an alien species used the artificial quantum singularity in its warp core as a nest for its young in late 2369. The Warbird was evacuated, and survivors were brought to sickbay. One of the aliens was masquerading as a Romulan female and was discovered by a Romulan crewmember. He fired a disruptor on disintegrate at her, but Dr. Crusher got in the way and was hit. When time was reversed and restored, Counselor Troi was on hand to move Crusher out of the way in time. ()

Crusher was severely injured in 2370 by Lieutenant Worf, affected by Barclay's Protomorphosis Syndrome. She was placed into stasis after being nearly paralyzed by venom, and required reconstructive surgery. Therefore, she did not "de-evolve" with the rest of the crew at that point in time. ()

The Enterprise-E 

The Enterprise-D was destroyed in 2371 following a crash landing of the saucer section on the planet Veridian III. Although there were no fatalities to the crew, there were many wounded, which kept Crusher quite busy. ()

The Borg
She transferred to the newly commissioned  the following year. Her command abilities were put to good use during the ship's near assimilation by the Borg during its trip to the year 2063, where she served as temporary executive officer during the crisis. Even though she was not fond of the Emergency Medical Hologram, she successfully used it as a decoy to keep the Borg distracted while the sickbay staff and patients made it to relative safety. ()

The Ba'ku and Son'a

In 2375, Beverly was part of the diplomatic contingent welcoming the Evora as a protectorate into the Federation. She also aided Captain Picard in his struggle to keep the Ba'ku from being relocated by the Son'a, and was the first to realize that both species were of the same ancestry. During the Ba'ku exodus, Deanna noted that her breasts were starting to "firm up" due to the effects of the planet's metaphasic radiation. ()

Trip to Romulus

Beverly then attended the wedding of Commander Riker and Counselor Troi on Earth and subsequently traveled to Betazed to take part in a traditional Betazoid wedding ceremony. After discovering Data's 'brother', B-4, Beverly and Lt. Commander Data collaborated on an examination of the less-advanced android's systems. Beverly then, after the Enterprise was diverted to Romulus, examined Praetor Shinzon's DNA, informing Picard that he was a clone of himself. ()

Personal interests

Theater 
Beverly was an accomplished thespian and playwright. She formed a theater troupe aboard the Enterprise () and produced several classic and original plays, sometimes to the dismay of the crewmembers she sought to fill the roles. () She wrote the plays Something for Breakfast and Frame of Mind. () At various points, her troupe included Will Riker, () Data, () Geordi La Forge, () Reg Barclay, () and even Captain Picard. (). She also taught an acting workshop. ()

Produced works 
Cyrano de Bergerac – 2367, starring Reginald Barclay and Beverly Crusher ()
The Pirates of Penzance – 2368, starring Geordi La Forge ()
Something for Breakfast – 2369, starring William Riker and Jean-Luc Picard ()
Frame of Mind – 2369, starring William Riker and Data ()

Dancing 
Although she was not shy about her theatrical abilities, Beverly was somewhat embarrassed of her past as a dancer, not wanting to be known by her nickname, "The Dancing Doctor." She studied tap and jazz dance, winning at least one award at Saint Louis Academy in St. Louis.  It was listed as part of her service record.  She was also familiar with the waltz and was capable of teaching it to others. ()

Other hobbies 
Beverly had varied interests in cybernetics and as an ethno-botanist, she even wrote papers on the subjects. () When the Enterprise-D was docked at Starbase 74 in 2364, she was eager to meet Dr. Terence Epstein, a leading authority in the field of cybernetics. Eventually she published a paper on the subject which Toby Russell considered revolutionary and fascinating. () She studied the Klingon mok'bara, use of the bat'leth, and other martial arts with Lieutenant Worf. () Her favorite holodeck simulations included Alture VII and the Orient Express. ()

Crusher was also a regular participant in the Enterprise-D poker games. () She made an unconventional wager with Will Riker, Geordi La Forge, and Worf in 2369. Beverly felt that beards were no more than affectations, and made the bet that if she won, the three men would need to shave their beards off. If the men won, Crusher would need to become a brunette. For a time, it appeared as if Crusher was going to win the bet, but the senior staff was recalled to the bridge before the game could be finished, despite Crusher's protest. ()

Personal relationships

Family

Wesley Crusher 

Jack and Beverly took Wesley to Balfour Lake on his first camping trip while he was still very young. Beverly later recalled with amusement that Wesley entertained himself by throwing manta leaves into the fire. ()

During his early childhood, Wesley had problems making friends. Beverly explained she had the same experience as a youngster to help him feel better about the situation. () He was also very inquisitive, and once asked Beverly for a definition of life. Every answer she tried to offer seemed incomplete. ()

Beverly never used physical violence to punish Wesley. The only time she ever slapped him was during Ambassador Sarek's visit to the Enterprise-D in 2366. Sarek was affected by Bendii Syndrome and his negative emotions were projected onto the crew. ()

Wesley came aboard the Enterprise with Beverly in 2364. He accompanied her on the turbolift to the bridge, initially drawing the ire of Captain Picard. ()

When the Traveler first visited the Enterprise-D in 2364, he informed Picard that Wesley had great potential and was in touch with abilities most Humans did not realize they could access. He asked that Picard not reveal this information to anyone, especially Dr. Crusher, although it is clear Picard did tell Beverly at some future point in time. ()

While visiting planet Rubicun III, Wes was arrested and sentenced to death for committing a minor violation of the Edo laws. Dr. Crusher was extremely upset, vowing that she would not let the Edo execute her son. Along with the Enterprise crew, she convinced the Edo God that the law was unjust and Wesley should be spared. ()

Wesley was the only person to realize that Lore had taken Data's place when the ship first recovered him in 2364. Picard ordered him off the bridge after he spoke his concerns, forcing Beverly to follow him. Wes later convinced her to go reactivate Data and investigate Lore's activities. This ultimately prevented the Crystalline Entity from harvesting the Enterprise crew as an energy source. ()

During Crusher's posting to Starfleet Medical in 2365, Wesley remained aboard the ship. Commander Riker and Lieutenant Worf were responsible for caring for Wesley in her absence. () After Beverly returned, she became concerned that Wesley was spending too much time on duty and not enough time socializing and being a teenager. Moreover, she felt she had missed out on much of his life, and was having trouble reconnecting to him. Later on, she learned that Wes did indeed have teenage friends. She noticed one of his attractive female companions, and tried to get more information about her from Guinan, as a good mother would. ()

Wesley was to leave for the Academy in 2366, but was delayed while assisting in a rescue of Commander Riker, Counselor Troi, and Ambassador Lwaxana Troi. Because he was set back one year, Picard promoted him to full ensign, making Dr. Crusher extremely proud. (). Wesley finally left to attend the Academy in 2367, separating the Crushers yet again. () He did not get around to writing Beverly until much later in the year. ()

In 2368, Nova Squadron members, including Wesley, were involved in a disaster which led to the death of one cadet, Joshua Albert. They illegally used the Kolvoord Starburst maneuver and then lied to an inquiry panel about the circumstances surrounding the incident. Dr. Crusher rallied behind her son and defended the team on behalf of the other parents even in the face of evidence which indicated they were being deceptive. She was disappointed with Wesley's conduct when the truth was revealed. ()

Wes returned to visit the Enterprise-D in 2370. He became very rude and abrasive towards his former crewmates, including his mother, and jeopardized a Federation operation on the Dorvan V colony. After meeting with the Traveler once more, Wes realized that his destiny did not include Starfleet at that moment in time, and he resigned his commission. Beverly was apprehensive about his departure, but she remembered the Traveler's words from six years prior and realized not only had Wesley grown and needed to make his own decisions, but that this was an important and necessary step in his life. ()

Wesley returned to finish his studies well before 2379, attending the wedding of Will Riker and Deanna Troi with Dr. Crusher. ()

Friendships 
Crusher was quite close to several members of the Enterprise crew. She was the only senior officer who customarily addressed the rest of the bridge crew by their first names. 

She was also interested in the well-being of her staff, and was especially close to Nurse Alyssa Ogawa. She often advised Ogawa on her romantic affairs, including that with her future husband, Andrew Powell. ()

Crusher and Q had an adversarial relationship. When Q was temporarily turned into a Human as punishment by the Q Continuum, she did not use her usual gentle bedside manner in treating a back injury he later suffered. () Beverly had the chance to tutor Amanda Rogers during her stay aboard the Enterprise, and became protective of the young woman. Amanda sought her help in dealing with her newfound powers, wanting to know what Crusher would do if she suddenly discovered she could have anything she wanted. Crusher could not answer, as she did not believe she could make a decision like that until confronted with it. She was not happy with Q's attempts to influence Amanda into giving up her life as a Human and using the powers of the Q. Q was frustrated with Crusher's interference, remarking to Captain Picard that "Crusher gets more shrill with each passing year." ()

Deanna Troi 
Crusher and Deanna Troi became very good friends. They often worked out together and both took Worf's mok'bara class. ()

Deanna and Beverly often advised one another on romantic relationships. Deanna worried that her romance with Devinoni Ral was proceeding too fast, but Beverly assured her that perhaps she did not need to be rational regarding a whirlwind romance. () 

Beverly did not often use the salon aboard the Enterprise, and began to do so when she began a relationship with Odan. Deanna arrived at the salon around the same time, and Beverly became self-conscious. Troi recognized the feelings between Odan and Beverly, even though the two tried to keep their romance a secret, and liked seeing Crusher happy. However, Troi also sensed the dual nature of the ambassador, and warned Beverly to be cautious. Later, when Odan was implanted in Will Riker's body, Deanna counseled Beverly on the mixed feelings she then felt towards Odan. Although Beverly wished she had never met him, Deanna told Beverly that she could never love without risking pain and encouraged Beverly to accept Odan's love if she still felt it while he was in Riker's body. ()

Troi did not trust time-traveler Berlinghoff Rasmussen when he came aboard the ship and told Beverly about her feelings of suspicion. Crusher was dismissive, as she was still smitten with the professor. ()

In 2369, the Enterprise rescued a transporter-created duplicate of Will Riker, known as Thomas Riker, from the research station on Nervala IV. Tom Riker wished to resume the romantic relationship he had with Deanna, which Will Riker had broken off upon the mission to Nervala. Troi and Crusher discussed a date with Tom during a workout, where Crusher mischievously pointed out that Troi should not be afraid to try a relationship with the duplicate Riker. When Tom Riker entered the gym, Beverly decided to leave the two alone, which led to Tom and Deanna becoming intimate. ()

Deanna accompanied Beverly to Felisa Howard's funeral in 2370, and went with her back to Felisa's home following the services. Beverly confided to Deanna about the erotic dreams she experienced after reading her grandmother's journals, which were due to the influence of Ronin. After Beverly met Ronin on Caldos, Deanna reminded her that her feelings of romance may simply be due to shared trauma, but Beverly brushed off her concern. ()

Data 

Beverly and Data also had a special relationship, with Data seeking advice from Beverly on subjects ranging from parenting () to dancing. She taught Data to tap dance, not knowing that he had intended to learn how to dance for the wedding of Miles O'Brien and Keiko Ishikawa. () Data also came to her for advice on whether or not to consider the exocomps alive, and she was present when Data learned they were indeed sentient. ()

In 2369, Data incorporated a subroutine for small talk. At the recommendation of Captain Picard, he studied Commander Hutchinson while the Enterprise underwent a baryon sweep at Arkaria Base. Beverly was the first person Data tried to engage in small talk using his observations of Hutchinson, to her astonishment and delight. ()

During Worf's promotion ceremony in 2371, Dr. Crusher tried to explain to Data the humor behind Worf being dunked after walking the plank on the holodeck recreation of the sailing ship Enterprise. Data did not completely understand and then pushed Crusher into the water, as an attempt at the same type of humor. However, Beverly and the rest of the senior staff did not find it nearly as amusing. La Forge later recommended that Data stay out of sickbay for a few days following the ceremony. ()

Beverly thought Data had nicer eyes than his predecessor, B-4. ()

Guinan 

In 2366, Beverly, while seeing her son socialize with other teenagers, asked Guinan whether she had any children. Guinan replied she had a lot, and Beverly inquired whether she had ever had trouble with one of them. Guinan said she had with one, that he wouldn't listen to anybody, and upon Beverly's remark that all children go through that, Guinan explained this was not the case among a species of listeners. Asked about how he had grown out of it, Guinan explained a mother shapes her child in ways she doesn't even realize, sometimes just by listening. ()

When in 2369 Beverly was relieved of duty, Guinan visited her in her quarters, claiming she sought treatment for her tennis elbow. As Beverly began to talk about her recent actions, she explained she had illegally performed an autopsy on the Ferengi scientist Reyga who had appeared to have committed suicide. As Beverly later found out, the Takaran scientist Jo'Bril had in fact murdered Reyga in order to discredit the Ferengi. Upon Guinan's encouragement, Beverly eventually discovered Jo'Bril's plan, prevented him from stealing Reyga's research data, and proved the technology was valid. She was exonerated and returned to duty shortly following the incident. In order to thank Guinan for her encouragement, she presented her with a state-of-the-art tennis racquet, on which Guinan admitted she had never played tennis. ()

Romance 
Aside from her marriage to Jack Crusher, Beverly has been involved in a number of romances. She recalled her first crush, as an eight-year old, was on an eleven-year old soccer player named Stefan. In her fantasies, they married and had twin boys then a girl. Stefan became a famous artist, and they adored one another. In reality, Stefan never knew that Beverly existed. ()

Sometime before she met Jack, she had an intense week-long relationship with an unidentified man which began after she knew him for only a single day. ()

While on the Enterprise-D, Crusher was enamored with a Zalkonian she named John Doe, rescued from a crashed escape pod in 2366. Thanks to her help, John evolved into another form of life and returned to Zalkon to help others of his kind escape repression. ()

She fell very much in love with the Trill ambassador Odan in 2367, not knowing that he was in fact a joined lifeform. Odan's host at the time was killed in a shuttlecraft accident, but the symbiont survived. It was implanted in Will Riker, causing Beverly to experience many mixed feelings. She was able to accept and love Odan in Riker's body, but when Odan was implanted in a new Trill host, this time a female, she ended the relationship. Although she still loved Odan, she could not deal with the uncertainty and frequent changes of the Trill species. ()

When Berlinghoff Rasmussen arrived aboard the Enterprise in 2368, Dr. Crusher wanted to learn more about the future, including whether or not the Telurian plague had been cured. Beverly was tolerant of Rasmussen's incessant questioning for much longer than most of the crew, but even she tired of his obnoxiousness after he made a pass at her. She felt very betrayed when Rasmussen was discovered to be a hoax. ()

Ronin 

After returning to Caldos in 2370 for her grandmother's funeral, Beverly learned that Felisa apparently had a thirty-four year old lover named Ronin. Ronin was actually an anaphasic lifeform who had been living with Howard women since taking up residence with Jessel Howard in the 1600s and passed from daughter to daughter in the form of a candle, which was his true home. Her biochemistry allowed him to maintain molecular cohesion, and he formed a symbiotic relationship with all of her descendants. Ronin had a strong hypnotic influence, offering Beverly erotic pleasure and the promise of further romance. Beverly was bewitched, resigning her post on the Enterprise to move to Caldos. She eventually came to her senses after Ronin killed a resident of Caldos, Ned Quint, and seriously injured Captain Picard, Commander Data, and Commander La Forge. She was forced to destroy Ronin after he tried to merge with her. ()

Jean-Luc Picard 
Beverly and Jean-Luc maintained a close friendship while serving on the Enterprise-D, usually sharing their morning meal together. Reflecting their long history, Beverly was the only member of the crew to regularly address Jean-Luc by his first name. Beverly usually tried to serve a new and exotic food, although she and Jean-Luc both preferred something simple. () Their relationship stayed platonic for the most part. They considered one another close friends, and would give each other advice when dealing with difficult decisions. While Beverly was in anguish over Odan's failing health while the symbiont was in Will Riker's body, Jean-Luc gave her a hug, and assured her that he would always be her friend and be willing to help her any way he could. () Beverly's anger over the treatment of Kamala led to Picard spending time with her, where he quickly learned that he was falling for the metamorph. Beverly did not know what to say, but reciprocated the emotional support he had offered the year prior. () Picard tried to make Crusher realize that the deaths of Jo'Bril and later Reyga were not her fault and that she should not try to rush her investigation. Beverly was too upset and preoccupied to understand his words, and Jean-Luc was extremely disappointed when she broke the Prime Directive and performed an autopsy on Reyga. () Picard knew that Crusher's odd decisions after meeting Ronin were not normal and confronted her on Caldos colony. Although Beverly initially resisted his demands for an explanation, she broke free of Ronin's influence after he attacked Picard. ()

Early on, Beverly and Jean-Luc experienced several romantically close calls. Once was under the influence of the Psi 2000 intoxication, where Crusher flirted with Picard and attempted to seduce him on the bridge of the Enterprise. () Picard invited Beverly onto the holodeck to participate in a Dixon Hill storyline, along with Data and ship's historian Whalen, and seemed quite smitten when faced with his doctor in her 1940s outfit. However, their two companions interfered and so there was no chance of anything leading on from there.() Commander Dexter Remmick interrogated Crusher about Captain Picard in mid-2364 and questioned her about her true feelings towards Picard. Beverly refused to answer, claiming that they were irrelevant to the operation of the ship. () In 2366, a duplicate of Picard replaced the captain in order to learn about Human relationships. It invited Crusher to dinner, where the two had a romantic evening including dancing. However, once the duplicate had enough information, it unceremoniously bade Crusher farewell. She teasingly held the real Picard responsible for his duplicate's actions when he was returned to the Enterprise. () Several times, Beverly began to explain her true feelings to Jean-Luc, once while they were held captive on Rutia () and another time with Picard's duplicate in the warp bubble universe but she was interrupted in both instances. () Both also displayed some jealousy when the other found a love interest, such as Crusher with Ambassador Odan or Picard with Jenice Manheim and Lieutenant Commander Nella Daren. ()

In 2370, Picard and Crusher were taken captive on planet Kesprytt, and were linked together by psi-wave devices to prepare them for interrogation, but the devices transmitted their thoughts to each other and they learned each other's most intimate secrets. Beverly stayed up one night to listen to Jean-Luc's dreams, and Jean-Luc discovered that Beverly usually always had some smart-aleck comment at the ready, although she had learned to repress the urge to say them out loud. One night, Beverly brought up Jack and feelings of guilt washed over Picard. She finally learned that he too, felt an attraction, but did not act on it out of respect for his dead friend. Once they returned to the Enterprise, Picard expressed desire to further their relationship. However, Beverly ultimately decided that she did not want to ruin their friendship or be placed in a conflict of interest, and they decided to remain mutual friends. ()

Alternate realities and timelines 
An alternate version of Beverly Crusher was chief medical officer on the Enterprise-D created after the  briefly entered the year 2366 through a temporal rift. She strongly objected to the plan to send the Enterprise-C back to its proper time, and wondered if she would even be alive in the restored timeline. ()

Beverly was also the chief medical officer on several Enterprises in alternate quantum realities visited by Lieutenant Worf in 2370 following his encounter with a quantum fissure. In one such reality, however, Doctor Alyssa Ogawa was the chief medical officer of the Enterprise instead of her, with the rank of commander. ()

In an alternate 2370, Crusher was able to figure out that the temporal anomaly's effects were causing the crew's cellular structure to revert to earlier stages of development. At the same time, she became concerned about Picard's well-being after he learned he would be diagnosed with Irumodic Syndrome some time in the future. This caused her to reconsider her relationship with Jean-Luc, and she reversed her earlier decision to remain just friends. These events were eradicated from the timeline following the collapse of the anomaly.

In an alternate future, Beverly had been promoted to captain and was commanding the medical ship . She had also married Picard and then divorced him quite some years prior, but had kept the surname of Picard following the divorce. She was initially skeptical of her former captain's claims about a temporal anomaly, but devoted the Pasteur to searching for it as a favor to the man she still considered a good friend. The Pasteur was destroyed in a Klingon attack, but Picard later convinced Beverly and his other friends that the anomaly was a real danger, and they returned aboard the future USS Enterprise-D to collapse it. ()

Holograms 

Beverly Crusher has been holographically duplicated on a number of occasions.
 In 2366, on stardate 43807.4, Lieutenant jg Reginald Barclay created at least two holographic Dr. Crushers shortly after he joined the Enterprise-D crew. Beverly took on the role of a friendly noble woman in one of Barclay's holo-fantasies. Riker, La Forge and Troi found Barclay asleep with his head on Crusher's lap after they intruded on his program. ()
 In 2367, Barash recreated the entire command crew of the Enterprise-D on Alpha Onias III to keep Commander Riker there. Dr. Crusher was one of the personnel that was created. In this fictional timeline she was still serving as CMO aboard the Enterprise-D and holding the rank of a commander. ()
 In 2369, on stardate 46424.1,  created a holographic Crusher as part of his plan to trick Captain Picard into releasing control of the Enterprise-D. ()
 During Dal's setup of the  aboard the  in 2383, he requested that the computer select the best officers on his behalf, which included a holographic version of Dr. Crusher, as a member of his command crew. ()

Miscellaneous information 
Crusher's quarters on the Enterprise-D were on Deck 8, Room 2133. () Her office was on Deck 12, Room 1629, adjacent to sickbay. () 

Beverly had a fear of heights. ()

Crusher's command authorization code in 2373 was "Crusher-2-2-Beta-Charlie". ()

When Tom Riker masqueraded as Will Riker aboard Deep Space 9 as part of a Maquis plot to steal the , he claimed Dr. Crusher had forced him on shore leave. ()

Beverly also said that she loved cats when Commander Riker complained about feeding Data's cat Spot. ()

Memorable quotes 
"If there's nothing wrong with me, maybe there's something wrong with the universe!"
 - Beverly Crusher ()

"Once the captain has made up his mind, the discussion is over."
 - Beverly Crusher, to Lily Sloane ()

Chronology 
2324  Born in Copernicus City, Luna
2342  Admitted to Starfleet Academy's medical program
mid-2340s  Meets Jack Crusher
mid-2340s  Meets Jean-Luc Picard 
2348  Marries Jack Crusher
2348  Wesley Crusher born
2350  Graduates medical school
2352  Interns on Delos IV under Dr. Dalen Quaice
2354  Jack Crusher dies while serving on the  under command of Jean-Luc Picard
2362  Promoted to commander after passing the bridge officer examination
2364  Assigned to , Wesley comes aboard ship as well
2365  Accepts position as head of Starfleet Medical, away from her son
2366  Returns to Enterprise-D
2367  Temporarily trapped in a warp bubble
2369  Part of a covert mission to infiltrate the Cardassian Celtris III outpost
2370  Commands the Enterprise-D during a rogue Borg assault
2370  Temporarily resigns commission while under the influence of Ronin
2371   destroyed over Veridian III
2372  Assigned to the 
2373  Travels back in time to 2063 in order to defeat an attempt by the Borg to create an alternate timeline in which the Federation is never created
2375  Assists in Picard's rebellion against Starfleet Admiral Dougherty in order to protect the Ba'ku
2379  Travels to Romulus; determines that Shinzon is a clone of Captain Picard and that the clone's s were incorporated with temporal RNA that had not been activated, necessitating a complete blood transfusion from Picard

Appendices

Background information 
Beverly Crusher was played by actress and choreographer Gates McFadden. The character first appeared in . Her last episode until the third season was . She was absent from  through , although she was seen in stock footage from "Symbiosis" and "Skin of Evil" during Riker's flashbacks in the latter episode. She returned for  and remained as part of the cast through the rest of the series and the four Next Generation-based motion pictures. Her character was not seen in  and did not have any lines in  or . Only her holodeck doppelganger was seen in .

Initially, Beverly Crusher was to be the Enterprises schoolteacher. However, that was soon to change, due to David Gerrold. "One day during lunch," he remembered, "I kept talking about Beverly Crusher [....] and in the middle of this I said, 'We don't have a ship's doctor yet, why don't we have Beverly Crusher be the ship's doctor?' I wish I'd recorded the conversation, because everybody said, 'Nah, that doesn’t work,' and then they started discussing it. Eddie Milkis said, 'You know, that saves us a character. If Beverly Crusher is the ship's doctor, then we don't have to create a ship's doctor.' Then Bob Justman said, 'No, that makes it harder for the captain to have this relationship with Beverly Crusher that we want to have. On the other hand, the fact that it's harder to have this relationship puts more tension… You know, Gene, that's not a bad idea.' And then Gene started discussing it. By lunch, Beverly Crusher was the ship's doctor." (The Fifty-Year Mission: The Next 25 Years, pp. 102-103)

Beverly Crusher was one of the least-defined characters when TNG was conceived in . According to the , she was merely referred to in relation to Wesley (at one point a female, called Leslie) and did not even receive her own page of background notes until the final edition of the writer's guide. The original casting call for her character was as follows:

"BEVERLY CRUSHER – Leslie's 35-year-old mother. She serves as the chief medical officer on the Enterprise. If it were not for her intelligence, personality, beauty, and the fact that she has a natural walk of a striptease queen, Capt. Picard might not have agreed to her request that Leslie observe bridge activities; therefore letting her daughter's intelligence carry events further."

Though Gates McFadden mostly liked playing comedic roles, portraying Crusher was enjoyable for her. "I felt the producers really wanted me to be a part of it," she remarked, "and it was nice to be wanted [....] I auditioned for the part thinking it was a very funny part because they gave me 'The Naked Now', and I thought she was going to be a hilarious character, and I ended up with the straightest and most serious character of all." (The Fifty-Year Mission: The Next 25 Years, p. 103)

Crusher is the only character of the core seven TNG ensemble not to have appeared on one of the subsequent Star Trek spin-offs. 

Furthermore, Crusher is one of the few TNG main characters to not be seen in the DS9 style of uniforms, along with Deanna Troi.

Beverly was given the full name Beverly Cheryl Howard Crusher on StarTrek.com, in homage to Gates McFadden's real first name, Cheryl.  On an invitation to her wedding, not seen on-screen in a Picard family album from , her middle initial is mistakenly given as "S." In , her middle initial briefly appears as "G" in an LCARS display. A medical case in  has her middle initial as "G", as well. Also, in her bio from , her rank was mistakenly listed as lieutenant commander when she was already a full commander.

Gates McFadden's own hair was used in seasons 1, 6 and 7. When she returned following the second season, the producers had her wear wigs in seasons 3, 4 and 5. The wigs required over an hour of preparation time before each day of shooting.  McFadden's own hair was much finer and longer, but the producers felt that Crusher needed a more professional look, hence the decision to use wigs. 

Officially, the difficulties in developing Crusher's character led to her character's departure by the second season. Unlike Natasha Yar, however, the TNG writing staff reassigned Crusher to Starfleet Medical, leaving open the possibility for her return. The writing staff's dissatisfaction with the Pulaski character and fan pressure via a letter-writing campaign allowed this to happen during the third season. () Patrick Stewart also supported McFadden's return. 

Despite this, Gates McFadden often felt she had to lobby the writers and producers for extra screen time and dialogue, not only for her character but for Deanna Troi and other female characters. Writer and Producer Jeri Taylor had much to do with increasing the focus on Crusher's character towards the end of TNG's run, giving her the opportunity to command the Enterprise in , eventually leading to her own command in the anti-time future of .  This development went largely ignored in the TNG films, except for during . With Riker absent and Data captured, Crusher acted as the Enterprises de facto first officer during the Borg crisis.

Appearances 
 
  (Pilot, Season 1) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
  
 
 
  (Season 3) 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  (Season 4) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
  (Season 5)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  (Season 6)
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
  (Season 7) 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
:

Apocrypha 
Novels set after Star Trek Nemesis establish that Beverly and Picard eventually did admit their love for one another, beginning a relationship, leading to marriage and ultimately Beverly becoming pregnant with the couple's first child, Rene. (Death in Winter, Greater than the Sum, Paths of Disharmony)

In the novels, the explanation for Beverly's parents' deaths is that when she was three (and-a-half) years old, they were killed when their research vessel was destroyed by an Ubarrak warship. From that time, she was raised by her grandmother, Felisa Howard. (Death in Winter)

External links 
 
 
 

bg:Бевърли Кръшър
de:Beverly Crusher
es:Beverly Crusher
fr:Beverly Crusher
it:Beverly Crusher
ja:ビバリー・クラッシャー
nl:Beverly Crusher
pl:Beverly Crusher
pt:Beverly Crusher
ro:Beverly Crusher
ru:Беверли Крашер
sr:Беверли Крашер
sv:Beverly Crusher
Humans
Starfleet sciences personnel
Starfleet command personnel
USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D) personnel
USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-E) personnel
Medical practitioners
Authors
Starfleet Medical personnel