For those few readers not fluent in Klingon, “qapla’” means “success” in English. It’s a word that is mostly used when parting with a warrior, wishing them well in battle, or, really, whatever they set out to accomplish. Think of it as Klingon for “good luck,” or “break a leg,” if they’re performing in an opera. “Parmaq” loosely translates to “love” and/or “romance.”
These words roll right off the tongue of actor/producer Mary Chieffo, who last appeared as Chancellor L’Rell on the Paramount+ streaming series, Star Trek: Discovery way back in April 2019. Since then, she’s found not just success, but love and romance, too, without having to undergo 2 1/2 hours of makeup and prosthetics.
Also, as is typical in Star Trek fandom, Chieffo still has a very loyal following of fans who turn out to meet her, whenever and wherever.
When was this past weekend, and the where was Star Trek Mission: Chicago. Chieffo was accompanied by her girlfriend Madi Goff, an actor and writer.
In addition to Chieffo and some of the Discovery crew, fans who trekked to Chicago also had the opportunity to see stars from the original series—George Takei (Sulu) and Walter Koenig (Chekov)—as well as the newer shows, such as Star Trek: Lower Decks, starring Jerry O’Connell, Noël Wells, Jack Quaid and Tawny Newsome.
Also on hand, Anson Mount and his co-stars from the next series, debuting May 5 on Paramount+: Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.
What’s really strange is that Discovery actor Wilson Cruz was not among those invited to appear, an unexpected slight, given what happened at a Star Trek celebration last fall when someone used a homophobic slur within earshot of the out gay actor.
Cruz was one of the people Chieffo confided in before she came out as queer last September 8. Until that moment, Cruz said Chieffo had kept her relationship very private. Shortly after coming out, she told me in a Zoom interview that the first time she mentioned her orientation publicly was actually at a Las Vegas gathering for Star Trek fans a few weeks earlier.
“I had been doing a lot of rainbow stuff in Vegas on my panel with Ken [Mitchell],” a co-star who is disabled and used a computer to speak for him. “There was obviously a lot going on, on that panel. I had mentioned at one point I was a queer woman,” she said, but nobody in Trek journalism noticed. She called that her “soft open.”
The big moment came on the red carpet on Star Trek Day, as Chieffo was doing a livestream interview at the Los Angeles celebration for the 55-year-old science fiction franchise. Chieffo casually mentioned her girlfriend while wearing rainbow necklaces and rainbow boots, and then said how Cruz and his trans nonbinary co-stars Blu del Barrio and Ian Alexander inspired her “exploration of her own queerness.”
At that exact moment, Cruz’s eyes bugged out, and he beamed the biggest smile, telling Chieffo—who he’s known since she was a child—”I’m so proud of you!”
She later tweeted “Live Long and Be Queer,” lest anyone miss the big reveal.
“Every Pride month for the past few, this has been percolating, I mean, this has been true my whole life,” Chieffo told me. “Coming out is something that at the right moment, the brain syncs up with the heart. I would say that when you're able to unpack all these societal norms and finally just be like, ‘Oh, this is my authentic self.’ And of course, within that, there's still so much more growth. And I'm still now in my first genuine relationship ever and that's going to be a whole adventure and so far an amazing one, better than I could have ever imagined.”
When Florida legislators were debating the Parental Rights Bill, called the “Don’t Say Gay Bill” by opponents, Goff posted the following on Instagram, which Chieffo also shared with her 22K followers:
“If sexual orientation is on a spectrum, I like to think there isn’t a ‘straight’ place on it. Maybe a constellation is an even better metaphor because Dr. Erin (@drerinmac) tells me the universe is fairly expansive. Live and love in the stars. In conclusion… If you’re gay, you’re gay. If you think you might be gay, you’re definitely gay. If you’re straight, you’re probably most likely definitely still gay. #dontsaygaybill”
Even before coming out, Chieffo has been a very active advocate for LGBTQ rights, as well as transgender inclusion. “I'm trying to be the role model I wanted to see growing up,” she told me.
Since we spoke on Zoom last September, a lot’s been happening for Chieffo, beginning with the reading of Ellie Pyle's Heretics in New York City in November; She produced the reading of her girlfriend Madi Goff’s science fiction play Lady Face with Bespoke in February, as well as appearing on stage alongside Discovery castmate Blu del Barrio and Star Trek: Picard actress Isa Briones.
“We are currently in production for the short film Madi wrote titled, Every Morning,” Chieffo told me last week. “We are producing with Dr. Erin Macdonald and her new production company, Spacetime Productions and have an incredibly diverse and inclusive crew.
Want to know more about Mary Chieffo, why she identifies as demisexual, her connection to Discovery co-stars Mary Wiseman and her husband, Noah Averbach-Katz? Her parents’ reaction to her relationship with Madi Goff and how she and Madi met? Plus what about the Klingon opera album she recorded? It’s all in this video of my September 2021 interview with this incredible talent. Qalpa’!
