In her Oscar acceptance speech, which you can see above, Fletcher thanked her parents in sign language. She was later nominated for two Emmys when she guest-starred on “Picket Fences” and “Joan of Arcadia.” “Star Trek” fans came to know her for recurring 1993–1999 role as the Bajoran religious leader Kai Winn Adami in 14 episodes of “Deep Space Nine.” Having guested on “Wagon Train,” it was only fitting that she should become part of a franchise that was originally conceived of as “Wagon Train to the stars.”
Fletcher’s final acting credits were two episodes of the series “Girlboss” in 2017. In a 1995 New York Times article, “Oscar’s Glory Is Fleeting. Ask One Who Knows,” she recalled how “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” director Milos Forman jokingly predicted that everyone involved in the film was now “going to make flops” after winning. This proved partly true, with Fletcher calling her next film, “The Exorcist II: The Heretic,” “a huge flop.” She was no stranger to fallow career periods, however, having spent the 11 years between “A Gathering of Eagles” and “Thieves Like Us” raising her sons offscreen. And with Nurse Ratched — who has continued to live on into the 21st century in the Sarah Paulson-led prequel series “Ratched” — she crafted one of the all-time great movie villains.
Fletcher was married to “Thieves Like Us” producer Jerry Bick from 1960 to 1977. She is survived by her sons John and Andrew Bick, as well as her granddaughter, sister and brother-in-law, and 10 nieces and nephews.