Biography

After becoming immersed in the 60s high life of drugs and sex, Denberg left show business and returned to Austria. News interviews at the time show a depressed Denberg in the company of her mother, at home in Klagenfurt. These news items, repeated in fan periodicals for years, gave the impression Denberg was suicidal or had already died. Actually, she is still alive.

- IMDb mini biography by: Ted Newsom

Susan Denberg is the stage name for Dietlinde Zechner (born on 2 August 1944; age 68), a German-born Austrian chorus dancer and 1966 Playboy Playmate, who made a brief brush with an acting career in the late 1960s. One of her few acting roles was that of "Magda Kovacs" in the Star Trek (1966) episode, Mudd's Women (1966).

Denberg was born in Bad Polzin, Germany (now Polczyn Zdrój, Poland) and grew up in Klagenfurt, Austria. She worked as a chorus girl in London, England, and then in Las Vegas, Nevada, before moving to Los Angeles, California, in the mid-1960s.

In 1965, Denberg landed a co-starring role as a German girl on the ABC war drama series, 12 O'Clock High (1964). Her fellow TOS guest star, Frank Overton, was a regular on this series (Robert Lansing had been a regular, as well, but he left the series the previous year).

The following year, Denberg made her feature film debut with a supporting role in the drama, An American Dream (1966). Star Trek (1966) regular, George Takei, and TOS guest actors, Richard Derr and Warren Stevens, also had roles in this film, which was directed by Robert Gist. While working on this film, Warner Bros. held a contest to find Susan a new screen name, offering a $500 award to whoever came up with the best one, but all of the entries were ultimately rejected.

Denberg was featured Playmate of the Month for Playboy magazine's August 1966 issue. In her profile, Denberg stated that she had ambitions to become an actress. Denberg was later one of the finalists for the title of 1967's Playmate of the Year, though the title ultimately went to Lisa Baker.

Denberg's most famous acting role, outside of Star Trek (1966), was in Hammer Film's cult 1967 science fiction/horror film, Frankenstein créa la femme (1967), opposite Peter Cushing. However, Denberg's voice in the film was dubbed, as her Austrian accent was considered too strong.

After "Frankenstein Created Woman", Denberg returned to Austria. Over the years, rumors surfaced that she had died of a drug overdose in 1967 or that she had become mentally unstable as a result of using the drug LSD. In actuality, Denberg is currently (as of 24 Oct 2012) alive and well, and is living in Klagenfurt, Austria, under her real name, Dietlinde Zechner.

- IMDb mini biography by: Memory Alpha