Jenette Elise Goldstein (born February 4, 1960 in Los Angeles, California) is an American actress of Russian Jewish, Moroccan and Brazilian descent.
She is best known for several supporting roles in the Science Fiction genre, most notably Private Jenette Vasquez in Aliens, Janelle Voight in Terminator 2: Judgment Day and some Star Trek roles.
Selected filmography:
- Aliens (1986) as PFC Jenette Vasquez
- Near Dark (1987) as Diamondback
- The Presidio (1988) as Patti Jean Lynch
- Lethal Weapon 2 (1989) as Detective Meagan Shapiro
- Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) as Janelle Voight / The T-1000 (Janelle form)
- Star Trek
- Star Trek: Generations (1994) as USS Enterprise-B Science Officer
- Star Trek: Invasion (2000) as Typhoon Engineer (voice)
- Star Trek: Short Treks (2019) as USS Enterprise Computer (voice)
- Titanic (1997) as the Irish Mother
- Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998) as the Maid
- X-Men: Next Dimension (2002) as Jean Grey/Phoenix
- 24 (2004) as Rae Plachecki
- Autopsy (2008) as Nurse Marian
Tropes associated with her work:
- Acting for Two: Naturally in Terminator 2: Judgment Day, she plays both Janelle and the T-1000 pretending to be her.
- Actor Allusion: In Aliens, Hudson says to Vasquez "when she heard alien, she thought they meant illegal alien and signed up", referring to how Jenette famously assumed the film's title was metaphorical and went to the audition dressed as a prostitute.
- Brownface: While she is Latina, she had to wear makeup to look "believable" as such to a 1980s audience in Aliens.
- Chronically Killed Actor: She is the codifier of Vasquez Always Dies, and not only did her character meet her end in Aliens, but also in The Presidio, Lethal Weapon 2, and Terminator 2, among others.
- Dark Horse Casting: The studio didn't want her to play Vasquez, as she had never done a film before, but James Cameron fought for her to star.
- Dyeing for Your Art:
- She got an intentionally bad peroxide dye job for Near Dark to reflect how the vampires were poor and on the run.
- Besides the above-mentioned makeup for Aliens, she also had to dye her hair black and wear brown contact lenses.
- Fake Shemp: She couldn't handle the recoil of a handgun when shooting Aliens, so for a closeup where Vasquez shoots an alien with a handgun, Gale Anne Hurd doubled for her (as she had experience firing guns).
- Fake Irish: She plays an Irish woman in Titanic (1997) with a passable accent.
- I Am Not Spock: It's safe to say she's best remembered for playing Vasquez, and that's the only character of hers that got a trope named after her.
- Production Posse: She's known for being one of James Cameron's regulars.
- What Could Have Been: She was in strong consideration for Tasha Yar in Star Trek: The Next Generation, who was actually inspired by her character Vasquez in Aliens. She would later appear in Star Trek: Generations.
- Word of Gay: When asked about Vasquez's sexuality, she said she considers her to be "an outsider", and that the character would never reveal it to anybody because she didn't think it was their business.