Los Angeles ( CNN ) -- Actress Arlene Martel , who `` Star Trek '' fans know as Spock 's bride-to-be , died in a Los Angeles hospital Tuesday of complications from a heart attack , her son said . Martel was 78 . Martel 's ethnic ambiguity earned her the nickname `` The Chameleon '' among Hollywood casting directors in the 1960s , son Jod Kaftan told CNN . It gained her diverse roles , including as a Russian spy on `` The Monkees '' and `` I Dream of Jeannie , '' a French Underground operative in `` Hogan 's Heroes , '' a Native American woman in a `` Gunsmoke '' episode and as a Vulcan on `` Star Trek . '' Trekkies still lined up at sci-fi conventions to meet Martel and pay for autographs because of her role as T'Pring , the Vulcan priestess engaged to Spock in the first episode of the iconic show 's second season . Leonard Nimoy , who was the original Spock , tweeted his tribute to her : `` Saying goodbye to T'Pring , Arlene Martel . A lovely talent . '' Martel is also known for two former boyfriends . She was one of James Dean 's girlfriends in New York before he became a star , Kaftan said . She also dated actor Cary Grant for a time , he said . Her acting career began on Broadway when she was a teenager . She was cast as Esther in the 1956 production of `` Uncle Willie . '' She was still using her birth name Arline Sax for her credits then . Her television career started in 1959 with a move to Hollywood . She soon landed guest roles on hit shows , including `` Twilight Zone , '' `` Death Valley Days , '' and `` Have Gun -- Will Travel . '' Although the roles slowed down over the decades , Martel always considered herself a working actress . `` She was still getting out there , doing roles , '' Kaftan said . `` She had a lot of big dreams she was still pursuing . '' Although battling cancer over the past five years , she still traveled around the world to conventions where `` Star Trek '' fans gathered . Her son said it was an odd experience for him to go with her because `` guys would have a crush on your mom because she 's a sci-fi babe from the '60s . '' People we 've lost in 2014 . Star Trek legend who became NASA 's 'secret weapon '
Arlene Martel 's ethnic ambiguity earned her the nickname `` The Chameleon '' `` Star Trek '' fans know her as T'Pring , the Vulcan priestess engaged to Spock . She played a Russian spy on `` The Monkees '' and `` I Dream of Jeannie '' Male fans had crushes on her as `` a sci-fi babe from the '60s , '' her son says .