William Shatner: Health, Net Worth, Feuds, and Aging Secrets

There’s a particular comfort in watching someone who has spent more than seven decades in the public eye still crack a joke about Captain Kirk. William Shatner, at 95, has become as famous for his candid thoughts on aging and health as for the Starfleet uniform he once wore. Here’s what we can actually verify about his diagnoses, his fortune, his decades-long feuds, and how he keeps showing up to work.

Age: 93 (born March 22, 1931) ·
Net worth: Estimated $100 million ·
Known for: Captain James T. Kirk in Star Trek ·
Marriages: Four, including Elizabeth Martin and Marcy Lafferty ·
Years active: 1951–present

Before looking at the feuds and the health scares, a grounding in the basic biography helps. The table below collects the essentials every other claim connects to.

What is William Shatner diagnosed with?

When you’ve lived as long and as publicly as Shatner, medical questions inevitably follow. One diagnosis he has confirmed: type 2 diabetes, which he has discussed in interviews and his own writings (Wikipedia biography).

• Skin cancer: In a 2026 interview, Shatner, then 95, discussed having a stage 4 skin cancer diagnosis in 2023 (The Independent interview).
• Joint pain and aches: In 2020, Shatner said he suffered from swollen joints and age-related aches, using cannabidiol oil for relief (Wikipedia biography).
• Memory concerns: The actor has admitted to memory issues and has been open about cognitive health without suggesting a formal dementia diagnosis.

The pattern: Shatner’s health disclosures tend to be reactive, made in interviews or books, rather than announced through official statements. This keeps the precise medical record fuzzy. According to Australia Press, no specific medical condition has been confirmed by him or his representatives beyond what he volunteers (Australia Press summary).

Why does William Shatner look so good for his age?

At 95, the man still works, travels, and posts on social media. His explanation is a mix of luck and stubborn engagement with life, not a miracle regimen.

• Shatner attributes his longevity to “luck” and staying engaged (Fox News report).
• He once told The Guardian that at 90 he had learned to take it easy, adding “nothing matters in the end” (The Guardian interview).
• In 2018, Life Extension summarized Shatner’s secret as: “Don’t die,” meaning he tries not to slow down (Life Extension profile).
• He has also emphasized that good aging comes from not being solitary or brooding, and from saying yes to opportunities (NAD.com article).
• Health Insight quoted him as saying: “Keep active, because your brain is affected by the rest of your body” (Health Insight).

What this means: Shatner’s “secret” is not biohacking or a diet, it’s a refusal to exit the stage. His words suggest a psychological commitment to staying visible, which may be as protective as any supplement.

Why did William Shatner not attend Leonard Nimoy’s funeral?

When Leonard Nimoy died in February 2015, fans expected Shatner to be at the funeral. He wasn’t. Shatner later explained that he chose not to attend because he wanted to remember Nimoy privately, not because of animosity (The Guardian interview).

• Shatner paid public tribute on social media, describing the loss as personal and deep.
• Those close to both actors have said the relationship was complex — competitive during the series, warmer in later years, but never effortless.
• Shatner’s own reflection suggests his absence was emotional, not a snub: he didn’t want to grieve in a public ceremony (The Guardian interview).

The implication: the story of Shatner skipping Nimoy’s funeral was read as proof of ego, but Shatner’s own account frames it as grief handled differently. The public version missed the nuance.

Why did William Shatner and George Takei not get along?

The Shatner–Takei feud is one of the most documented in Star Trek history. It began on the set of the original series and has never fully cooled. Takei has been the more vocal critic, claiming Shatner was egotistical, took credit for others’ work, and distanced himself from the ensemble (The Guardian interview).

• Takei has described Shatner as difficult and competitive, a claim echoed by some other guest actors.
• Shatner has acknowledged the tension but has said they found a way to work together when needed, including on Star Trek films.
• The feud has been a recurring topic in both actors’ memoirs and interviews, with Takei often sharpening his criticism.

The pattern: the feud colors how fans remember the positivity of the original show. It’s a story of two strong personalities who spent years in forced proximity and later turned that friction into part of their public identities.

Who is the richest Star Trek actor?

Among the original cast, William Shatner is routinely cited as the wealthiest, with an estimated net worth of $100 million (The Sun report; Briefly summary). The figure is an estimate from celebrity-finance trackers, but it reflects a career spanning television, film, books, and commercials.

Few comparisons illustrate the gap clearer than the one to his former co-stars.

The contrast is stark. Shatner’s early role as Captain Kirk gave him a residual stream and a licensing profile that his peers, often playing secondary characters, couldn’t match. His business ventures, including memoir after memoir, added to the pile.

William Shatner: a timeline of a long career

A famous life is easier to parse when you see the milestones in sequence.

• 1931: Born in Montreal
• 1966–1969: Starred as Captain Kirk in the original Star Trek series
• 1979–1994: Starred in Star Trek feature films
• 2004–2008: Starred in Boston Legal, winning an Emmy
• 2021: Became the oldest person in space on a Blue Origin flight (ABC7 report)
• 2023–2024: Open about health issues and aging (The Independent interview)

The trade-off: a career this long has both burnished his legacy and amplified every personal drama. Shatner’s endurance means we keep getting new chapters, even when some of those chapters are about old grudges.

What we can confirm, and what remains unclear

Confirmed facts

• William Shatner has type 2 diabetes (Wikipedia biography)
• He discussed having a stage 4 skin cancer diagnosis in 2023 (The Independent interview)
• He did not attend Leonard Nimoy’s funeral (The Guardian interview)
• He had a long-standing feud with George Takei (The Guardian interview)

What’s unclear

• Exact nature of his cognitive health — he has mentioned memory issues, but no formal diagnosis is public
• Whether his absence from Nimoy’s funeral was due to a personal conflict, as some claimed
• Precise amount of residuals he receives from Star Trek
• Whether reported hospitalization rumors in 2026 had any basis (Australia Press summary)

In his own words and theirs

“Keep active, because your brain is affected by the rest of your body.”

— William Shatner, quoted in Health Insight profile

“Nothing matters in the end.”

— William Shatner, reflecting on turning 90 in The Guardian interview

“Don’t die.”

— William Shatner’s famous one-liner on longevity, summarized by Life Extension magazine

“He was a difficult man to work with.”

— George Takei, on his memories of Shatner, as reported in The Guardian interview

What to make of William Shatner now

Shatner’s public narrative is a rare mix of beloved sci-fi icon, aging experiment, and cautionary tale about ego. For fans of Star Trek, the warm memories of Captain Kirk will always compete with the awkward truth of the man behind the uniform. For anyone watching how a 95-year-old navigates the end of a life on stage, Shatner’s approach is blunt: keep moving, keep talking, keep accepting the next offer (Fox News report). The discomfort is real, but so is the accomplishment.

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