Biography

Persis Khambatta

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Persis Khambatta was born on 2 October 1948 in Bombay, India. When aged 16, as Femina Miss India, she entered Miss Universe 1965, dressed in off-the-rack clothes she bought at the last minute. Khambatta became a model for companies such as Revlon. Her biggest acting break was getting the role of Lieutenant Ilia, the bald Deltan alien in Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979). This led to roles in Nighthawks (1981), Megaforce (1982), and Warrior of the Lost World (1983). She was considered for the title role in the James Bond film Octopussy (1983), but was passed over in favor of Maud Adams. Khambatta became the first citizen of India to present an Academy Award in 1980. She was nominated for the Saturn Award for Best Actress for her Star Trek role. Khambatta also made guest appearances in many popular American television series. In the early 1980s, she was seriously injured in a car crash in Germany and had to have heart bypass surgery.

A year before her death, she wrote and published a coffee table book titled "Pride of India", which featured former Miss Indias; it was dedicated to Mother Teresa, and part of the royalties went to the Missionaries of Charity. On 17 August 1998, Persis was taken to the Marine Hospital in South Mumbai, complaining of chest pains. She died of a heart attack the next day at the age of 49; her funeral was held in Mumbai.
- IMDb mini biography by: John Atkin

She was temporarily blinded during the scene in Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) which Lieutenant Ilia was taken by V'Ger, a scene which required her to keep her eyes wide open while being bombarded by intense light. This resulted in a form of flash blindness from which she soon recovered.
Underwent heart bypass surgery in 1983. Died of a heart attack on 18 August 1998, aged 49.
She shaved her head for the role of Lieutenant Ilia in the film Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979). At first, she shed tears over the haircut, but smiled after the finishing powder was applied to her scalp and her facial features were more defined by Fred Phillips.
Was Femina Miss India. She published a coffee table book about the history of the Miss India pageant titled "Pride of India".
An action figure doll was modeled after her Star Trek character, Lieutenant Ilia. Also, a character in Borderland (2004) is named after her.

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