Persis Khambatta

Persis Khambatta
Persis Khambatta in 1978
Born	(1948-10-02)2 October 1948 Bombay, Bombay State, India
Died	18 August 1998(1998-08-18) (aged 49) Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Years active	1968–1998
Title	Femina Miss India 1965
Spouse(s)	Cliff Taylor ​ ​ (m. 1981; div. 1981)​ Naren Parekh (1986–?)
Beauty pageant titleholder
Major competition(s)	Femina Miss India 1965 (Winner) (Miss Photogenic) Miss Universe 1965 (Unplaced)

Persis Khambatta (2 October 1948 – 18 August 1998) was an Indian model and actress who is best remembered for playing Lieutenant Ilia in the feature film Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979).

Biography

Early life and family

Persis Khambatta was born in Bombay to a middle-class Parsi family. Her father left her family when she was two years old. She first gained fame when a set of her pictures casually taken by a well-known Bombay photographer was used for a successful campaign for a popular soap brand. This eventually led to her becoming a model. She entered and won the Femina Miss India contest in 1965. She was the second winner of Femina Miss India and third Indian woman to participate in the Miss Universe pageant. At the Femina Miss India contest, she also won the Miss Photogenic award.

Modelling and acting career

Persis Khambatta at the Femina Miss India in 1965

Khambatta's first appearance at the age of 13 in advertisements for the soap brand Rexona set her on her way to becoming a popular model. At the age of 16, as Femina Miss India, Khambatta entered Miss Universe 1965 in July of that year, dressed in off-the-rack clothes she bought at the last minute. She became a model for companies such as Air India, Revlon, and Garden Vareli.

As Lieutenant Ilia in Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)

Khambatta made her Bollywood début in director K. A. Abbas's Bambai Raat Ki Bahon Mein (1968), playing cabaret singer Lily who croons the film's title track. She had small roles in Conduct Unbecoming and The Wilby Conspiracy (both 1975). She went on to have a brief movie career that included the role for which she is most recognized, the bald Deltan navigator Lieutenant Ilia, in Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979). She shaved her head for the role. She was originally signed to play the role for five years, as the intention was to create a new Star Trek television series. Khambatta said that she was thrilled when the project became a movie instead, because it would have greater impact on her career, but she also recognised that she had lost five years' work. Khambatta became the first Indian citizen to present an Academy Award in 1980. She was nominated for Saturn Award for Best Actress for her role in Star Trek. This led to roles in Nighthawks (1981), Megaforce (1982), Warrior of the Lost World (1983), and She-Wolves of the Wasteland (1988). She was considered for the title role in the James Bond film Octopussy (1983), but was passed over in favor of Maud Adams.

Co-star Stephen Collins described Khambatta in Star Trek as "a very gentle person, who I think was a little overwhelmed by Hollywood". In 1980, she was seriously injured in a car crash in West Germany, which left a huge scar on her head. In 1983, she underwent coronary artery bypass surgery. She returned to Bombay in 1985, and appeared in the 1986 Hindi movie Shingora opposite Aditya Pancholi and Marc Zuber. Soon after, Khambatta returned to Hollywood and performed in guest roles on various television series such as Mike Hammer and MacGyver. In 1997, she wrote and published a coffee table book, Pride of India, which featured several former Miss India winners. The book was dedicated to Mother Teresa, and part of the royalties went to the Missionaries of Charity. Her final appearance in an acting role was that of Chair of the Congress of Nations in the 1993 pilot episode of Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.

Personal life and death

Khambatta married Hollywood actor Cliff Taylor only weeks after meeting him in June 1981. Two months later they filed for divorce.

In 1998, Khambatta was taken to the Marine Hospital in south Mumbai, complaining of chest pains, and she died of a massive heart attack on 18 August 1998 at the age of 49. Her funeral was held in Mumbai the following day.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1966	Pinjre Ke Panchhi	Amy
1968	Bambai Raat Ki Bahon Mein	Lily / Leela
1969	Kamasutra - Vollendung der Liebe	Nanda
1975	The Wilby Conspiracy	Persis Ray
1975	Conduct Unbecoming	Mrs. Bandanai
1979	Star Trek: The Motion Picture	Ilia
1981	Nighthawks	Shakka Holland
1982	Megaforce	Zara
1983	Warrior of the Lost World	Nastasia
1985	First Strike	Sylvia Kruger
1987	Jazira		Video
1988	She-Wolves of the Wasteland	Cobalt	aka Phoenix the Warrior
1988	Deadly Intent	Francesca Slate	Video

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1977	The Man with the Power	Princess Siri	TV film
1983	Casablanca	Muslim Woman	"Divorce Casablanca Style"
1986	Hunter	Dhari Ziad	"62 Hrs. of Terror"
1986	MacGyver	Zia	"To Be a Man"
1986	Shingora	Roma Sinha	TV film
1987	Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer	Shandra	"A Blinding Fear"
1993	Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman	Chairperson	"Pilot"
1998	Not a Nice Man to Know	Guest	(final appearance)

References

• The Globe: 10 November 1998
• Beverly Hills [213] magazine: November 1998
• New York Post: 20 October 1998

External links

• Persis Khambatta on IMDb
• Persis Khambatta at the TCM Movie Database
• Persis Khambatta at AllMovie
• Persis Khambatta at Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)
• Persis Khambatta at Find a Grave