Persis Khambatta Movies and Career Information

Persis Khambatta (2 October 1948, Mumbai  – 18 August 1998, Mumbai) was an Indian model, actress and author. She was best known for her role as Lieutenant Ilia in the 1979 feature film Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Khambatta began modeling at the age of 14. At age 17, as Femina Miss India, Khambatta 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. In 1975, she had small roles in Conduct Unbecoming and The Wilby Conspiracy. She went on to a brief movie career that included the role for which she is most recognized, as bald navigator Lieutenant Ilia, in Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979). This led to roles in Nighthawks (1981), Megaforce (1982) and Warrior of the Lost World (1985), but she never again experienced the acting success she had found in Star Trek. She was considered for the title role in the James Bond film Octopussy (1983), playing an Indian woman, but was passed over for Swedish-born Maud Adams. Khambatta became the first citizen of India to present an Academy Award in 1979. She was seriously injured in a car crash in Germany the next year, which left her with a large