48 Facts About Marina Sirtis

1.

Marina Sirtis is best known for her role as Counselor Deanna Troi on the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and four Star Trek feature films, as well as other appearances in the Star Trek franchise.

2.

Marina Sirtis was born in Hackney, London, the daughter of Greek parents, Despina, a tailor's assistant, and John Sirtis.

3.

Marina Sirtis suffered from an eating disorder, which emerged due to the trauma of the assault.

4.

In 1976, at the age of 21, Marina Sirtis graduated from Guildhall and began her career by joining the Connaught Theatre.

5.

In 1986, Marina Sirtis emigrated to the United States, settling in Los Angeles to boost her career.

6.

Marina Sirtis started her career as a member of the repertory company at the Connaught Theatre, Worthing, West Sussex, in 1976.

7.

Marina Sirtis appeared in Raffles, Who Pays the Ferryman, Hazell, Minder, the Jim Davidson sitcom Up the Elephant and Round the Castle, and The Return of Sherlock Holmes.

8.

Marina Sirtis played the flight attendant in a 1979 Cinzano Bianco television commercial starring Leonard Rossiter and Joan Collins, in which Collins was splattered with drink.

9.

Marina Sirtis recalls that on the day she received the call offering her the role, she was actually packing to return to Britain because her six-month visa had expired.

10.

Marina Sirtis felt her job was in jeopardy after the first season, but was overjoyed when Roddenberry took her aside at Jonathan Frakes' wedding and told her that the season-two premiere episode would centre on Troi.

11.

Marina Sirtis appeared in all seven seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and her character was developed from a more passive therapist to a tougher Starfleet officer.

12.

Marina Sirtis has stated her favourite episode is season six's "Face of the Enemy", in which she is kidnapped and surgically altered to pose as a Romulan.

13.

Marina Sirtis wore black-coloured contact lenses during the seven-year run of Star Trek: The Next Generation and the subsequent films because her character had black eyes.

14.

Marina Sirtis usually wore hairpieces for her role as Troi.

15.

Marina Sirtis was asked to create an accent for her character, although her natural accent is Cockney.

16.

Marina Sirtis reprised her character in the feature films Star Trek Generations, Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek: Insurrection, and Star Trek: Nemesis.

17.

Marina Sirtis appeared in Star Trek: Voyager for three episodes toward the end of the series, and the series finale of Star Trek: Enterprise.

18.

Marina Sirtis next returned to her role as Deanna Troi in 2020 in Star Trek: Picard episode "Nepenthe".

19.

Marina Sirtis reprised the role in "No Small Parts", the first-season finale of Star Trek: Lower Decks.

20.

Marina Sirtis voiced the Enterprise's computer in the web series Star Trek Continues.

21.

Marina Sirtis's first role was a departure from previous work, an abused wife in the series Heaven Help Us.

22.

Marina Sirtis provided the voice of Demona in the animated Disney television series Gargoyles for two seasons starting in 1994.

23.

Marina Sirtis voiced the character again for an episode of the unmade animated series Team Atlantis.

24.

In 1996, Marina Sirtis starred as a villainous police detective in the British made-for-television film, Gadgetman.

25.

Marina Sirtis played a villainess when she guest-starred as a race-track owner under investigation following the death of a driver in Diagnosis: Murder in 1998.

26.

Sirtis was interviewed in the October 2000 issue of SFX magazine in the UK; the cover stated, "Marina Sirtis is Everywhere", referring to her reprisal of her character Deanna Troi on Star Trek: Voyager.

27.

In 2001, Marina Sirtis made a highly publicised appearance on the long-running British hospital drama Casualty.

28.

Marina Sirtis played a politician with controversial views on the National Health Service.

29.

Marina Sirtis appeared in the made-for-television films Terminal Error in 2002 and Net Games in 2003.

30.

Marina Sirtis starred in the film Spectres in 2004, and at ShockerFest International Film Festival, she won the best actress award.

31.

Marina Sirtis had a minor role in the Academy Award-winning ensemble film Crash as the wife of the Persian shopkeeper.

32.

In 2007, Marina Sirtis starred in the SyFy channel production of Grendel, where she played Queen Onela.

33.

Marina Sirtis provided the voice for Matriarch Benezia in the critically acclaimed video game Mass Effect on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.

34.

The direct-to-DVD sequels Green Street 2 and The Grudge 3, featuring Marina Sirtis, were released in 2009.

35.

Marina Sirtis co-starred in the British film 31 North 62 East as the prime minister's top aide; it had a limited theatrical release in the UK.

36.

Marina Sirtis guest-starred in the first episode of the short-lived hospital drama Three Rivers.

37.

Marina Sirtis returned to SyFy in December 2009 in the disaster film Annihilation Earth.

38.

In 2010, Marina Sirtis guest-starred as a Swiss doctor in two episodes of ABC Family's Make It or Break It.

39.

In May 2010, Marina Sirtis announced that she would be providing the voice for comic-book villainess Queen Bee in the Young Justice animated series.

40.

Marina Sirtis provided her voice for a number of episodes from 2011 until its cancellation in 2013.

41.

In March 2011, Marina Sirtis guest-starred on an episode of Grey's Anatomy.

42.

Marina Sirtis played an Iranian mother who was at the hospital to participate in a medical trial for Alzheimer's disease.

43.

In 2012, the vampire film Speed Demons, in which Marina Sirtis co-starred, was released to pay-per-view services.

44.

Marina Sirtis accepted a recurring role as director of Mossad on NCIS.

45.

Marina Sirtis subsequently appeared in the second episode of season 11, which aired in early October 2013, and in the season 13 finale "Family First".

46.

In 2019, Marina Sirtis made her London West End stage debut in Dark Sublime, playing the character of Marianne, a freelance actor and now-forgotten icon of a British sci-fi TV show, whose encounter with a fan changes both of their lives.

47.

Marina Sirtis married Michael Lamper, an actor and rock guitarist, in 1992.

48.

In 2021, Marina Sirtis moved back to London, citing Lamper's death, growing tensions in the US, and a desire for career opportunities in British film and television.