1. Persis Khambatta was an Indian actress, model and beauty pageant titleholder best remembered for playing Lieutenant Ilia in the feature film Star Trek: The Motion Picture.
18 Facts About Persis Khambatta
1. 2.
Persis Khambatta was born in Bombay to a middle-class Parsi family.
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Persis Khambatta's father left her family when she was two years old.
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Persis Khambatta 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.
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Persis Khambatta entered and won the Femina Miss India contest in 1965.
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Persis Khambatta was the second winner of Femina Miss India and third Indian woman to participate in the Miss Universe pageant.
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At the age of 16, as Femina Miss India, Persis Khambatta entered Miss Universe 1965 in July of that year, dressed in off-the-rack clothes she bought at the last minute.
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Persis Khambatta became a model for companies such as Air India, Revlon, and Garden Vareli.
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Persis Khambatta had small roles in Conduct Unbecoming and The Wilby Conspiracy.
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Persis Khambatta 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.
11.
Persis Khambatta was originally signed to play the role for five years, as the intention was to create a new Star Trek television series.
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Persis Khambatta said that she was thrilled when the project became a movie instead, because it would have greater impact on her career, but she recognised that she had lost five years' work.
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Persis Khambatta became the first Indian citizen to present an Academy Award in 1980.
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Persis Khambatta was nominated for the Saturn Award for Best Actress for her role in Star Trek.
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Persis Khambatta was considered for the title role in the James Bond film Octopussy, but was passed over in favor of Maud Adams.
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Co-star Stephen Collins described Persis Khambatta in Star Trek as "a very gentle person, who I think was a little overwhelmed by Hollywood".
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Persis Khambatta returned to Bombay in 1985, and appeared in the 1986 Hindi movie Shingora opposite Aditya Pancholi and Marc Zuber.
18.
Persis Khambatta's funeral was held in Mumbai the following day.