Persis Khambatta

Persis Khambatta Biography

Persis Khambatta was an Indian model from Maharashtra who represented India at Miss Universe contest for the year 1965. She was only the third model from India, after Indrani Rehman and Meher Castelino Mistri to contest in the Miss Universe Contest. Unfortunately she was unplaced. She is also an actress and writer and known for her role as Lieutenant Ilia in the 1979 American feature film ‘Star Trek: The Motion Picture’ directed by Robert Wise. It gave her a nomination at Saturn Award for Best Actress. She has been featured in many English movies. She died of a heart attack in 1998 during her middle ages.

She was born in a Parsi family in Mumbai in 1948. Her father left the family when she was 2 years old. Her first photo appeared in ads for the popular soap Rexona when she was only 13. Those pictures were casually taken by a well-known Mumbai photographer. But she got instant recognition through this ad and became a popular model very soon. She participated in Miss India contest in the year 1965 and won as well. She represented India in Miss Universe contest the same year. Later she modelled for Air India, Revlon cosmetics and Garden Vareli saris.

She made her film debut through Hindi movie, Bambai ki baahom mein, directed by acclaimed director Khwaja Ahmad Abbas. She played the supporting role of Lily / Leela, a cabaret singer who sync lips the title music track.  With the mid-1970’s she appeared in many English language movies. Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) gained her instant success, where she played the role of Deltan navigator Lieutenant Ilia. Her bald look for the movie was quite popular. She became the first Indian citizen to present an Academy Award in 1980. She also played Major Zara in the Hal Needham’s ‘MegaForce’. In a car crash in Germany in 1980, a scar on head was left which adversely affected her career. Later she made guest appearances in a few movies.

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Updated: July 31, 2014