MARINA SIRTIS
Name: Marina Sirtis
Born: 29 March 1955 London, England
Marina Sirtis (born March 29, 1955) is an English actress who is most noted
for playing the half-human half-Betazoid Counselor/Commander Deanna Troi on the
television and film series Star Trek: The Next Generation. She also provided the
voice of Demona in the animated series Gargoyles. She is also noted for
appearing in the Oscar winning movie Crash and as a semi-regular on Girlfriends.
Most recently was her voice work in the critically acclaimed Xbox 360 game, Mass
Effect.
Sirtis was born in London, England, and is a naturalized U.S. citizen of Greek
descent. She has been married to Michael Lamper since June 21, 1992. Her
younger brother, Steve, plays football in Greece and played for Columbia
University in the early 1980s. She auditioned for drama school against her
parents' wishes, ultimately being accepted to the Guildhall School of Music &
Drama.
Before her role in Star Trek, Sirtis had provocative, sexually-themed roles in
several movies. In the Faye Dunaway film The Wicked Lady, she engaged in a
topless whip fight with Ms. Dunaway. In the Charles Bronson sequel Death Wish 3,
Sirtis's character is brutally raped by street thugs. In the film Blind Date,
she appeared as a prostitute who is murdered by a madman. Sirtis appeared nude
extensively in all three films. As a result, when she later achieved fame
through Star Trek: The Next Generation, her earlier movies generated
considerable nude stills traffic/internet buzz among Star Trek's predominantly
young, male fan base. She also appeared in the 1979 movie Caligula as an extra
in one of the orgy scenes.
She did have an established CV of British television work, appearing in Minder,
Raffles, and The Return of Sherlock Holmes among other things. She played the
stewardess in the famous Cinzano Bianco television commercial staring Leonard
Rossiter and Joan Collins, in which Collins was splattered with drink.
Gene Roddenberry was inspired to ask the exotic-looking Sirtis to audition for a
role after seeing the film Aliens with Bob Justman, which featured the prominent
Latina character Vasquez, played by Jenette Goldstein. Sirtis and Denise
Crosby initially tried out for the other's eventual role on The Next Generation.
Sirtis's character was going to be named Lt. Macha Hernandez, the Security Chief.
Gene Roddenberry decided to switch them, and Macha Hernandez became Natasha Yar.
Sirtis recalls that on the day she received a call offering her the role of
Deanna Troi, she was actually packing to return to England, because her six-month
visa had ended.
Sirtis appeared in all seven seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and her
character was developed from a more passive therapist to tougher Starfleet
officer, much to Sirtis's approval. Fortunately, throughout the series, Troi
remained a strong female character. It should be noted that Sirtis's buxom
figure has garnered an extensive fan base that continues today. Her character
was critical to the success of the series. Initially, Sirtis's character was
proposed to be the brains of the ship.
During her time on the show, she became close friends with her co-stars Jonathan
Frakes (who played her on-again/off-again lover Commander Riker), Michael Dorn,
and Brent Spiner. In fact, cast members Spiner and Dorn were groomsmen at her
wedding.
Sirtis has also reprised her character of Deanna Troi in Star Trek: Voyager on
several occasions, and in all of the Next Generation feature films, and also in
the series finale of Star Trek: Enterprise. She is one of only six actors to
play the same character on three different Star Trek series.
Sirtis also has several action figures modeled after her likeness and her
character, Deanna Troi, from Star Trek: The Next Generation.
She usually wore hair-pieces for her role as Deanna Troi in Star Trek: The Next
Generation. Sirtis's real hair was slightly shorter, and although curly, was not
as bouffant as her character's. However, Sirtis's real hair was used in the
pilot episode, and also in the first six episodes of season six, in which Troi
sported a more natural looking pony-tailed style. She also
created an accent (described as a mixture of Eastern European and Hebrew) for
her character, although her natural accent is British.
Name: Marina Sirtis
Born: 29 March 1955 London, England
Marina Sirtis (born March 29, 1955) is an English actress who is most noted
for playing the half-human half-Betazoid Counselor/Commander Deanna Troi on the
television and film series Star Trek: The Next Generation. She also provided the
voice of Demona in the animated series Gargoyles. She is also noted for
appearing in the Oscar winning movie Crash and as a semi-regular on Girlfriends.
Most recently was her voice work in the critically acclaimed Xbox 360 game, Mass
Effect.
Sirtis was born in London, England, and is a naturalized U.S. citizen of Greek
descent. She has been married to Michael Lamper since June 21, 1992. Her
younger brother, Steve, plays football in Greece and played for Columbia
University in the early 1980s. She auditioned for drama school against her
parents' wishes, ultimately being accepted to the Guildhall School of Music &
Drama.
Before her role in Star Trek, Sirtis had provocative, sexually-themed roles in
several movies. In the Faye Dunaway film The Wicked Lady, she engaged in a
topless whip fight with Ms. Dunaway. In the Charles Bronson sequel Death Wish 3,
Sirtis's character is brutally raped by street thugs. In the film Blind Date,
she appeared as a prostitute who is murdered by a madman. Sirtis appeared nude
extensively in all three films. As a result, when she later achieved fame
through Star Trek: The Next Generation, her earlier movies generated
considerable nude stills traffic/internet buzz among Star Trek's predominantly
young, male fan base. She also appeared in the 1979 movie Caligula as an extra
in one of the orgy scenes.
She did have an established CV of British television work, appearing in Minder,
Raffles, and The Return of Sherlock Holmes among other things. She played the
stewardess in the famous Cinzano Bianco television commercial staring Leonard
Rossiter and Joan Collins, in which Collins was splattered with drink.
Gene Roddenberry was inspired to ask the exotic-looking Sirtis to audition for a
role after seeing the film Aliens with Bob Justman, which featured the prominent
Latina character Vasquez, played by Jenette Goldstein. Sirtis and Denise
Crosby initially tried out for the other's eventual role on The Next Generation.
Sirtis's character was going to be named Lt. Macha Hernandez, the Security Chief.
Gene Roddenberry decided to switch them, and Macha Hernandez became Natasha Yar.
Sirtis recalls that on the day she received a call offering her the role of
Deanna Troi, she was actually packing to return to England, because her six-month
visa had ended.
Sirtis appeared in all seven seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and her
character was developed from a more passive therapist to tougher Starfleet
officer, much to Sirtis's approval. Fortunately, throughout the series, Troi
remained a strong female character. It should be noted that Sirtis's buxom
figure has garnered an extensive fan base that continues today. Her character
was critical to the success of the series. Initially, Sirtis's character was
proposed to be the brains of the ship.
During her time on the show, she became close friends with her co-stars Jonathan
Frakes (who played her on-again/off-again lover Commander Riker), Michael Dorn,
and Brent Spiner. In fact, cast members Spiner and Dorn were groomsmen at her
wedding.
Sirtis has also reprised her character of Deanna Troi in Star Trek: Voyager on
several occasions, and in all of the Next Generation feature films, and also in
the series finale of Star Trek: Enterprise. She is one of only six actors to
play the same character on three different Star Trek series.
Sirtis also has several action figures modeled after her likeness and her
character, Deanna Troi, from Star Trek: The Next Generation.
She usually wore hair-pieces for her role as Deanna Troi in Star Trek: The Next
Generation. Sirtis's real hair was slightly shorter, and although curly, was not
as bouffant as her character's. However, Sirtis's real hair was used in the
pilot episode, and also in the first six episodes of season six, in which Troi
sported a more natural looking pony-tailed style. She also
created an accent (described as a mixture of Eastern European and Hebrew) for
her character, although her natural accent is British.