Marina Sirtis
Marina Sirtis in 2007
Born	March 29, 1955 (1955-03-29) (age 53) London, England
Official website

Marina Sirtis (born March 29, 1955^[1]) 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. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 351 × 600 pixelsFull resolution‎ (468 × 800 pixels, file size: 150 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... is the 88th day of the year (89th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1955 Gregorian calendar). ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... is the 88th day of the year (89th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1955 Gregorian calendar). ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... Actors in period costume sharing a joke whilst waiting between takes during location filming. ... In the fictional Star Trek universe, Betazoids are a sentient humanoid species from the planet Betazed, a member of the United Federation of Planets. ... Deanna Troi, played by actress Marina Sirtis, is a main character in Star Trek: The Next Generation, and the related films which followed. ... The title as it appeared in most episodes opening credits. ...

Background

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.^[2] Her younger brother, Steve, plays football in Greece^[2] 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. This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... Naturalization is the process whereby a person becomes a national of a nation, or a citizen of a country, other than the one of his birth. ... United States citizenship is membership of the United States political system. ... is the 172nd day of the year (173rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar). ... Soccer redirects here. ... Alma Mater Columbia University is a private university in the United States and a member of the Ivy League. ... The GSMD seen across the Barbican lake. ...

Career

Sirtis started her career as a member of the repertory company at the Connaught Theatre, Worthing, West Sussex in 1976. Directed by Nic Young, she appeared in Joe Orton's What the Butler Saw and as Ophelia in Hamlet^[3]. For other uses, see Worthing (disambiguation). ... West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex (with Brighton and Hove), Hampshire and Surrey. ... Year 1976 (MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Joe Orton Joe Orton (Born: John Kingsley Orton 1 January 1933, Leicester, England. ... What the Butler Saw was the title of a very popular Mutoscope reel. ... For other uses, see Hamlet (disambiguation). ...

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 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. Faye Dunaway (born January 14, 1941, in Bascom, Florida) is an Academy Award-winning American actress. ... The Wicked Lady was a 1945 film starring Margaret Lockwood in the title role as a woman marrying into nobility (Barbara Worth aka Lady Barbara Skelton) who turns to highway robbery for enjoyment, and to repay gambling debts. ... For other persons named Charles Bronson, see Charles Bronson (disambiguation). ... Death Wish 3 is the second sequel to Death Wish. ... Blind Date is an independent film made in 1984 by B-film maker Nico Mastorakis. ...

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. Image:Arthur-Daley-book. ... A.J. (Arthur J.) Raffles is a character created in the 1890s by E. W. Hornung, a brother-in-law to Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes. ... The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is the name given to the series of Sherlock Holmes adaptations produced by British television company Granada Television between 1984 and 1994, although only the first two series bore that title on screen. ... Cinzano is a Italian brand of sweet vermouth. ... DVD of first series of The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin starring Leonard Rossiter Leonard Rossiter (21 October 1926 – 5 October 1984) was a distinguished English actor, known for his comedy roles in two British television series of the 1970s, and for his roles in two Stanley Kubrick films. ... Joan Henrietta Collins OBE (born 23 May 1933) is a Golden Globe Award winning British actress and bestselling author. ...

Star Trek: The Next Generation

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.^[4] 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. Eugene Wesley Gene Roddenberry, (August 19, 1921 – October 24, 1991) was an American screenwriter and producer. ... Aliens is a 1986 science fiction/action film starring Sigourney Weaver, Michael Biehn, Lance Henriksen, and Bill Paxton. ... Robert H. Justman Robert H. Justman (born 1926) has worked in Hollywood as a producer, director, production manager, assistant director, and production assistant since the early 1950s. ... For the Brazilian pop singer, see Latino (singer). ... Jenette Goldstein as Pvt. ... Denise Michelle Crosby (born November 24, 1957) is an American actress who is perhaps best known for her portrayal of Security Chief Tasha Yar on the first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation. ... Lieutenant Natasha Yar is a fictional character on Star Trek: The Next Generation. ... Entry visa valid in Schengen treaty countries. ...

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. Initially, Sirtis's character was proposed to be the brains of the ship.^{[citation needed]}

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. Jonathan Frakes (born August 19, 1952) is an American actor and director best known for his portrayal of Commander William T. Riker in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and David Xanatos on Disneys Gargoyles. ... For the political scientist, see William H. Riker. ... Michael Dorn (born December 9, 1952) is an American actor known for his role as the Klingon Worf in multiple Star Trek shows and movies. ... Brent Jay Spiner (born February 2, 1949) is an American actor, best known for his portrayal of the android Lieutenant Commander Data in the television and movie series Star Trek: The Next Generation. ...

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. The starship Voyager (NCC-74656), an Intrepid-class starship. ... The starship Enterprise (NX-01) Star Trek: Enterprise is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe. ...

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.^{[citation needed]} She also created an accent (described as a mixture of Eastern European and Hebrew) for her character, although her natural accent is English.

Other work

After the end of Star Trek: The Next Generation in 1994, Sirtis continued to work regularly. She gained experience as a voice actress from the 1994 Disney animated television series Gargoyles, where she provided her voice for the antagonistic character Demona. The title as it appeared in most episodes opening credits. ... Gargoyles is an American fantasy superhero animated series created by Greg Weisman. ... Demona is one of the primary antagonists of the animated television series Gargoyles. ...

At Dragon Con, September 2005.
Photo by Patcave.

She appeared in other genre television shows such as Stargate SG-1 playing the Russian Dr. Svetlana Markov and as Sister Margaret in Earth: Final Conflict, as well as independent movies including Paradise Lost. In 1998, she had a guest role in an episode of the Dick Van Dyke CBS series Diagnosis: Murder. In 2001, she made a highly publicized guest appearance on the BBC hospital drama series Casualty. In 2008, she made a guest appearance in an episode of Casualty's sister show, Holby City in the series ten episode 'You're So Vain'. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Stargate SG-1 (often abbreviated as SG-1) is a science fiction television series, part of the Stargate franchise. ... Earth: Final Conflict is a science fiction television series posthumously created by Gene Roddenberry. ... Richard Wayne “Dick” Van Dyke (born December 13, 1925) is an Emmy Award-winning American actor, presenter and entertainer, with a career spanning 5 decades. ... For other uses, see BBC (disambiguation). ... Casualty is a long-running BBC television drama serial, first broadcast in 1986 and transmitted on BBC One. ... Holby City is a medical drama television serial, formerly a drama series, broadcast on BBC One in the United Kingdom. ...

Sirtis has expanded her career branching out into production, most recently producing The Deep Below. This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

Sirtis continues to work and is still recognizable on U.S. television and in films. Recent appearances include a controversial appearance in The Closer, a recurring comedy role as Gina Richards in Girlfriends, and a guest starring role in Without a Trace as Alexa Soros. In 2004, Sirtis had a minor role in the Academy Award winning ensemble movie Crash as the wife of an Iranian shopkeeper. For this role, she did not need to audition and was given the part immediately. In 2007, she appeared as The Queen in the movie Grendel. She has several films in production including Oranges and Trade Routes. She also has done voice work, as the character Matriarch Benezia for the Xbox 360 RPG Mass Effect, and reading for the abridged audio version of Powers That Be, by Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Anne Scarborough. The Closer is an American television police drama series. ... For other uses, see Girlfriend (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Without a Trace (disambiguation). ... Academy Award The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are the most prominent and most watched film awards ceremony in the world. ... Crash is an Academy Award-winning 2005 drama film directed by Paul Haggis. ... The movie Grendel is a modern motion picture adaptation of the epic story of Beowulf and Grendel, as told in the Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf. ... This article describes the characters of Mass Effect, an Xbox 360 action role-playing game developed by BioWare. ... It has been suggested that Xbox 360 Elite be merged into this article or section. ... This article is about the video game. ... Anne Inez McCaffrey (born April 1, 1926) is an American science fiction author best known for her Dragonriders of Pern series. ...

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Marina Sirtis

• Marina Sirtis' official website
• Marina Sirtis at the Internet Movie Database
• Marina Sirtis article at Memory Alpha, a Star Trek wiki
• Marina Sirtis at TV.com