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Persis Khambatta (2 October 1948 – 18 August 1998) was an Indian actress, model and beauty pageant titleholder best remembered for playing Lieutenant Ilia in the feature film (1979).
Khambatta made her Bollywood début in director K. A. Abbas's Bambai Raat Ki Bahon Mein (1968), playing cabaret singer Lily who croons the film's title track. She had small roles in Conduct Unbecoming and The Wilby Conspiracy (both 1975). She 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 (1979). She shaved her head for the role. She was originally signed to play the role for five years, as the intention was to create a . Khambatta said that she was thrilled when the project became a movie instead, because it would have greater impact on her career, but she also recognised that she had lost five years' work. Khambatta became the first Indian citizen to present an Academy Award in 1980. She was nominated for the Saturn Award for Best Actress for her role in Star Trek. This led to roles in Nighthawks (1981), Megaforce (1982), Warrior of the Lost World (1983), and She-Wolves of the Wasteland (1988). She was considered for the title role in the James Bond film Octopussy (1983), but was passed over in favor of Maud Adams.
Co-star Stephen Collins described Khambatta in Star Trek as "a very gentle person, who I think was a little overwhelmed by Hollywood". In 1980, she was seriously injured in a car crash in West Germany, which left a huge scar on her head. In 1983, she underwent coronary artery bypass surgery. She returned to Bombay in 1985, and appeared in the 1986 Hindi movie Shingora opposite Aditya Pancholi and Marc Zuber. Soon after, Khambatta returned to Hollywood and performed in guest roles on various television series such as Mike Hammer and MacGyver. In 1997, she wrote and published a coffee table book, Pride of India, which featured several former Miss India winners. The book was dedicated to Mother Teresa, and part of the royalties went to the Missionaries of Charity. Her final appearance in an acting role was that of Chair of the Congress of Nations in the 1993 pilot episode of .
Khambatta was a chain smoking. In 1998, she was taken to the Marine Hospital in south Mumbai, complaining of chest pains, and she died of a massive heart attack on 18 August 1998 at the age of 49. Her funeral was held in Mumbai the following day.
| 1966 | Pinjre Ke Panchhi | Amy | |
| 1968 | Bambai Raat Ki Bahon Mein | Lily / Leela | |
| 1969 | Kamasutra - Vollendung der Liebe | Nanda | |
| 1975 | Persis Ray | ||
| 1975 | Conduct Unbecoming | Mrs. Bandanai | |
| 1979 | Ilia | ||
| 1981 | Nighthawks | Shakka Holland | |
| 1982 | Megaforce | Zara | |
| 1983 | Warrior of the Lost World | Nastasia | |
| 1985 | First Strike | Sylvia Kruger | |
| 1987 | Jazira | Unknown Role | Video |
| 1988 | She-Wolves of the Wasteland | "Cobalt" | aka Phoenix the Warrior |
| 1988 | Deadly Intent | Francesca Slate | Video |
| 1977 | Princess Siri | TV film | |
| 1983 | Casablanca | Muslim Woman | "Divorce Casablanca Style" |
| 1986 | Hunter | Dhari Ziad | "62 Hrs. of Terror" |
| 1986 | MacGyver | Zia | "To Be a Man" |
| 1986 | Shingora | Roma Sinha | TV film |
| 1987 | Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer | Shandra | "A Blinding Fear" |
| 1993 | Chairperson | "Pilot" | |
| 1998 | Not a Nice Man to Know | Guest | (final appearance) |
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