Marina Sirtis

Marina Sirtis (born March 29, 1955) is a British-American film, stage, television, and voice actress. She has been active since the late 1970s and is best known for her recurring role as Counselor Deanna Troi in Star Trek—in multiple television series and the movie Star Trek: Insurrection (1998). She also lent her voice to the Troi character in the Star Trek video game.

Early life and education

Marina Sirtis was born in Hackney, London, on March 29, 1955, to Greek parents—John Sirtis and Despina (Yianniri) Sirtis, a tailor's assistant. She has a younger brother Steve Sirtis who plays football for Greece.

Sirtis was brought up in Harringay, North London. She attended Tottenham High School for Girls in London. Growing up, she was interested in becoming an actress but was discouraged by her parents. She secretly auditioned for drama school and was accepted to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. She graduated from Guildhall School in 1976 and joined the Connaught Theatre & Studio in Worthing, England.

Career

Early years

Sirtis' professional acting career began in 1976 with Connaught Theatre. She appeared in What the Butler Saw, a two-act farce written by the English playwright Joe Orton. The play was directed by Emmy-winning Nic Young. Around those years, she also played "Ophelia" in William Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet.

In 1977, Sitris made her television debut in the role of "Faustina" in the episode "The Last Laugh" of the TV comedy series Raffles (ITV). The following year, she had a minor, uncredited role in Clive Donner's TV movie The Thief of Baghdad, starring Kabir Bedi, Daniel Emilfork, and Frank Finlay. In 1985, she played "Maria", a rape victim in Michael Winner's crime drama Death Wish 3 with Charles Bronson and Deborah Raffin in the lead roles.

Hollywood

In 1986, Sitris relocated to Los Angeles, California, to pursue a career in Hollywood. After struggling for around six months, she auditioned for the role of "Lieutenant Tasha Yar" in Gene Roddenberry's space science-fiction TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987). She felt her audition didn't go well and was on the verge of moving back to London. However, right before her flight, she received a call with an offer for the role. Roddenberry chose her because he wanted someone with "exotic" features—someone like the Latina character "Vasquez" (played by Jenette Goldstein) in James Cameron's Aliens. Although she had auditioned for the role of "Tasha Yar", Roddenberry decided to give her the role of "Counselor Deanna Troi", a half-human, half-Betazoid, and gave the "Tasha Yar" character to Denise Crosby. Sitris, who has light brown eyes, wore black-colored contact lenses for the Troi character and put on a hybrid Israeli and Eastern-European accent. She played the role in all seven seasons, from 1987 to 1994, appearing alongside Patrick Stewart(Captain Jean-Luc Picard), Brent Spiner (Lt. Commander Data), Jonathan Frakes(Commander Riker), and LeVar Burton (Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge), among others. Her character developed from a more passive therapist to a tougher Starfleet officer. Sitris stayed close friends with many members of the cast.

Also in 1987, she was seen in an episode each of Hunter (as Kate Scanlon) and C.A.T.S. Eyes (as Moll 3). In between shooting for Star Trek episodes, she also did some movie work. In 1992, she was seen in a cameo role as "Gloria" in Anthony Hickox's parody/horror Waxwork II: Lost in Time starring Zach Galligan, Monika Schnarre, Martin Kemp, and Bruce Campbell.

Right after the conclusion of the Star Trek TV series, Sitris played Troi in David Carson's feature movie Star Trek: Generations, starring Patrick Stewart, William Shatner, Malcolm McDowell, and Jenette Goldstein.

She was seen in three more installments of Star Trek: Star Trek: First Contact(directed by Jonathan Frakes, 1996), Star Trek: Insurrection (directed by Jonathan Frakes, 1998), and Star Trek: Nemesis (directed by Stuart Baird, 2002).

In 1997, Sitris gave her voice to Troi in the video game Star Trek: Generations, directed by Simon Ffinch, Guymond Louie, and Rick Rasay.

From 1994 to 1996, Sitris was the voice of the character "Demona" in the fantasy TV series Gargoyles for 2 seasons (24 episodes). Her next credit was in the role of Detective Inspector Walker in Jim Goddard's UK TV movie Gadgetman (1996), alongside Allan Corduner, Martin Delaney, and Frances Carrigan. In 1999, she had the leading role as Dr. Christine DuMaurier in Herb Freed's independent sci-fi thriller Paradise Lost with William Forsythe, Nigel Havers, Miguel Ángel Suárez, and Michel Angelo Mejias.

In 2000, Sitris played a Russian scientist Svetlana Markov in an episode titled Watergate of the TV series Stargate SG-1. She won the role after auditioning against 19 other actors, 17 of them actual Russians. Her Russian accent was so good that after the first take, she was asked to tone it down so she could be understood. Two years later, she was seen as Alex in John Murlowski's TV movie Terminal alongside Michael Nouri, David Wells, and Timothy Busfield.

In 2004, Sitris had a minor role as "Shereen", the wife of the Persian shopkeeper, in Paul Haggis' Academy Award-winning drama Crash starring Sandra Bullock, Matt Dillon, and Don Cheadle.

She continued to stay busy with various television and film roles in the following years. In 2013, she starred as Alex in Cardinal Lamberto's horror film Vampire Riderz alongside Al Santos, Walter Emanuel Jones, Smalls, and Angela Sarafyan. From 2013 to 2017, she lent her voice to Enterprise's computer in 5 episodes of the TV series Star Trek Continues.

In 2019, Sitris had a minor role in Arthur Ian's award-winning independent film Crossing starring Rudolf Martin, Kathleen Gati, Kiril Kulish, and Drew Cohn.

From 2020 to 2023, Sitris reprised the role of "Deanna Troi" in Star Trek: Picard. Her most recent silver-screen appearance was in 2023 in the role of "Athena Atlas" in Michael Robison's comedy Love's Greek to Me alongside Torrey DeVitto, Yannis Tsimitselis, and Dimitri Gripari.

Personal life

On June 21, 1992, Sirtis married American rock guitarist Michael Lamper. The two had met a few years before on the sets of the third season episode "The Vengeance Factor" of Star Trek: The Next Generation in which Lamper portrayed an Acamarian gatherer. Their Star Trek co-stars Brent Spiner and Michael Dorn were groomsmen at the wedding.

Lamper died on December 8, 2019, at age 61. He had played with many of the rock greats including Tommy Shaw (Styx), Kevin Cronin (REO Speedwagon), Matthew Nelson, Jack Blades, The Allman Brothers, Quiet Riot, Los Lobos, and Steely Jam.

After Lamper's death, Sirtis moved back to London in 2021.

Awards and nominations

Trivia

• Being of Greek descent, she speaks Greek fluently.
• Her favorite episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) is "Face of the Enemy" (1993).
• In her June 2019 interview with The Times, she stated she was sexually assaulted by the teenage sons of her babysitter. As a result, she suffered from an eating disorder for several years, which she was able to manage after she went into therapy.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Audiobooks