Star Trek Actress Camille Saviola Dies At 71

Actress Camille Saviola - best known for her role as Kai Opaka Sulan in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - has passed away at the age of 71. The Star Trek franchise let fans know of Saviola's passing today, in a social media post that read "StarTrek.com is saddened to learn of the passing of Camille Saviola. Camille made her mark on the Star Trek Universe as the incredible Kai Opaka. She will be greatly missed." Though she only had a handful of appearances in DS9 episodes (and novels), Saviola's Kai Opaka very much left an impression on fans and the franchise, and she will, indeed, be missed. 

Opaka Sulan became the Kai of Bajor during the pivotal period of transition on Bajor during the end of the Cardassian occupation. Opaka's story was a dark one, which involved having to sacrifice her son and his band of rebels to the Cardassians, in order to save the lives of so many others the Cardassians would slaughter in the rebels' stead. She became a friend of Captain Benjamin Sisko and ended being a character that Star Trek creators would bring back (literally and figuratively) in later stories. 

Outside of Star Trek, Saviola had roles in noteworthy projects like the movie Sunset Park, recurring TV roles like Entourage (as Turtle's Mom), and most recently the Hilary Duff series Younger on Paramount+. 

Camille Saviola was born in The Bronx, New York, in 1950 and spent her childhood growing up near Yankee Stadium. She was drawn to the arts from an early age, graduating from the High School of Music and Art, and only did one year of college before dropping out to pursue a serious career in acting. 

As fate would have it, Saviola actually got a first big break in the music industry, as lead singer of '70s rock band the Margo Lewis Explosion; she would also be signed to a Disco contract in the late '70s. In the mid-80s Saviola would make the jump to TV and film roles, and by the '90s she would show up on L.A. Law, The Heights, Friends, NYPD Blue, before landing her role on Deep Space Nine. Joining Star Trek helped Saviola get more exposure and bigger film and TV roles (Sunset Part, Living Single, JAG, ER, Without A Trace, Entourage, Nip/Tuck) to her resume. She was more often than not a character actor who embodied the East Coast culture and its strong female figures, and a personality a lot of fans will always remember. 

R.I.P. Camille Saviola - July 16, 1950 to October 29, 2021. We send condolences to her family and friends.