Camille Saviola (16 July 1950–28 October 2021; age 71) was the actress who portrayed Kai Opaka in four episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. She also appeared as an Opaka Alien.
A native of The Bronx, New York City, Italian-American Saviola graduated from the prestigious High School of Music and Art in Manhattan and dropped out of college after a year in order to learn acting. She was the singer of the 1970s female rock band the Margo Lewis Explosion, and became a successful character actress on stage, film, and television. Her Broadway credits include the part of Mama Maddelena in the original production of Nine and Matron Mama Morton in the revival of Chicago.
Between 2006 and 2009, Saviola had a recurring role on Entourage. She was cast by Woody Allen in Broadway Danny Rose (1984), The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985), and Shadows and Fog (1991, with Wallace Shawn). Her other feature film credits include Betsy's Wedding (with Bibi Besch), Addams Family Values (1993, with Christopher Lloyd, Carel Struycken and Carol Kane), Penn & Teller Get Killed (1989) and Last Exit to Brooklyn (1989, with Jerry Rector, James Harper, Frank Military, and Mike Starr).
In 1994, Saviola made a highly memorable appearance on Friends, playing an aggressive patron at a laundromat; the episode also starring Michael G. Hagerty, Terri Garr and Robert Costanzo.
She also played guest roles on shows such as ER (with Mädchen Amick, Leland Orser, and Scott Grimes), NYPD Blue (1995, starring Gordon Clapp and Sharon Lawrence, with Steve Larson and Erick Avari), JAG, Becker (with Terry Farrell and Earl Billings), Judging Amy, Without a Trace (2008, starring Enrique Murciano and Eric Close, with Melinda Page Hamilton), and Nip/Tuck (with Tina Lifford and Roger Aaron Brown). Her last on-screen credit was a recurring role in four episodes of Younger in 2018-19.
Saviola passed away on 28 October 2021 at the age of 71 in Los Angeles. [1] [2]
Appearances[]
- DS9: