Lwaxana Troi was a Betazoid Federation ambassador, and the mother of Deanna Troi. She was one of the more colorful Federation diplomats, having led a life of both flamboyance and tragedy.

Lwaxana had a larger-than-life and extremely flirtatious persona, which caused severe friction with and embarrassment to her daughter Deanna, of whom she tended to be extremely overprotective.

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Early life

Lwaxana's father was something of a traditionalist; he rarely spoke, saying it was for "offworlders and people who didn't know any better." Both of Lwaxana's parents had died by 2372, as had her sister. (TNG: "Eye of the Beholder"; DS9: "The Muse")

Ambassadorial duties

Lwaxana was a daughter of the Fifth House of Betazed, the holder of the Sacred Chalice of Rixx, and heir to the Holy Rings of Betazed. She had a tendency to remind people of this fact when she felt that she had been slighted or whenever she chose to establish her authority. (TNG: "Haven"; DS9: "The Forsaken")

Lwaxana represented the Betazed government at the Pacifica Conference in 2365. Shortly before arriving to the conference, she exposed two Antedian assassins who were planning to bomb the conference with ultritium explosives. (TNG: "Manhunt")

In 2366, Deanna Troi fabricated a story involving Lwaxana visiting the USS Enterprise-D as part of an attempt to encourage Captain Jean-Luc Picard to take leave on Risa. (TNG: "Captain's Holiday")

Also in 2366, Lwaxana, along with Reittan Grax, was part of the delegation of the biennial Trade Agreements Conference on Betazed. Lwaxana irritated her daughter by communicating telepathically even though they were among non-telepaths, and later by gate-crashing her date with William T. Riker. She was kidnapped by Ferengi DaiMon Tog along with her daughter and Commander Riker. The trio was eventually rescued by Captain Jean-Luc Picard. (TNG: "Ménage à Troi")

Lwaxana was part of a delegation of four Federation ambassadors visiting Deep Space 9 in 2369. Her fellow ambassadors included Lojal, Vadosia, and Taxco. (DS9: "The Forsaken")

In 2371, she visited Bajor and took a shuttle from there to visit Deep Space 9. Upon her arrival, she explained to Odo that "Officially I'm here as the Betazoid representative to the Gratitude Festival. But the truth is, I came to see you, you poor sweet tortured man." (DS9: "Fascination")

Personal relationships

Marriage

Lwaxana was married a number of times. Her first husband was a close friend of fellow ambassador Reittan Grax. Lwaxana described him as "not much of a conversationalist, but what a lover." (TNG: "Ménage à Troi")

A subsequent marriage to Lieutenant Ian Andrew Troi produced two children: Kestra in 2330 and Deanna in 2336. According to Deanna, Ian worshiped Lwaxana. Ian died in 2343, although the circumstances of his death were unknown. Deanna later recalled how she cried after his death. (TNG: "Ménage à Troi", "Half a Life", "Dark Page")

Her marriage to Jeyal, a Tavnian, produced a son, but she ended the marriage by marrying Odo due to her disagreement over the Tavnian custom of separation of the sexes in child-rearing. (DS9: "The Muse")

Children

Kestra Troi

Kestra was the oldest of Lwaxana's children. Tragically, Kestra drowned during a family picnic at Lake El'nar. The incident left Lwaxana so broken with sorrow, guilt, and regret that she decided to repress all memories of Kestra. She also deleted all diary entries pertaining to her. She destroyed everything that could possibly remind her of Kestra and also made her husband promise never to mention Kestra again. A picture of Kestra remained, however, secretly preserved by Mr. Homn. (TNG: "Dark Page"; DS9: "The Muse")

Deanna Troi

Deanna was Lwaxana's second daughter. She was born a few months before Kestra's death. Deanna often felt that she was the parent while Lwaxana was the child.

According to a scene cut from the final version of " Cost of Living ", when Deanna was six years old, Lwaxana held a birthday party for her. Lwaxana disappeared halfway through the party and reappeared dressed up as a Koropian princess, carried in a sedan chair by four men.

Lwaxana often considered Deanna to be "all she had left," and thus was often protective of her, hoping she would find a husband to take care of her. (TNG: "Haven")

Child with Jeyal

In 2372, Lwaxana was pregnant with her third child. This child was the product of her union with the Tavnian Jeyal. When their marriage was dissolved, Lwaxana returned to Betazed to raise the child. (DS9: "The Muse")

The name of Lwaxana's son was given as Barin in the novel The Battle of Betazed and the short story The Ceremony of Innocence is Drowned published in the anthology book Tales of the Dominion War. In some ultimately unused dialogue from the first draft script of " Body Parts ", Odo recalled having felt this child, when it was at a fetal stage in Lwaxana's womb . Odo commented that, for a moment, he had sensed the child's thoughts, which Kira Nerys attributed to the fact both Lwaxana and the baby were Betazoid. In the final version of "Body Parts", neither of the two Betazoids are referred to. The Ceremony of Innocence is Drowned

Romance

In addition to her string of marriages, Lwaxana has also had numerous dalliances and flirtations with various others.

During a romance with a native from Rigel, the man named a star in Lwaxana's honor. (TNG: "Half a Life")

Timicin

In 2367, Lwaxana fell in love with the Kaelon scientist Timicin while he was performing experiments on board the Enterprise-D. Unfortunately, he was to perform the "Resolution," a ritual suicide which people of his race were expected to perform upon reaching the age of sixty. Although Lwaxana desperately attempted to convince Timicin not to go through with the ritual, Timicin ultimately decided it must be done, and Lwaxana eventually relented. She then opted to respectfully witness the ceremony along with Timicin's family. (TNG: "Half a Life")

Campio

In 2368, Lwaxana exchanged personality profiles with Kostolain Minister Campio. Their profiles were very harmonious, but in real life, they couldn't have been more different. Campio was incredibly tied to protocol while Lwaxana was too free-spirited for him. Their marriage was canceled during the wedding when Lwaxana appeared to the ceremony in the traditional Betazoid way – without any clothes. (TNG: "Cost of Living")

Odo

Lwaxana also had a romantic attraction to Constable Odo, the security chief of Deep Space 9. She first met Odo while visiting the station in 2369, along with several other Federation ambassadors. Odo returned a precious hair brooch for Lwaxana after it was stolen at Quark's, an act for which he caught her attention immediately. According to Lwaxana "All the men I've known... who've needed to be shaped and molded and manipulated. Finally, I've met a man who knows how to do it himself." She tried to seduce him, unfortunately quite unsuccessfully. She didn't lose her interest, however, and further tried to attract his attention. A power failure caused the pair to get stuck in one of the station's turbolifts. During their time in the lift, they bonded and formed a special friendship: as he was the first person ever to see her without a wig, while Lwaxana used her skirt to contain Odo when he had to revert into his gelatinous "liquid state" to regenerate. (DS9: "The Forsaken")

Lwaxana returned to the station in 2371 shortly before the Bajoran Gratitude Festival. Officially, she was there to take part in the festival, but in reality, she was there to visit Odo. Her continuous attempts of seduction once again proved unsuccessful. At the time, she was suffering from Zanthi fever, which caused her to project her amorous feelings for Odo to those around her. She was ultimately cured by Dr. Julian Bashir. While parting from Odo, she wished him good luck with Major Kira Nerys, whom she realized he was in love with. (DS9: "Fascination")

She returned seeking Odo's help the following year, after she had run away from her new husband, Jeyal. She took refuge on the station, and at once depressed Worf, Jadzia Dax, and Kira with the sad story of her marriage. Her mood brightened after spending some time with Odo, who – unlike their previous encounters – had by now grown more comfortable interacting with others, to the point he expressed genuine enjoyment while spending time with her. Jeyal soon arrived in search of her, with the intent of claiming his unborn child. Odo and Lwaxana were married in order to prevent this, as the child would be the ward of any man who was married to the woman, not only the biological one. They parted some time later and she apparently delivered the child on Betazed. (DS9: "The Muse")

Friendships

Jean-Luc Picard

Lwaxana first met Captain Jean-Luc Picard aboard the USS Enterprise-D in 2364 when she boarded the ship from planet Haven to meet her daughter, Deanna. Her attitude towards Picard was not the expected one as she initially treated him like a servant, embarrassing her daughter. Picard found Lwaxana's presence aboard his ship to be an annoyance, but Lwaxana did not seem to be bothered by it. She considered joining with Picard, but thought he was a little too old. As she departed, she commented that Picard's thoughts about her were very erotic. (TNG: "Haven")

She returned to the Enterprise in 2365 while she was in "the Phase," a period in a Betazoid woman's life when her sexuality is in a heightened state. She decided to concentrate all her energy to a single man, Picard. Despite arranging a private romantic dinner, her advances for him failed. The captain hid from Lwaxana in a Dixon Hill holodeck program. (TNG: "Manhunt")

Picard was responsible for rescuing Lwaxana from DaiMon Tog after she was kidnapped by him. He managed this by convincing the Ferengi that he and Lwaxana had been lovers and that the Captain was insanely jealous; going so far as killing anyone who tried to take her away from him. In order to secure her release from Tog, the Captain played this role whereupon he recited Shakespeare while counting down from ten and threatening to destroy Tog's ship if she was not returned to him. Upon Lwaxana's return, she seemed eager to keep up the ruse, but Picard graciously returned her to Betazed – at warp 9. (TNG: "Ménage à Troi")

Lwaxana apparently "gave up the hope" for Picard, but the Enterprise still remained one of her favorite sites to visit. (TNG: "Cost of Living", "Half a Life")

According to Doctor Crusher, the arrival of Lwaxana made Picard shudder. (TNG: "Remember Me")

Worf

Ambassador Troi commonly referred to Worf as "Mr. Woof", to which he always politely corrected her with, "It is Worf, madam." For a very brief time in 2365, when Lwaxana was going through "the Phase," she considered Worf as a mate, but decided Captain Picard made a better choice. When Worf asked Deanna to become his son's Soh-chim, he did not consider that it would also make Ambassador Troi his stepmother; he ultimately decided to go through with it anyway. Worf once stated that Lwaxana was an "admirable woman." (TNG: "Manhunt", "Ethics", "Parallels", "Ménage à Troi")

Alexander Rozhenko

Lwaxana befriended Alexander Rozhenko, Worf's son, while visiting in 2368 with the intention of marrying Minister Campio on board. Lwaxana taught Alexander how to have fun, angering both the boy's father and her husband-to-be. She called Alexander her "little warrior."

Additionally, young Alexander had something to teach Lwaxana, reminding his elder of the importance of being true to one's self. Lwaxana had resigned herself to compromising who she was in order to not be alone anymore, and she shared this resignation (without mentioning the specifics) with Alexander. He then asked, with characteristic childlike innocence, "why?" which got her to thinking about what she was doing... and why. It was that exchange that finally led to her appearance at the wedding ceremony in the true tradition of her homeworld. As she walked up to the altar wearing all her finest jewelry – and nothing else – Alexander looked up at her, beaming with pride (apparently he had figured out what the issue was). Lwaxana gave him a particularly meaningful, and appreciative, smile in return. (TNG: "Cost of Living")

Attendants

Xelo

Xelo was Lwaxana's attendant before Homn. She apparently had to fire him after his thoughts about her became too erotic. (TNG: "Haven")

Homn

Mr. Homn was Lwaxana's attendant for several years and he often accompanied her on her journeys. (TNG: "Haven")

Chronology

Appendices

Appearances

Background information

Lwaxana Troi was played by Majel Barrett-Roddenberry, the wife of Gene Roddenberry. According to Barrett-Roddenberry, "Gene came home one day and said to me, 'Majel, I have a great part for you, and guess what – you don't have to act!" She recalled that her husband went on to describe the character to her as "the Auntie Mame of the Galaxy". (Star Trek: The Next Generation 365, p. 033) She is also called this in the DS9 series bible. [1]

Lwaxana Troi's costumes were regarded as a highlight by Costume Designer Robert Blackman, who remarked, "All of Lwaxana Troi's clothing is fun because it's fairly outrageous." (Star Trek Monthly issue 32, p. 77)

Apocrypha

In the novel Q-in-Law, Lwaxana formed a romantic attachment to Q. At first, Q seemed to return the feelings, even to the point of sharing his power with her. In truth, Q was just using Lwaxana in an experiment designed to prove the worthlessness of the Human emotion love. Q was initially prevented from removing Lwaxana's power by another member of the Q Continuum, who allowed Lwaxana to use the power to teach Q a lesson about interfering in people's lives.

In a Star Trek Online in-universe blog, it is established that Lwaxana is still active in 2410, and served as a councilor of sorts to the Federation President, Aennik Okeg, in deciding whether or not the Federation should give the Na'kuhl humanitarian help, after the loss of their homeworld.