The Actor Majel Barrett was no stranger to Star Trek viewers when Mrs. Troi debuted, having spent all three seasons and then two feature films as Christine Chapel, chief nurse and later doctor among the original Star Trek crew. In addition, her voice was featured throughout most of Star Trek and the successive series as the voice of the various ships' Starfleet audio computer response.
The Character Lwaxana, a widow, has long been known by the nickname of "the Auntie Mame of the galaxy" and her long-suffering daughter Deanna Troi knows it all too well. As a Betazoid, she enjoys her full telepathy with kinsman and limited empathy with most others, as well as an overall zest for life unparalleled at any age. Lwaxana, a roving ambassador at large, was from a privileged family: as she loved to recite when schmoozing or stressed, she was a daughter of the Fifth House, holder of the Sacred Chalice of Rixx, and heir to the Holy Rings of Betazed.
The Episodes She debuted with the fourth ST:TNG episode "Haven," along with her towering yet mute manservant Mr. Homn. This show, which featured Deanna's would-be husband and in-laws according to Betazed "genetic bonding" practice from childhood, introduced Lwaxana's overbearing push for her daughter to marry, her dismay at Deanna's lack of telepathic use, and her unbridled attraction to a flustered Captain Picard.
When Lwaxana next returned in Season 2's "Manhunt," she was even more enamored of Picard -- or any man -- while encountering "The Phase," the quadrupling of the middle-aged Betazoid female's sex drive. In fact, Lwaxana even tracked down Picard hiding out in a Dixon Hill holo-scenario -- and fell in love with the bartender there, unaware he was a hologram!
It was Lwaxana's turn to spurn a suitor in "Menage a Troi" from Season 3, leading the Ferengi DaiMon Tog to kidnap her, Deanna and Riker from a trade conference at her home planet. Her serious side began to show when Lwaxana truly fell in love with a Kaelon II scientist with tragic results in "Half a Life."
Her last two visits aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise were of vastly different tone. Worf's son Alexander helped rejuvenate her own spirits, sparing her a poorly judged marriage arranged purely out of loneliness, in Season 5's "Cost of Living." And in "Dark Page," Deanna helped heal her mother when Lwaxana suffered from a suppressed memory -- the drowning of her first daughter Kestra.
Showing a curious attraction to Constable Odo, Lwaxana made three visits to Captain Sisko's station on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. In "The Forsaken," she shared a heart-to-heart talk with Odo during a crisis amid her ambassador's visit, while her case of Zanthii fever spread emotional havok during the Bajoran Gratitude Festival in Season 3's "Fascination."
Lwaxana's final visit was one of desperation, seeking a sham marriage with Odo while pregnant to avoid her baby entering the strictly sexual segregation of childhood amid the father's Tavnian culture. While she was content at last to let Odo go, easily tapping into his feelings for Kira, he was surprised to find the depth of attraction he had for her after all.