10 Horrifying Facts About Seven of Nine’s Costume (Voyager Catsuit)

We’ve covered the disturbing truth behind costumes from The Next Generation and Troi’s cleavage. Now it’s time for one of the most iconic Star Trek costumes ever made: Seven of Nine’s silver catsuit from Star Trek: Voyager. Jeri Ryan wore the uniform for two seasons, and what she went through to film in it is genuinely rough. Here’s what the Seven of Nine costume actually did to her body on set.

1. It Made Her Pass Out

In her first appearance, Seven of Nine appeared as a full Borg drone. When Ryan first put on her Borg uniform, the costume designers apparently didn’t take the prosthetics into account. As a result, the collar kept pressing on her carotid artery, cutting off blood flow to the brain if she turned her head. It made her pass out on the set on at least two occasions.

2. She Couldn’t Breathe

The first thing you notice about Jeri Ryan’s silver catsuit is that it’s tight. Really tight. The official explanation was that the catsuit was made of a revolutionary fabric that helped her skin regenerate. Translation: they wanted the costume to look as tight as possible. The producers wanted her uniform to look like a second skin, and they got it. In Starlog magazine #249, she said, “If I got goosebumps, you could see them.” In fact, it was so tight, she had trouble breathing. It got so bad that they had nurses on the set with oxygen tanks. “It was so tight originally that I passed out four times,” Ryan told USA Today in 1997. “They would bring nurses to the set with oxygen, and I wouldn’t say anything. But after the fourth time passing out, I spoke up.”

That made them finally loosen the suit.

3. The Breasts Were Constructed

The other thing you notice about the catsuit is the boobs. Let’s face it, they look incredible, and there’s a reason. Since the fabric was supposed to look like skin, they didn’t want the fabric to do what it would naturally do, which is stretch from “high point to high point” (i.e., from one nipple to the other). That’s why they made what the costume designer called “breast mounds,” individual shapes on her catsuit for each of her breasts. It took a special construction of the corset, what Ryan called a “feat of engineering” to achieve it.

4. The Corset Kept Her From Bending

The other distinctive aspect of Seven of Nine’s silver costume is the vertical ribs running along the sides. The in-universe explanation for them is that they’re leftovers from her Borg implants, mechanical ribs. In reality, they were just there to disguise her corset. Because the catsuit was so tight, they included a corset to give her a more hourglass shape. With the ribs built into the corset, she couldn’t even bend over or sit comfortably. She was relieved when they introduced the brown catsuit, which had a thicker fabric, taking away the need for the corset.

5. Bathroom Breaks Took 20 Minutes

Besides everything we’ve gone over, the worst part is Ryan couldn’t take off the costume without help. That meant bathroom breaks were an ordeal so bad that they had to shut down the set. She said, “If I had to go to the bathroom, it was a 20-minute production shutdown.”

“Forget vanity, throw vanity to the wind!” Ryan recalled. “And you can forget anything about privacy because it ain’t gonna happen. Anytime I have to go to the bathroom, everybody has to know about it. It’s announced over the P.A. system, because production stops for a half-hour. ‘We can’t roll a shot. Jeri’s not here.’ ‘Why not? Where’s Jeri?’ ‘Jeri has to go 10-100.’ It’s just a whole procedure.”

6. She Skipped Drinks on Set

Early in her run, Ryan avoided drinking water on set. Restroom breaks shut down production, so she skipped them whenever possible. She later admitted that this habit wasn’t healthy. Eventually, the crew let her change out of the catsuit after every take. She wore the Seven of Nine costume only when the camera needed her. That small change made her workdays far more bearable.

7. The Borg Look Took Hours

Jeri Ryan spent hours in the makeup chair before filming her Seven of Nine scenes. Her debut Borg costume reportedly took about two and a half hours to put on. Her usual makeup ran about 45 minutes. The Borg eye appliance added roughly 15 minutes more. Her hair took about as long as the makeup and eye piece combined. The silver Seven of Nine costume looked sleek on screen. Behind the camera, the crew built that look piece by piece.

8. She Wore Four-Inch Heels

The silver catsuit came with four-inch heels. Ryan wore them over a corset that already limited her movement. The ribbed corset piece suggested mechanical Borg ribs on screen. In reality, it kept her rigid from the chest down. Add heels, and every step in the Seven of Nine costume became a balancing act. Few viewers noticed the strain, because Ryan played the cold, precise Borg so convincingly.

9. Producers Wouldn’t Let Her Keep It

Most actors want a keepsake from an iconic role. Ryan did not get one. Producers refused to let her keep the silver catsuit. She has said she would happily burn the corset hidden underneath it. Costume designer Robert Blackman built the costume, and it took about 20 minutes to get into. Ryan has also said she would only wear something that uncomfortable again for a character worth the pain.

10. The Costume Rode a Ratings Surge

Seven of Nine arrived in Season 4, and Voyager’s ratings climbed. A 1999 New York Times report said weekly ratings rose more than 60 percent after her debut in “Scorpion, Part II.” Ryan thought her look helped, but she believed strong writing kept viewers watching. Some fans accused producers of chasing young male viewers. Writer-producer Brannon Braga denied that. Either way, the catsuit became one of the most famous uniforms in Star Trek history.

Seven of Nine Costume FAQ

• Why was Seven of Nine’s costume so tight? Producers wanted the catsuit to look like a second skin. The in-universe explanation was a fabric that helped her skin regenerate. In reality, the designers made it skin-tight, and Jeri Ryan struggled to breathe in it.
• Did Jeri Ryan really pass out filming Star Trek: Voyager? Yes. She told USA Today in 1997 that she passed out four times. After that, crew members brought nurses and oxygen to the set.
• Why does Seven of Nine’s costume have ribs on the sides? The vertical ribs looked like leftover Borg implants. In reality, they helped disguise the corset built into the costume.
• How long did it take to put on Seven of Nine’s catsuit? Getting into the silver catsuit took about 20 minutes. Jeri Ryan also needed help to dress and undress.
• Did Jeri Ryan get to keep the Seven of Nine catsuit? No. Producers did not let her keep it. She has said she would happily burn the corset hidden underneath.