Ishka is a fictional character from the science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (DS9). A female Ferengi, she is the mother of Quark (Armin Shimerman) and Rom (Max Grodénchik). Ishka appears in five canon episodes of DS9, and also features in seven licensed-but-non-canon Star Trek novels. Conceptualized as a feminist character, Ishka was played by Andrea Martin once and Cecily Adams four times. Both actresses endured a lot of makeup, prostheses, and costuming. Adams loved the character, and was stunned by the positive fan reaction to Ishka.