Annet Mahendru facts for kids

Anita Devi "Annet" Mahendru (born November 5, 1985) is an American actress. She is famous for playing Nina Sergeevna Krilova in the TV series The Americans. This role earned her a nomination for a Critics' Choice Television Award. She also starred as Jennifer "Huck" Mallick in the series The Walking Dead: World Beyond.

Early Life and World Travels

Annet Mahendru was born on November 5, 1985, in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. Her background is a mix of different cultures. Her mother, Olga, is Russian, and her father, Ghanshan "Ken" Mahendru, is an Indian educator and journalist from a Punjabi Hindu family.

Annet has called her childhood a "gypsy" life because she moved around so much. She spent her early years in Afghanistan and Saint Petersburg, Russia. Later, she lived with her mother in Saint Petersburg and often traveled to Frankfurt, Germany.

When she was 13, she moved to East Meadow, New York, to live with her father after her parents separated. In New York, she went to East Meadow High School and graduated in 2004. She was active in competitive cheerleading. After high school, she earned a degree in English from St. John's University.

Learning Languages and a Change of Plans

Growing up, Annet learned to speak Persian, Russian, German, and English. She also knows some Hindi and French. Because she knew so many languages and came from a diverse background, she first wanted to work for the United Nations.

She started a master's degree in international relations at New York University. She hoped to help women in Afghanistan. However, she decided to leave her studies to become an actress. She moved to Los Angeles and studied improvisational theater to improve her acting skills.

Acting Career

Annet Mahendru began her acting career with small roles in TV shows. She appeared in episodes of Love Monkey, Conviction, and the popular show Entourage. She also had parts in sitcoms like Big Time Rush, 2 Broke Girls, and Mike & Molly.

Breakthrough with 'The Americans'

Her big break came in 2013 when she was cast as Nina Sergeevna Krilova in the FX drama series The Americans. The show is a period drama, meaning it's set in a past time period. Her character was so popular that she became a main cast member in the second season. Her performance earned her a nomination for a Critics' Choice Television Award.

During this time, she also appeared in other popular shows like The Blacklist and White Collar. She also starred in the movie Escape from Tomorrow.

Roles in Film and Television

After The Americans, Annet continued to work on exciting projects. She had a voice role in the animated movie Penguins of Madagascar and guest-starred in an episode of The X-Files. She also played a character named Nafisa Al-Qadi in the TV series Tyrant.

In 2015, she played the main character in the movie Sally Pacholok. The film won an award at a film festival in Washington, D.C.

In 2020, she took on a leading role as Jennifer "Huck" Mallick in The Walking Dead: World Beyond, a spin-off of the famous The Walking Dead series.

Personal Life

Annet Mahendru is married to Louie Gibson, a filmmaker from Australia. They have a son who was born around 2018.

Even though she has lived all over the world, Annet feels a strong connection to her family's roots in India and Russia, as well as to Afghanistan, where she was born. In 2022, she said, "I feel my Afghan roots deeply in my temperament, as I do my Indian and Russian colours. I feel at home equally at an Afghan wedding as I do at Holi or Fourth of July."

Selected Filmography

Here are some of Annet Mahendru's most well-known roles.

Film

Year	Title	Role
2013	Escape from Tomorrow	Isabelle
2014	Bridge and Tunnel	Kelly Jones
2014	Penguins of Madagascar	Eva (Voice)
2015	Sally Pacholok	Sally Pacholok
2022	Father Stu	Virgin Mary
2025	Hotel Tehran

Television

See also

In Spanish: Annet Mahendru para niños