Archie Panjabi facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Archie Panjabi
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Panjabi in 2015
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| Born |
Archana Panjabi
31 May 1972 Edgware, London, England
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| Alma mater | Brunel University |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1994–present |
| Spouse(s) |
Rajesh Nihalani
(m. 1998) |
| Children | 2 |
Archana Panjabi (born on May 31, 1972) is a talented English actress. She has played many different characters in both British and American TV shows.
Some of her well-known roles include Maya Roy in Life on Mars (2006–2007) and Kalinda Sharma in The Good Wife (2009–2015). She also appeared as Nas Kamal in Blindspot (2016–2017, 2020) and Kendra Malley in Departure (2019–2023). In 2025, she played The Rani in Doctor Who.
Her work on The Good Wife was highly praised. She won a Primetime Emmy Award in 2010 and an NAACP Image Award in 2012. She was also nominated for other awards, including the Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Awards. Archie Panjabi is the first Asian actor to win a Primetime Emmy for acting.
She also had important roles in movies like Meenah Khan in East Is East (1999) and Pinky Bhamra in Bend It Like Beckham (2002). Other notable film roles include Yasmin Husseini in Yasmin (2004) and Asra Nomani in A Mighty Heart (2007).
Contents
Early Life and Education
Archana Panjabi was born in Edgware, London, on May 31, 1972. Her parents, Govind and Padma Panjabi, were Sindhi Hindu immigrants from India. Their family originally came from Sindh, a region now in Pakistan. They moved to India after the Partition of India.
Archie Panjabi studied at Brunel University. She earned a degree in management studies in 1994. She also trained in ballet.
Acting Career Highlights
Archie Panjabi has had a busy career in both movies and television. She started with early roles in the 1999 comedy film East is East. She also appeared in the BBC TV series Life on Mars.
Her first role in a Hollywood movie was in the 2005 Oscar-winning film The Constant Gardener. In this movie, she played a British diplomat. One of her most famous movie roles was in the 2002 comedy Bend It Like Beckham.
In 2006, Panjabi played Gemma in the romantic comedy A Good Year. She acted alongside stars like Russell Crowe and Marion Cotillard.
Key Roles in Film and TV
In 2007, Panjabi appeared with Angelina Jolie in the movie A Mighty Heart. This film was based on a book by Mariane Pearl, whose husband, Daniel Pearl, was a journalist. Panjabi played the role of Asra Nomani, a former reporter for Wall Street Journal. In 2008, she played Chandra Dawkin in the film Traitor.
She also lent her voice to characters in the British children's TV show Postman Pat. She voiced characters in the video game Dead Space: Extraction.
In 2009, she played an MI5 agent in the French movie Espion(s). That same year, she joined the cast of the new CBS TV series The Good Wife. She played Kalinda Sharma, a role for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award. This made her the first actor of Indian descent to win an Emmy.
In 2010, she played Saamiya Nasir in the British comedy The Infidel. She also played pathologist Tanya Reed Smith in the BBC Two drama series The Fall from 2013 to 2014. After leaving The Good Wife in 2015, she made a guest appearance in the Fox comedy series Brooklyn Nine-Nine. She also joined the cast of Shetland in its third series.
In 2016, she starred in the ABC drama series The Jury as Kim Dempsey. She also joined the cast of the NBC drama Blindspot.
In 2017, Panjabi talked about how more diverse roles were being offered to actors from different backgrounds. She also shared a story from early in her career. A US talent agent once told her that an Indian woman could never have a career in Hollywood. She proved them wrong!
She starred as Reece Shearsmith's love interest in the ITV drama The Widower in 2019. In 2022, she starred in Season three of TNT's drama Snowpiercer. In May 2021, Panjabi voiced Depa Billaba in the first episode of Star Wars: The Bad Batch.
In September 2024, it was announced that Panjabi was cast in the fifteenth series of Doctor Who. She played The Rani, a villain who had not been seen since 1993.
Helping Others
Archie Panjabi is also known for her charity work. She became the first ambassador for Pratham USA. This is the largest educational movement in India. She also helps Rotary International's "This Close" campaign to end polio.
To support women's rights, she has worked with Amnesty International. She helped their Stop Violence Against Women campaign. This campaign aims to change rules that can trap women in difficult situations.
In 2011, Panjabi participated in The Heart Truth's Red Dress Collection Fashion Show. This event helps raise awareness about heart disease, which is a major health concern for women.
Harvard University invited Panjabi to be an Artist in Residence. She shared her acting process with students there.
Awards and Recognition
Archie Panjabi has received many awards for her acting. She was given the Chopard Trophy at the Cannes Film Festival in 2007.
She was nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her role in The Good Wife. She won this award in 2010. She also won an NAACP Image Award in 2011 for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for the same role.
Her work with the cast of The Good Wife also earned her three nominations for SAG Awards. These nominations were for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series.
Personal Life
Archie Panjabi married Rajesh Nihalani, a tailor, when she was 26 years old. The couple has two children, a son and a daughter.
Selected Filmography
Movies
- 1999: East is East as Meenah Khan
- 2002: Bend It Like Beckham as Pinky Bhamra
- 2004: Yasmin as Yasmin
- 2005: The Constant Gardener as Ghita Pearson
- 2006: A Good Year as Gemma
- 2007: A Mighty Heart as Asra Nomani
- 2008: Traitor as Chandra Dawkin
- 2010: The Infidel as Saamiya Nasir
- 2014: I Origins as Priya Varma
- 2015: San Andreas as Serena
Television Shows
- 2006–2007: Life on Mars as Maya Roy
- 2009–2015: The Good Wife as Kalinda Sharma (Main role)
- 2013–2014: The Fall as Professor Reed Smith (Main role)
- 2015: Brooklyn Nine-Nine as Lieutenant Singh (Guest role)
- 2016: Shetland as Detective Sergeant Asha Israni (Main role)
- 2016–2018, 2020: Blindspot as Nas Kamal (Main role, then guest)
- 2019–2023: Departure as Kendra Malley (Main role)
- 2021: Star Wars: The Bad Batch as Depa Billaba (Voice role)
- 2022: Snowpiercer as Asha (Main role)
- 2023: Hijack as Zahra Gahfoor (Miniseries)
- 2024: Under the Bridge as Suman Virk
- 2025: Doctor Who as The Rani (3 episodes)
See also
In Spanish: Archie Panjabi para niños
