Maitreyi Ramakrishnan facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Maitreyi Ramakrishnan
Ramakrishnan in 2023
Born	(2001-12-29) 29 December 2001 (age 23) Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2019–present

Maitreyi Ramakrishnan (born 29 December 2001) is a Canadian actress. She became famous for her main role as Devi Vishwakumar, a high school student, in the Netflix comedy series Never Have I Ever (2020–2023). She also lent her voice to characters in the Pixar movie Turning Red (2022). Additionally, she voiced characters in the animated series My Little Pony: Make Your Mark (2022–2023) and My Little Pony: Tell Your Tale (2022–2024).

Early Life and Education

Maitreyi Ramakrishnan was born on December 29, 2001, in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. She grew up in Mississauga. Her parents are Sri Lankan Tamil and moved to Canada because of a civil war in their home country. Maitreyi considers herself Tamil Canadian. She attended Lisgar Middle School and later graduated from Meadowvale Secondary School.

In her last year of high school, Maitreyi decided she wanted to be an actress. Less than a year later, she got a role in the Netflix series Never Have I Ever. She had planned to study theatre at York University in Toronto. However, she put off starting university to film the series in Los Angeles. In 2021, she delayed university again and changed her studies to human rights and equity.

Career Highlights

Becoming a Star with Never Have I Ever

Ramakrishnan in 2021

Maitreyi Ramakrishnan started her acting career as Devi Vishwakumar in the Netflix comedy-drama series Never Have I Ever. In 2019, she was chosen by Mindy Kaling for the role. Mindy Kaling picked her from about 15,000 people who tried out for the show. Maitreyi made her audition video at a local library using her mom's camera. She sent in four more videos before getting a screen test in Los Angeles. She was offered the role when she was 17 years old and had no professional acting experience.

Maitreyi shared that watching Indian actor Vijay in the Tamil-language movie Pokkiri made her think about acting. Her casting got a lot of attention, especially in Canada. This was because of the open casting call and her Tamil Canadian background. In 2019, Today magazine named her one of eighteen "Groundbreakers" for International Day of the Girl Child. This list featured girls who were breaking barriers and "changing the world."

Never Have I Ever first aired on Netflix in April 2020. Maitreyi's character, Devi Vishwakumar, is an Indian-American Tamil high school student. The character is partly based on Mindy Kaling's own experiences. The show ran for four seasons and ended in June 2023. Both the series and Maitreyi's acting received good reviews. Variety magazine called her performance a "breakout." She was nominated for several awards, including an Independent Spirit Award and two People's Choice Awards. In July 2020, Netflix announced that 40 million households worldwide had watched the series.

In May 2020, Maitreyi took part in a live reading series called Acting for a Cause. She played Olivia in a live reading of William Shakespeare's play Twelfth Night. This event helped raise money for a hospital in Chicago during the COVID-19 pandemic. Later that month, she hosted a part of the 8th Canadian Screen Awards online. In February 2021, Time magazine included Maitreyi in its Time100 Next list. This list highlights the next hundred influential people, and she was named "Breakout Actor."

Film and Voice Acting Roles

Ramakrishnan in 2023

Maitreyi Ramakrishnan voiced Priya Mangal in the Pixar animated movie Turning Red. Priya is an Indian-Canadian girl who is calm and often uses dry humor. The film was released on March 11, 2022, on Disney+ and in some theaters. Maitreyi also voiced Zipp Storm in the My Little Pony series. The first project, a short animated web series called My Little Pony: Tell Your Tale, started in April 2022 on YouTube. She also voiced Zipp Storm for the animated Netflix series, My Little Pony: Make Your Mark, which began in September 2022. This series ran for six "chapters" until November 2023.

In April 2022, Maitreyi received the honorary Radius Award from the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television. This award recognized her worldwide impact on television. In November 2022, she appeared in a Netflix holiday special related to the Make Your Mark series, titled My Little Pony: Winter Wishday. She also voiced Zipp Storm in two more specials, My Little Pony: Bridlewoodstock and My Little Pony: Secrets of Starlight, in 2023. In October 2023, Maitreyi had a guest voice role in the animated sitcom Big Mouth. She voiced Marissa, a new character.

Maitreyi made her first live-action movie appearance in the comedy-drama Slanted. The film premiered on March 8, 2025. She played Brindha, the confident best friend of the main character. Critics praised her performance, with IndieWire calling it a "scene-stealing turn." Screen Daily described her acting as "amusing." However, some critics felt she was "underused" and "not enough in the film." Maitreyi then voiced the main female character, Nan-young, an astronaut, in the English version of Netflix's Korean animated sci-fi romance movie Lost In Starlight. This film was released on May 30, 2025.

She will also appear in a supporting role in Disney's Freakier Friday. This movie is a sequel to Freaky Friday (2003) and stars Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan. It is set to be released in theaters on August 8, 2025. In April 2025, Maitreyi joined the voice cast of The Angry Birds Movie 3, which is planned for release in January 2027. She is also set to co-lead the Netflix romantic comedy film The Netherfield Girls. This movie is a modern version of Jane Austen's famous novel Pride and Prejudice.

Other Activities

In March 2022, Maitreyi was part of the spring campaign for the clothing store American Eagle. The campaign was called "Members Always: Future Together."

In October 2020, Maitreyi became a global ambassador for Plan International Canada. This organization works to promote girls' and women's rights and gender equality. In 2021, she was part of a campaign for the clothing brand Nobis. Their #NoColdShoulder initiative focuses on collecting and donating used jackets every November.

Filmography

Film Roles

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2022	Turning Red	Priya Mangal (voice)
2025	Slanted	Brindha
	Lost in Starlight	Joo Nan-Young (voice)	English dub
	Freakier Friday	0TBA
2027	The Angry Birds Movie 3	0TBA	In production
TBA	Best of the Best	Maya	In production

Television Roles

Awards and Nominations

See also

In Spanish: Maitreyi Ramakrishnan para niños

• South Asian Canadians in the Greater Toronto Area
• List of Tamil people