Archie Panjabi

Archie Panjabi

Panjabi at The Heart Truth Red Dress
Fashion Show, Lincoln Center in 2011.
Born Archana Panjabi
31 May 1972
Edgware, Middlesex, England
Alma mater Brunel University, London, UK
Occupation Actress
Years active 1995–present
Spouse(s) Rajesh Nihalani (m. 1998)
Website
www.archiepanjabi.com

Archana "Archie" Panjabi (born 31 May 1972)[1] is a British actress, best known for her role as Kalinda Sharma on The Good Wife. Her portrayal has earned her a Primetime Emmy Award in 2010 and an NAACP Image Award in 2012, as well as two further Emmy nominations, one Golden Globe nomination, and three Screen Actors Guild Award nominations shared with the cast. Her other notable roles include Yasmin Husseini in Yasmin (2005), Pinky Bhamra in Bend It Like Beckham (2002) and Asra Nomani in A Mighty Heart (2007).

Early life

Panjabi was born in London,[2] to Govind and Padma Punjabi, both Sindhi Hindu immigrants from India.[3][4][5] She graduated from Brunel University with a degree in management studies in 1996.[6][7][8] She is also classically trained in ballet.[8]

Career

Panjabi has appeared in both film and television, from early appearances in the 1999 comedy film East is East to the BBC television series Life on Mars. Her first Hollywood role, as a British diplomat, was in the Oscar winning The Constant Gardener, released in 2005. One of her highest profile film roles was in the 2002 comedy release Bend It Like Beckham. In 2007, Panjabi appeared with Angelina Jolie in the movie adaptation of A Mighty Heart, a book by Mariane Pearl, wife of the journalist Daniel Pearl, playing the role of former Wall Street Journal reporter Asra Nomani. Panjabi has also provided the voices for several characters in the British children's television animation Postman Pat.[9] Panjabi lent her voice to the video game Dead Space: Extraction. Panjabi appeared on the BBC Four World Cinema Award show in February 2008, arguing the merits of five international hits such as The Lives of Others and Pan's Labyrinth with Jonathan Ross and Christopher Eccleston. In 2009 she portrayed an MI5 agent in the French movie Espion(s), and in the same year she joined the cast of the new CBS television series The Good Wife as Kalinda Sharma. In 2010, she played Saamiya Nasir in the British comedy The Infidel. On 28 May 2012, she was cast as Tanya Reed Smith, a pathologist, in BBC Two drama series The Fall.[10]

Panjabi appeared as Blaise in the BBC World Service radio series Westway.

Philanthropy

Panjabi was appointed the first Pratham USA Ambassador representing the largest educational movement in India.[11] She is a celebrity participant in the Rotary International's "This Close" public service campaign to end polio.[12] In support of women's rights, she has partnered with Amnesty International to head their Stop Violence Against Women campaign to change the "no recourse to public funds" rule that traps women in a cycle of violence.[13] On 9 February 2011, Panjabi walked in The Heart Truth's Red Dress Collection Fashion Show to increase awareness of the danger of heart disease, the number one killer of women.[14] The Harvard Foundation and Office for the Arts at Harvard University invited Panjabi to participate in their Artist in Residence Program in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to share her creative process as an actress.[15][16]

Awards

Panjabi was awarded Chopard Trophy in Cannes Film Festival in 2007. She was nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for The Good Wife, winning in 2010. She won a NAACP Image Award in 2011 for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for the same role. She was also nominated for three SAG Awards with her co-stars of The Good Wife for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series.

Personal life

In 1998, Panjabi married tailor Rajesh Nihalani in an arranged marriage.[17]

Filmography

Film

Panjabi won an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her role Kalinda Sharma in The Good Wife.
Year Title Role Notes
1995 Bideshi Joyoti Short film
1999 East is East Meenah Khan
2001 Delilah Adult Pim Short film
2002 Black Nor White Sangeeta Short film
2002 Bend It Like Beckham Pinky Bhamra
2002 Arranged Marriage Shashi Short film
2003 Code 46 Check In
2003 Cross My Heart Sumi
2004 Yasmin Yasmin
2005 Chromophobia Sarita
2005 The Constant Gardener Ghita Pearson
2006 A Good Year Gemma
2007 Flying Lessons Sharmila Italian title: Lezioni di volo
2007 I Could Never Be Your Woman Casting Girl
2007 A Mighty Heart Asra Nomani
2008 Traitor Chandra Dawkin
2008 My World Teacher Short film
2009 Espion(s) Anna
2009 Be Good Animal Adoption Officer Short film
2010 The Infidel Saamiya Nasir
2010 The Happiness Salesman Karen Short film
2013 The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby Unknown Panjabi appears in sequels Him and Her
2014 I Origins Priya Varma
2015 San Andreas Serena Post-production

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1994 Siren Spirits Joyoti Episode: "Bideshi"
1995 Under the Moon Heena TV movie
1996 The Thin Blue Line Nazia Habib Episode: "Alternative Culture"
1997 Dad Unknown Episode: "Dadmestic"
2000 Brand Spanking New Show Various 12 episodes
2000 In The Beginning Basya TV movie
2001 A Mind to Kill Lamisa Khan Episode: "Colour Blind"
2001 Murder in Mind WPC Jill Evans Episode: "Vigilante"
2001 The Bill Shanaz Arad 2 episodes
2001 Ivor the Invisible Leila Voice role
2002 Single Voices Unknown Episode: "Little Englander"
2002 The Secret Nadia's PO TV movie
2002 Holby City Ali Safron Episode: "From This Moment On"
2002 Tough Love Chandra TV movie
2002 My Family Dental Assistant Episode: "Of Mice and Ben"
2002 White Teeth Alsana 4 episodes
2003 This Little Life Niala TV movie
2003 Final Demand Farida TV movie
2003 The Canterbury Tales Clare Episode: "The Man of Law's Tale"
2003–2004 Grease Monkeys Rita Dhillon 20 episodes
2004 Sea of Souls Megan Sharma 6 episodes
2004–2006 Postman Pat Meera Baines 24 episodes, voice role
2005 A Very Social Secretary Ashley TV movie
2006–2007 Life on Mars Maya Roy 2 episodes
2007 Silent Witness Amita Joshi 2 episodes
2007 Love Triangle Voice role Short film
2009 Personal Affairs (aka P.A's) Jane Lesser 5 episodes
2009–2015 The Good Wife Kalinda Sharma 112 episodes
2013–2014 The Fall Tanya Reed Smith 9 episodes
2014 The Widower Simone Banerjee 2 episodes

References

  1. ↑ Illahi, Khalid (15 June 2012). "Archie Panjabi, Exclusive chat for A Mighty Heart". London: Desi Club. Archived from the original on 15 June 2012. Retrieved 15 June 2012.
  2. ↑ Blake, Heidi (31 August 2010). "Emmy-Awards 2010 How Archie Panjabi was told not to pursue her dreams". The Daily Telegraph (London). Archived from the original on 3 September 2010. Retrieved 31 August 2010.
  3. ↑ Kaufman, Joann (2010-09-01). "A Cultural Conversation with Archie Panjabi". The Wall Street Journal (New York: Dow Jones). ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
  4. ↑ Paul, Nisha (October 2007). "Mighty Sensational". verveonline.com. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
  5. ↑ Ilahi, Khalid (2007). "Archie Panjabi, Exclusive chat for A Mighty Heart". eventcombo.com. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
  6. ↑ "The Good Wife Cast: Archie Panjabi". CBS. 2012. Retrieved 18 February 2012.
  7. ↑ Marianne Bevis, ed. (2003). Link: The Brunel University Alumni Association Newsletter: 16. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "It's Evening in America". Vanity Fair. May 2012. Page 152.
  9. ↑ "Archie Panjabi". The Guardian.
  10. ↑ Munn, Patrick (28 May 2012). "The Good Wife Star Archie Panjabi Cast in BBC Two's 'The Fall'". TVWise. Retrieved 28 May 2012.
  11. ↑ "Archie Panjabi Appointed as Pratham Ambassador" Pratham (25 August 2011). Retrieved on 2012-10-31.
  12. ↑ "Rotary shares Polio Eradication message". Retrieved 31 October 2012.
  13. ↑ AIUK : Violence against women: Movie star leads battle to overturn 'unjust' UK law. Amnesty.org.uk (28 February 2008). Retrieved on 2012-10-31.
  14. ↑ The Heart Truth Event Photos, HHS, NIH, NHLBI. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Retrieved on 2012-10-31.
  15. ↑ Archie named ‘Artist in Residence’ at Harvard. Ikonzmag.co.uk. Retrieved on 2012-10-31.
  16. ↑ TV star Panjabi spends two days at Harvard. Indianewengland.com. Retrieved on 2014-07-04.
  17. ↑ Sears, Neil (31 August 2010). "British actress Archie Panjabi triumphs". Daily Mail (London). Archived from the original on 1 September 2010. Retrieved 31 August 2010.

External links