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Poorna Jagannathan (born December 22, 1972)[1] is an American producer and actress of Indian descent. She is best known for her portrayal of Safar Khan in the HBO drama miniseries The Night Of as well for her role as Nalini Vishwakumar in the Netflix teen comedy series Never Have I Ever by Mindy Kaling.She also co-conceived, produced and acted in the play Nirbhaya,[2]

This article's lead section may be too long for the length of the article. (September 2022)

Poorna Jagannathan
Poorna in 2015
Born	(1972-12-22) December 22, 1972 (age 49) Tunis, Tunisia
Nationality	American
Education	University of Brasília University of Maryland, College Park (BA) Pace University
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2001–present
Spouse	Azad Oommen ​ (m. 2003)​
Children	1

Early life

Her father, G. Jagannathan, was an Indian diplomat. Poorna was born in Tunis, Tunisia and grew up in Pakistan, Ireland, India, Brazil and Argentina. She speaks Tamil, Hindi, English, Spanish and Portuguese.[3] She attended the University of Brasília before graduating in journalism from the University of Maryland, College Park. On a scholarship, she studied toward a Master of Fine Arts in acting at the Actors Studio Drama School at Pace University.[4] Although she dropped out after the first year, she continued to study acting under her mentor, Elizabeth Kemp, whom she met there. Poorna went on to train at The Barrow Group where she is currently a board and company member.[5] Before her career as an actor, Poorna spent 15 years working in advertising at agencies like TBWA\Worldwide, Ogilvy, and Deutsch Inc. before starting her own consultancy, Cowgirls & Indians.[6]

Career

Poorna has appeared on several TV shows like Big Little Lies, Better Call Saul and Ramy. She played Blacklister #44 on The Blacklist, and appeared as the guest lead on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit for their 18th year's double-season-finale episodes.^{[citation needed]} In 2017, she played one of the leads in A24's film Share.[7] Share premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival, winning Best Screenplay and Best Actor, and was immediately acquired by HBO.[8]

Poorna also won critical acclaim for her role as a spunky, irreverent journalist in the 2011 Bollywood film Delhi Belly. The Village Voice said that "the most enjoyably subversive element is Poorna Jagannathan as the self-sufficient bachelorette who waylays Tashi on his way to the altar. Rangy, corkscrew-haired, with a wary demeanor that can't long be upset by anything, she's a happy departure from the usual run of Xeroxed, pedestaled beauties."[9] Mumbai Mirror said, "Poorna Jagannathan, an offbeat choice, is remarkably subtle and does a brilliant job."[10] The Daily News and Analysis said that Poorna shines in the film, and that "her bohemian sex appeal" is "a refreshing change from the prim and proper 'heroine' we are used to watching."[11] The editor of Outlook Lounge said that Poorna's performance was a "masterclass in effortless acting". In 2019, Delhi Belly was named one of the top 25 Bollywood movies of the decade by FilmCompanion.[12]

In 2012, Deadline.com reported that Poorna had joined the cast of the HBO show The Night Of as a series regular.[13][14] Her performance in The Night Of received rave reviews; Vinnie Mancuso of Observer wrote, "Poorna Jagannathan, who has been putting in one of the year's most heartbreaking performances, continues to shine....."[15] Vikram Murthi from Vulture wrote "Poorna Jagannathan's subtle performance really shines .... Her facial reactions convey such a profound array of emotions."[16] Variety's Sonia Saraiya wrote that her performance was "quietly devastating".[17]

In September 2016, it was announced that Poorna had joined the cast of Gypsy as a series regular.[18] The Netflix produced series was led by Naomi Watts but was not renewed for another season. In May 2018, Deadline announced that Poorna had joined the cast of the HBO series Big Little Lies as a recurring character named Katie Richmond.[19]

Poorna's comic performance in Room 104 was widely praised by critics. Kathryn VanArendonk of Vulture wrote, "But Jagannathan's Divya is even better. Even without a physical presence, Divya is still immediately recognizable as a character. At times she's breezily unconcerned, at other moments, she's sharply chastising her son for his brusqueness. Her delivery is the bedrock of the episode's sense of humor."

She is currently a series regular on Mindy Kaling's new show Never Have I Ever, which released its first season with a 100% and its second season with a 97% score on Rotten Tomatoes from its Top Critics.[20] Poorna's performance as Nalini Vishwakumar was lauded by critics and her nuanced portrayal of an immigrant woman has been regarded as groundbreaking and a first for television. Sonia Saraiya from Vanity Fair said, "I’ve seen a lot of actors attempt to flesh out the stereotypically demanding Indian mom, but I’ve never seen anyone do it as well as Jagannathan does... It’s the little things: the nearly untraceable Indian accent, the mumbled exclamations in a different language, the slight gestures and paranoiac side-eyes of the Indian aunty, the seemingly effortless bridging of the paradox between ancient tradition and modern necessity."[21] Jinal Bhatt from Mashable.com wrote, "Poorna Jagannathan has been a revelation in this series, and I’d say she puts forth one of the best portrayals of Indian-American mothers we’ve seen. Some of the #JustMomThings she says penetrate through the screen and hit you while you watch! But her dynamic with Devi is beautiful in the subtext."[22] John Anderson from The Wall Street Journal said that she "is a hilarious mix of Indian tradition, widowhood, creeping Americanization and the flat delivery of a sentencing judge."[23] Delia Cai from Vanity Fair says, "By following Nalini’s story beyond the basic assimilation arc and exploring her character via universal themes of parenting, loss, and intergenerational family ties, we get a fully three-dimensional character who is easily the best part of the show."[24]

In 2018, Poorna lent her voice to three podcasts in the Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls series, based on The New York Times Best Seller list books by Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo. She read the stories of Mary Kom, Margaret Hamilton and Madam C. J. Walker. The series was named among the 50 best podcasts for 2018 by Time[25] and won the 2019 People's Choice Podcast Award in the Education category.[26]

Moved by a gang rape and murder in Delhi on December 16, 2012, Poorna initiated, produced and acted in a testimonial play called Nirbhaya (transl. Fearless, a pseudonym given to the victim).[27] The play uses the rape and death of Jyoti Singh Pandey to break the silence around sexual violence. Poorna collaborated with internationally acclaimed playwright and director, Yaël Farber, to build the play.[28][29] Nirbhaya opened at the Assembly Hall in August 2013 during the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.[30] It won the coveted 2013 Amnesty International Award as well as the Scotsman Fringe First and Herald Angel Awards.and received excellent reviews from leading publications. The Sunday Herald called Nirbhaya "One of the most powerful and urgent pieces of human rights theatre ever made".[31][32][33][34] In March 2014, Nirbhaya was the centerpiece performance for Southbank's "Women of the World" festival where it played to sold-out houses in the UK. After a successful Kickstarter campaign to fund an India tour, Nirbhaya opened to critical acclaim in India on March 17, 2014, playing to sold-out houses in Mumbai, Delhi, and Bangalore.[35][36] In August 2014, The Guardian audiences voted Nirbhaya among the top 10 "best fringe moments" in the Edinburgh Festival's history.[37] Nirbhaya opened to rave reviews at The Culture Project in New York City in May 2015, and rose to become The New York Times Critics' Pick.[38] The play toured for three years in multiple cities in Ireland, Canada, the UK, India and the U.S. Many reviewers stated that it was one of the most political and deeply moving pieces of theater ever made.[39] "Nirbhaya" is considered one of the most impactful moments in India's history of the women's empowerment movement.[40]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2004	She Hate Me	Song's Girlfriend
2005	The Weather Man	NY Pedestrian
2007	Awake	Dr. Neyer's Nurse
2011	Peace, Love & Misunderstanding	Mira
	Delhi Belly	Menaka Vashisht
2012	Thanks for Sharing	Dr. Kazhani
2013	Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani	Riana
2015	Growing Up Smith	Nalini Bhatnagar
2016	Carrie Pilby	Fliss
2017	The Circle	Dr. Villalobos
2018	Mile 22	Dorothy Brady
	An Actor Prepares	Dr. Fisher
2019	Share	Kerri
2020	Alia's Birth	Jaime
2022	The Out-Laws	Rehan	Post-production[41]
TBA	Turtles All the Way Down	Dr. Singh	Post-production

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2004	Law & Order	Rehana Khemlani	1 episode
2005	Starved	PJ	1 episode
2006	Love Monkey	Director	1 episode
2006	Rescue Me	Dr. Klein	1 episode
2006	Law & Order: Criminal Intent	Dr. Sikh	1 episode
2008	The Game	Dr. Diamond	1 episode
2009	Numb3rs	Tech #1	1 episode
2010-2011	Royal Pains	Saya	2 episodes
2015	House of Cards	Dr. Lanjawni	2 episodes
2016	NCIS: Los Angeles	Dr. Nitya Agarwal	1 episode
2016	Rizzoli & Isles	Mrs. Jalbani	1 episode
2016	The Night Of	Safar Khan	Miniseries, 8 episodes
2017	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Maya Samra	2 episodes
2017	Gypsy	Larin Inamdar	Main role, 8 episodes
2017	Room 104	Divya	1 episode
2017	The Blacklist	Nirah Ahmad	1 episode
2018	Taken	Judith Chapman	1 episode
2018	Better Call Saul	Dr. Maureen Bruckner	2 episodes
2018	Sorry for Your Loss	Therapist	1 episode
2019	The Act	Dr. Lakshmi Chandra	1 episode
2019	Ramy	Salma	2 episodes
2019	Big Little Lies	Katie Richmond	3 episodes
2020	Messiah	Sanjana Mirza	3 episodes
2020	Defending Jacob	Elizabeth Vogel	4 episodes
2020–present	Never Have I Ever	Dr. Nalini Vishwakumar	Main role, 30 episodes
2020	The Wilds	Rana Jadmani	1 episodes

Accolades

This section needs additional citations for verification. (July 2021)

• For her performance in Delhi Belly, Jagannathan won the Stardust award for Best Supporting Actress[42] and the L'Oreal Femina Award for Breakthrough Performance in 2012.[43]
• She was named among the top 100 Most Impactful Asians in 2021 and 2022 by Goldhouse[44]
• Jagannathan has been featured on the cover of Harper's Bazaar, Marie Claire, Femina, Jade and Exotica and covered in numerous publications like Vogue, Elle, Cosmopolitan and Grazia
• In 2014, Verve magazine named her among the top 50 most powerful women in India[45]
• She was featured in Vogue's October 2012 anniversary issue as one of 8 women who are changing the face of beauty in India
• Jagannathan was featured among the top 10 in Femina magazine's "India's 50 most beautiful women" in 2012
• Vogue included her in their list of most stylish women in 2012, 2014 and 2015
• Grazia awarded Jagannathan the "Best Dressed Award" for 2014
• She was ranked Most Fashionable Indian Woman by Cosmopolitan in their October 2013 and 2012 issues
• She was included in Verve's "2012's Best dressed Women" issue
• Italian Marie Claire named Jagannathan as one of the 12 women from the East impacting Western cinema in 2012[46]
• She was included in Elle magazine's hot 100 list for 2011
• She is also a brand ambassador for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).

Award	Category
Amnesty International Freedom of Expression Award 2013	Winner
Scotsman Fringe First Award 2013	Winner
Herald Angel Award 2013	Winner
L'Oreal Femina Women Awards 2012	Winner of Breakthrough Performance
10th Annual Kamala Pasand Max Stardust Awards	Winner of Breakthrough Supporting Performance (Female)
18th Annual Colors Screen Awards	Nominated for Best Debut Actor (Female)
Zee Cine Awards 2012	Nominated for Best Debut Actor (Female)
18th Annual Colors Screen Awards	Nominated for Best Supporting Actor (Female)

References

External links

• Official website
• Poorna Jagannathan at IMDb 
• Poorna Jagannathan at Bollywood Hungama

На других языках

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- [en] Poorna Jagannathan

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[es] Poorna Jagannathan

Poorna Jagannathan (Túnez, 22 de diciembre de 1972) es una actriz y productora estadounidense de origen indio.

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[ru] Джаганнатан, Пурна

Пурна Джаганнатан (Poorna Jagannathan, род. 22 декабря 1972) — актриса кино и телевидения, продюсер. Наибольшую известность ей принесли съемки в телесериале «Однажды ночью» и роль в культовой индийской комедии «Однажды в Дели». Джаганнатан Пурна является продюсером театральной постановки — «Nirbhaya», направленной против замалчивания фактов сексуального насилия[2]. В 2013 году пьеса получила премию Amnesty International и была названа «Дейли телеграф» одной из «самых мощных пьес театра, которые вы когда-либо видели»[3]. В 2012 году Джаганнатан Пурна была включена индийским журналом «Фемина» в топ-10 в номинации «50 самых красивых женщин Индии», а в 2014 году она была названа в числе 50 самых влиятельных женщин Индии[4].

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