Richa Moorjani is an American actress who is best known for her role as Kamala in the series Never Have I Ever.
Richa Moorjani | |
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Born | Richa Shukla Moorjani |
Nationality | American |
Other names | Richa Shukla |
Occupation |
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Years active | 2011–present |
Known for | Never Have I Ever |
Spouse | Bharat Rishi Moorjani
(m. 2019) |
Moorjani attended the University of California, Davis, where she majored in communications. She graduated in 2011.[1]
For the past 25 years, Moorjani has been a student of Srimati Anuradha Nag (Tarangini School of Kathak Dance) and has been trained in other various styles of western and Indian dance. She told The Hindu, "I will dance until I cannot. Basically, until I die!"[2]
Moorjani's family managed a Bollywood music band.[3]
Moorjani's early years as an actor saw her playing guest roles in several television shows includingThe Mindy Project (directed by Mindy Kaling), NCIS: Los Angeles and 9-1-1. She also voice-acted in Fallout 76, a 2018 online action role-playing video game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks.
Since 2020, Moorjani has been portraying one of the lead characters in Netflix original series Never Have I Ever, which was also co-written by Kaling.[4] She auditioned for Never Have I Ever through an open casting call.[5] Richa plays main character Devi's cousin, Kamala Nandiwadal, in the series. Kamala is a PhD student in biology at Caltech.[6] Speaking on playing a woman of colour in STEM, she tellsThe Hindu, "I learned about how much women of colour in STEM go through. It’s a real systemic problem where their names are taken off research papers. Granted we see what Kamala goes through in the lab via a comedic lens, but I was keen to show this storyline”.[7]
As of late-2021, Moorjani's next project Broken Drawer, directed by Rippin Sindher, has been in post-production. The film is loosely inspired by true events, following a young Sikh mother who was killed while working at her family-owned convenience store in rural California. "Rippin called me and told me how special this role was to her, being based off her mother, and that she couldn't see anyone playing it but me. It turned out to be such a lovely and fulfilling experience," Moorjani told The Hindu.[7]
Year | Film | Role | Notes |
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2011 | Love Fool | Sheela | Short |
2015 | For Here or to Go? | Journalist at Speed Date | |
2015 | X: Past Is Present | Sanjana | |
2019 | Wolf | Arti | Short |
2020 | Invisible Brown Man | Seema Desai | Short |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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2011 | Mark at the Movies | Party girl | One episode on 28 May 2011 |
2012 | Big Time Rush | Palmwoods Girl #2 | Episode: "Big Time Surprise" |
2012 | The Mindy Project | Geeta | Episode: "Thanksgiving" |
2013 | Sullivan & Son | Girl #1 | Episode: "Ladies Night" |
2016 | The New Yorker: Shorts & Murmurs | Episode: "What I Imagine My Boyfriend's Ex-Girlfriends Are Doing Right Now" | |
2017 | NCIS: Los Angeles | Rayna | Episode: "Unleashed" |
2018 | 9-1-1 | Jenna | Episode: "Merry X-mas" |
2020-present | Never Have I Ever | Kamala | Main role |
2021 | Home Economics | Episode: "Bottle Service, $800 Plus Tip (25% Suggested)" | |
2021 | Immoral Compass | Molly | Episode: "Part 8: Nostalgia" |
2022 | True Story | Fenal | Episode: "Abishek's Story" |
General |
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National libraries |