Archie Panjabi

Panjabi is the first Asian actor to win a Primetime Emmy for acting. Her films include East Is East (1999), Bend It Like Beckham (2002), Yasmin (2004), and A Mighty Heart (2007).

• Name — Archie Panjabi • Birth Name — Archana Panjabi • Born — 31 May 1972 • Birthplace — Edgware, London, England • Education — Brunel University • Occupation — Actress • Years Active — 1994–present • Children — 2

Archana Panjabi was born 31 May 1972 in Edgware, London, to Govind and Padma Panjabi, both Sindhi Hindu immigrants from India. Her ancestry belongs to Sindh, now in Pakistan; her parents settled in India after the Partition of India. She graduated from Brunel University with a degree in management studies in 1994. She is also trained in ballet. • Illustration — Panjabi won an Emmy in 2010 for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for playing Kalinda Sharma in The Good Wife.

Panjabi has appeared in 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. Panjabi then landed the role of witty and wisecracking office colleague Gemma in the 2006 Ridley Scott-directed romantic comedy A Good Year, alongside Russell Crowe and Marion Cotillard. Panjabi next appeared in 2007 with Angelina Jolie in the film adaptation of A Mighty Heart, a book by Mariane Pearl, wife of the journalist Daniel Pearl. Panjabi played the role of former Wall Street Journal reporter Asra Nomani. In 2008, she played the role of Chandra Dawkin in Traitor. She provided the voices for several characters in the British children's television animation Postman Pat. She 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, for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award. Panjabi is the first actor of Indian descent to win an Emmy award. In 2010, she played Saamiya Nasir in the British comedy The Infidel. On 28 May 2012, she was cast as pathologist Tanya Reed Smith in BBC Two drama series The Fall. Panjabi appeared as Blaise in the BBC World Service radio series Westway. After leaving The Good Wife in 2015, she guest starred in Fox comedy series Brooklyn Nine-Nine. She joined the cast of Shetland series 3. In 2016, it was announced that she will star in ABC anthology drama series The Jury as the show's protagonist, Kim Dempsey. She also joined the cast of NBC drama Blindspot. In December 2017, Panjabi commented in The Daily Telegraph on the improvement for offers of parts for actors from ethnic groups "I think there's definitely been an acknowledgement of there being a lack of diversity...". In an interview with The Guardian in February 2018, subsequent to her The Good Wife success, Panjabi ruefully recalled "A US talent agent once told me an Indian woman could never have a career in Hollywood". She also starred as Reece Shearsmith's third love interest, in the ITV drama The Widower, first aired in August 2019. She starred in TNT's drama Snowpiercer in Season three in 2022. In May 2021, Panjabi voiced Depa Billaba in the series premiere of Star Wars: The Bad Batch. In September 2024, it was reported by Deadline that Panjabi had been cast in the fifteenth series of Doctor Who. At the end of "The Interstellar Song Contest" it was revealed that she is playing the newest incarnation of The Rani, a villain not seen since the 1993 special Dimensions in Time.

Panjabi was appointed the first Pratham USA Ambassador, representing the largest educational movement in India. She is a celebrity participant in the Rotary International's "This Close" public service campaign to end polio. 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. 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. 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.

Panjabi married Rajesh Nihalani, a bespoke tailor, in 1998 in an arranged marriage. The couple have a daughter and son together.

• Year — Title — Role — Notes • 1994 — Siren Spirits — Joyoti — Episode: "Bideshi" • 1996 — The Thin Blue Line — Nazia Habib — Episode: "Alternative Culture" • 1997 — Dad — Episode: "Dadmestic" • 2000 — Harry Enfield's Brand Spanking New Show — Various — 12 episodes • 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 • 2002 — Single Voices — Episode: "Little Englander" • 2002 — Holby City — Ali Safron — Episode: "From This Moment On" • 2002 — My Family — Dental Assistant — Episode: "Of Mice and Ben" • 2002 — White Teeth — Alsana — 4 episodes • 2003 — The Canterbury Tales — Clare — Episode: "The Man of Law's Tale" • 2003–2004 — Grease Monkeys — Rita Dhillon — 20 episodes • 2003–2006 — Postman Pat — Meera Bains, Katy Pottage and Nisha Bains • 2004 — Sea of Souls — Megan Sharma — 6 episodes • 2006–2007 — Life on Mars — Maya Roy — 2 episodes • 2007 — Silent Witness — Amita Joshi — 2 episodes • 2008-2017 — Postman Pat: Special Delivery Service — Meera Bains and Nisha Bains • 2009 — Personal Affairs — Jane Lesser — 5 episodes • 2009–2015 — The Good Wife — Kalinda Sharma — Main role (season 1–6) • 2013–2014 — The Fall — Professor Reed Smith — Main role • 2014 — The Widower — Simone Banerjee — Miniseries • 2015 — Brooklyn Nine-Nine — Lieutenant Singh — Episode: "The Funeral" • 2016 — Shetland — Detective Sergeant Asha Israni — Main role (series 3) • 2016 — The Jury — Kim Dempsey — Unsold TV pilot • 2016 — Power Monkeys — Preeya — Main role • 2016–2018, 2020 — Blindspot — Nas Kamal — Main role (season 2); guest role (seasons 3 & 5) • 2017 — Bull — Arti Cander — 1 episode: "The Devil, The Detail" • 2017 — BoJack Horseman — Tilda Madison — Voice role; episode: "Commence Fracking" • 2018 — Next of Kin — Mona Harcourt — 6 episodes, also executive producer • 2019–2023 — Departure — Kendra Malley — Main role, also executive producer • 2019 — Still Open All Hours — Jasmin — Recurring role (series 6), 4 episodes • 2020 — Run — Fiona — 3 episodes • 2020 — I Know This Much Is True — Dr Patel — Miniseries • 2021 — Star Wars: The Bad Batch — Depa Billaba — Voice; episode: "Aftermath" • 2022 — Snowpiercer — Asha — Main role (season 3) • 2023 — Hijack — Zahra Gahfoor — Miniseries • 2024 — Under the Bridge — Suman Virk • 2025 — Doctor Who — The Rani — 3 episodes

• Year — Title — Role — Notes • 2004-5 — Westway (radio series) — Blaise

Archie Panjabi was recorded at birth as Archana Panjabi. The authorities additionally record the heading Archana "Archie" Panjabi. Her recorded language was English. Her recorded confession was Hinduism.

• 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 • 2014 — I Origins — Priya Varma • 2015 — San Andreas — Serena

• Year — Title — Role — Notes • 1995 — Under the Moon — Heena • 2000 — In The Beginning — Basya • 2001 — Ivor the Invisible — Leila • 2002 — The Secret — Nadia's PO • 2002 — Tough Love — Chandra • 2003 — This Little Life — Niala • 2003 — Final Demand — Farida • 2005 — A Very Social Secretary — Ashley