Parminder Nagra
Parminder Nagra | |
---|---|
Born | Parminder Kaur Nagra 5 October 1975 |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1991–present |
Spouse |
James Stenson
(m. 2009; div. 2013) |
Partner | Kieran Creggan (1996–2000) |
Children | 1 |
Parminder Kaur Nagra (born 5 October 1975)
Early life
Nagra was born on 5 October 1975 in
A few months after sitting her
Career
1990s to early 2000s
Nagra left Leicester for London and decided not to go to university. Instead she pursued a theatrical career and her childhood ambition of becoming an actress.[1] Nagra's first London theatrical job came in 1994, when she was cast as the Princess in the pantomime Sleeping Beauty at the Theatre Royal Stratford East.[1] After Sleeping Beauty, Nagra worked with small Indian theatre companies such as Tara Arts and Tamasha. These roles eventually led to radio and television appearances that defined her career throughout most of the 1990s. She also appeared in "The 6th Wonder of the World: The Kali Tutti Story", in 1994. In 1996, Nagra took a small part in Chikamatsu Monzaemon's Fair Ladies at a Game of Poem Cards that was performed at Cottesloe, Royal National Theatre.
Despite lacking formal theatrical training, Nagra signed with Joan Brown, a veteran London-based agent,
Nagra's other notable stage roles during this period include:
- Skeleton (1997), with critical acclaim for her "bright-eyed vivacity" as the village girl[4]
- A Tainted Dawn (1997) where she played a Hindu boy accidentally left in Pakistanand brought up by a Muslim couple
- Fourteen Songs, Two Weddings & A Funeral (1998) where she showed her skills as a romantic comedian, also to critical acclaim[3]
- Krishna's Lila—A Play of the Asian World (1999) where she was part of a five-person cast in a controversially titled piece[1]
- The Square Circle (1999) in the demanding role of an illiterate peasant girl who becomes a rape victim[1]
- River on Fire (2000), as Kiran, in a retelling of Antigone
In 2001, Nagra voiced a Muslim girl in the docu-drama Arena: The Veil about women who choose to wear the Muslim head scarf. In 1997, not long after Fair Ladies at a Game of Poem Cards, Nagra was cast in Oh Sweet Sita, an adaptation of Indian mythology about Rama and his wife Sita, in the title role of Sita. During that time, Nagra caught the attention of director Gurinder Chadha.[1]
Bend It Like Beckham
Nagra played the lead role in Gurinder Chadha's 2002 comedy-drama Bend It Like Beckham, which became her breakthrough film, alongside Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Anupam Kher, Archie Panjabi, Shaheen Khan, and Keira Knightley, for whom this film also became a career breakthrough. Nagra played Jesminder "Jess" Bhamra, a teenage Sikh football player who idolises football superstar David Beckham and defies her traditional parents to pursue her dreams of playing football. The small-budget film was a critical and financial success in the United Kingdom, eventually making the leap around the world and to Canada and the United States where it earned over $30 million at the box office. The script was written by Chadha with her husband Paul Mayeda Berges and Guljit Bindra with Nagra in mind. While initially indifferent to the game of football, Nagra found the football-centred story to be both funny and touching. She agreed to audition and eventually accepted the role. An intensive ten-week training course in the game Futebol de Salao, coached by Simon Clifford, put Nagra through rigorous nine-hour-a-day workouts. Nagra learned to "bend" or curve the ball in flight, as she did in a scene in the film.[5] Acknowledging Nagra's actual burn-scarred leg, Chadha wrote it into the film.
Nagra received critical and professional acclaim for her performance. She was nominated, and won, several awards, including the FIFA Presidential Award (2002), making her the first woman to have done so.[6]
2004–present
Not long after filming ended on Bend It Like Beckham, Nagra co-starred in the fantasy romantic comedy
While on a promotional junket in
Nagra made her first appearance on ER on 25 September 2003, in the tenth-season premiere titled "Now What?" as
When Nagra finished filming the eleventh season of ER in 2005, she returned to her native Leicester to star in Love in Little India directed by Amit Gupta.[10] She was nominated in 2006 for an Asian Excellence Award, in the category of Outstanding Female Television Performance, for her work in ER, and won the award the following year.[11] Nagra was awarded the Honorary Degree of Doctors of Letters by the University of Leicester on 11 July 2007.[12] In 2008, Nagra voiced Cassandra in the DC animated film Batman: Gotham Knight. Later, she co-starred as Dr Lucy Banerjee in the Fox science fiction drama series Alcatraz which ran for one season from 16 January to 26 March 2012.[13] Nagra starred as CIA agent Meera Malik in the first season of the NBC crime drama series The Blacklist from 2013 to 2014.[14] In 2016, Nagra joined the second season of British arctic psychological thriller Fortitude. In 2018, Nagra joined the second season of the Netflix web television series 13 Reasons Why as Priya Singh, the new counsellor of Liberty High.
More recently, Nagra has starred as the titular character of the ITV series DI Ray (2022). One series of four episodes has aired. A second series of six episodes began filming in May 2023.[15]
Personal life
In 1996, while on the set of the play Fair Ladies at a Game of Poem Cards, Nagra met Irish actor Kieran Creggan with whom she later moved into a flat in Kennington, South London. They were in a relationship for five years.[1]
On 17 January 2009, after a seven-year relationship, Nagra married photographer James Stenson. Her ER co-stars Scott Grimes and John Stamos performed at the ceremony, and her friend and former ER co-star Maura Tierney officiated.[16] On 19 May 2009, she gave birth to their son Kai David Singh Stenson.[17] On 8 February 2012, it was reported that Nagra had filed for divorce.[18] The divorce was finalised in July 2013.[19]
Nagra was one of the bearers of the
As of 2022, she lives in Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles.[21]
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1991 | Dushmani Jattan Di | ||
1999 | Park Stories | Short film | |
2002 | Bend It Like Beckham | Jasminder "Jess" Bhamra | |
2004 | Ella Enchanted | Areida | |
2005 | Maya the Indian Princess | Voice | |
2008 | In Your Dreams | Charlie | |
Batman: Gotham Knight | Cassandra | Voice | |
2011 | Horrid Henry: The Movie | Miss Lovely | |
2012 | Twenty8k | Deeva Jani | |
2014 | Postman Pat: The Movie | Nisha Bains | Voice |
2018 | Bird Box | Dr. Lapham | |
2019 | Five Feet Apart | Dr. Noor Hamid | |
Piney: The Lonesome Pine | Bus driver | Voice | |
2021 | Awaken | Rakhi Singh |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1996, 1998 | Casualty | Ayisha / Asha Guptah | 2 episodes |
1997 | Turning World | Sabina | 3 episodes |
1998 | Faxbir | Babu Frik | TV movie
|
1999 | Donovan Quick | Radhika | TV movie |
2000 | Goodness Gracious Me
|
Various | 2 episodes |
2000 | Holby City | Tina | Episode: "The Trouble with the Truth" |
2001 | Judge John Deed | Ishbel McDonald | Episode: "Exacting Justice" (Pilot) |
2002 | Always and Everyone | Sunita Verma | Episode: "A New Breed" |
2002 | The Swap | Hotel Receptionist | TV movie |
2003 | Twelfth Night | Viola | TV movie |
2003 | Second Generation | Heere/Sonali Sharma | TV movie |
2003–2009 | ER | Dr. Neela Rasgotra | Main cast (Seasons 10–15) |
2009 | Compulsion | Anjika Indrani | TV movie |
2010 | The Whole Truth | Pilar Shirazee | Episode: "Liars" |
2012 | Alcatraz | Dr. Lucille "Lucy" Banerjee | Main cast |
2012 | Tron: Uprising | Ada | Episode: "Isolated", voice |
2013 | Psych | Rachael | 4 episodes |
2013–2014 | The Blacklist | Meera Malik[a] | Main cast (Season 1) |
2015 | NCIS: Los Angeles | Ella Desai | Episode: "Expiration Date" |
2016–2017 | Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. | Ellen Nadeer
|
5 episodes |
2017–2018 | Fortitude | Dr Surinder Khatri | Main cast (Series 2), voice cameo (Series 3) |
2018–2020 | 13 Reasons Why | Counselor Priya Singh | 5 episodes |
2018–2019 | God Friended Me | Pria Amar | 5 episodes |
2019 | Elementary | Special Agent Mallick[a] | 2 episodes |
2020 | Black-ish | Dr. Wen | Episode: "Hero Pizza" |
2021 | Intergalactic | Arch-Marshall Rebecca Harper | Main cast |
2022 | DI Ray | Detective Inspector Rachita Ray | Title character |
2023 | Maternal | Dr. Maryam Afridi | Main cast |
- ^ The Blacklist, and later Special Agent Mallick on Elementary, do not appear to be the same character.
Awards
Year | Organisation | Award/Category | Result | Work |
---|---|---|---|---|
2010 | Audie Awards | Audiobook of the Year | Won | Nelson Mandela's Favorite African Folktales |
Multi-Voiced Performance | ||||
2008 | Asian Excellence Awards | Outstanding television actress | Nominated | ER |
2007 | Asian Excellence Awards | Outstanding television actress | Won | ER |
2006 | Morgan Stanley Great Britons Awards | Arts | Nominated | |
2005 | South Asian Students' Alliance | Recognition of Excellence Award Outstanding Achievement in Acting (Female) |
Won | ER |
2004 | Teen Choice Awards | Choice Breakout TV Star—Female | Nominated | ER |
2004 | Ethnic Multicultural Media Awards | Best Television Actress | Won | Second Generation (2003) |
2004 | Movieline Young Hollywood Awards | Breakthrough Performance by a Female | Won | Bend It Like Beckham (2002) |
2004 | Internet Movie Awards | Best Breakthrough Performance | Nominated | Bend It Like Beckham (2002) |
2003 | Empire Awards | Best Newcomer | Nominated | Bend It Like Beckham (2002) |
2003 | 7th Annual Hollywood Film Festival Awards | Hollywood Actress of the Year | Nominated | Bend It Like Beckham (2002) |
2003 | Ethnic Multicultural Media Awards | Best Actress (Film) | Nominated | Bend It Like Beckham (2002) |
2002 | FIFA | FIFA Presidential Award | Won | Bend It Like Beckham (2002) |
2002 | Bordeaux International Festival of Women in Cinema | Golden Wave Best Actress (Meilleure Comédienne Long Métrage) |
Won | Bend It Like Beckham (2002) Tied with Keira Knightley |
2002 | British Independent Film Awards | Most Promising Newcomer | Nominated | Bend It Like Beckham (2002) |
2002 | European Film Awards | Audience Award Best Actress | Nominated | Bend It Like Beckham (2002) |
2002 | Carlton Multicultural Achievement Awards | Film | Nominated | Bend It Like Beckham (2002) |
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Parminder Nagra - Biography". Yahoo! Movies. Archived from the original on 12 February 2013. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
- ^ a b Morgan, Kai (21 December 2010). "Spotlight – Parminder Nagra". EmbraceYouMagazine.com. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
- ^ a b c d e "A Celebration of Successes With Parminder Nagra". DarpanMagazine.com. May 2009. Archived from the original on 4 October 2013. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
- ^ Billington, Michael (4 June 1997). "Skeleton". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 15 May 2013.
- ^ Puig, Claudia (7 April 2003). "Parminder Nagra bends the rules for 'Beckham'". USA Today. Archived from the original on 11 March 2016. Retrieved 15 May 2013.
- ^ "Parminder Nagra: They chalked the side of my foot". FIFA. 13 January 2003. Archived from the original on 11 May 2008. Retrieved 21 July 2009.
- ^ Spencer, Neil (23 August 2003). "She shoots, she scores". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
- ^ "Wyle Quits 'ER'". IMDb Movie / TV News. World Entertainment News Network. 13 September 2004. Archived from the original on 9 April 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2008.
- ^ "Parminder Nagra". Hello!. Archived from the original on 4 October 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2013.
- ^ "Projects in Development". Park Entertainment. Archived from the original on 4 July 2008. Retrieved 8 May 2008.
- ^ "Winners". AZN Television — Asian Excellence Awards. Archived from the original on 1 May 2008. Retrieved 8 May 2008.
- ^ "ER Star Receives University of Leicester Honour". Archived from the original on 29 September 2011. Retrieved 9 October 2008.
- ^ Goldman, Eric (9 May 2012). "Alcatraz Cancelled by FOX". IGN. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
- ^ Hibberd, James (25 July 2013). "'ER' actress joins 'The Blacklist' as series regular". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
- ^ O’Neill-Dietel, Emma (10 June 2023). "Filming Begins on 'DI Ray' Season 2". Telly Visions. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
- ^ "OK! Exclusive: Inside Parminder Nagra's wedding". OK!. 23 January 2009. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
- ^ Michaud, Sarah (27 May 2009). "It's a boy for Parminder Nagra". People. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
- ^ "Parminder Nagra files for divorce". Hindustan Times. 10 February 2012. Archived from the original on 4 May 2014. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
- ^ "Bend It Like Beckham actress Parminder Nagra wins big in bitter divorce battle". The Indian Express. 30 July 2013. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
- ^ "Olympic torch travels through London". USA Today. 26 June 2004. Archived from the original on 30 May 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2008.
- BristolPost.co.uk.
External links
- Parminder Nagra at IMDb