Archie Panjabi

Archana Panjabi (born 31 May 1972) is a British actress. She has had various roles in both UK and US television including as Maya Roy in Life on Mars (2006–07), Nas Kamal in Blindspot (2016–17, 2020), Kendra Malley in Departure (2019-present), and Kalinda Sharma in The Good Wife (2009–15). Her work in the latter 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. Panjabi is the first Asian actor to win a Primetime Emmy for acting. Other notable roles include Meenah Khan in East Is East (1999), Pinky Bhamra in Bend It Like Beckham (2002), Yasmin Husseini in Yasmin (2004), and Asra Nomani in A Mighty Heart (2007). Early life Panjabi was born 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 classically trained in ballet. Career 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.