Poorna Jagannathan

She is known for her portrayal of Safar Khan in the HBO drama miniseries The Night Of, as well as for her role as Nalini Vishwakumar in the Netflix teen comedy series Never Have I Ever created by Mindy Kaling.

Poorna Jagannathan
Jagannathan at the Lisner Auditorium in 2023
Born	(1972-12-22) December 22, 1972 (age 51) 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

She also co-conceived, produced, and acted in the play Nirbhaya, which was known as "one of the most powerful and urgent pieces of human rights theatre ever made," and is considered a critical moment in India's history of women's empowerment.

Jagannathan was named among the top 100 Most Impactful Asians in America in 2021 and 2022 by Goldhouse. She was featured among the top 10 in Femina magazine's "India's 50 most beautiful women" in 2012. Verve magazine named her among the top 50 most powerful women in India in 2014.

Jagannathan was born in Tunis, Tunisia, to Vasantha Jagannathan and G. Jagannathan, an Indian diplomat, on December 22, 1972. She grew up in Pakistan, Ireland, India, Brazil and Argentina and speaks Tamil, Hindi, English, Spanish and Portuguese. Jagannathan attended the University of Brasília before graduating in journalism from the University of Maryland, College Park. She earned a scholarship to pursue a Master of Fine Arts in acting at the Actors Studio Drama School at Pace University. Although she dropped out after the first year, she continued to study acting under her mentor, Elizabeth Kemp, who she met there. Jagannathan went on to train at The Barrow Group where she is currently a board and company member and cites The Barrow Group as the place where she learned how to become a professional, working actor. Before her career as an actor, Jagannathan spent 15 years working in advertising at agencies like TBWA\Worldwide, Ogilvy, and Deutsch Inc. before starting her own consultancy, Cowgirls & Indians.

Jagannathan has had recurring parts 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. In 2017, she played one of the leads in A24's film Share. Share premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival, and was immediately acquired by HBO.

Jagannathan also won critical acclaim for her role as a spunky, irreverent journalist in the 2011 Hindi cinema 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." Mumbai Mirror said, "Poorna Jagannathan, an offbeat choice, is remarkably subtle and does a brilliant job." The Daily News and Analysis said that Jagannathan 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." The editor of Outlook Lounge said that Jagannathan'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 Film Companion.

In 2012, Deadline.com reported that Jagannathan had joined the cast of the HBO show The Night Of as a series regular. 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....." Vikram Murthi from Vulture wrote "Poorna Jagannathan's subtle performance really shines .... Her facial reactions convey such a profound array of emotions." Variety's Sonia Saraiya wrote that her performance was "quietly devastating".

While lauded for her dramatic performance, Jagannathan's comedic roles have gained her the most attention. Her episode in the Duplass Brothers Productions 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." Jagannathan's performance as Nalini Vishwakumar in Mindy Kaling's Never Have I Ever was lauded by critics. Her comic yet 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." 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." 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." 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." Never Have I Ever, which debuted in 2020, went on to win the People's Choice Awards for Seasons 1, 2 and 3 consecutively.

In 2018, Jagannathan 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 and won the 2019 People's Choice Podcast Award in the Education category.

Nirbhaya

Moved by a gang rape and murder in Delhi on December 16, 2012, Jagannathan initiated, produced, and acted in a testimonial play called Nirbhaya (transl. Fearless, a pseudonym given to the victim). The play uses the rape and death of Jyoti Singh Pandey to break the silence around sexual violence. Jagannathan collaborated with internationally acclaimed playwright and director, Yaël Farber, to build the play. Nirbhaya opened at the Assembly Hall in August 2013 during the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. 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.

It was called by The Telegraph as "One of the most powerful pieces of theatre you'll ever see". The Sunday Herald called Nirbhaya "One of the most powerful and urgent pieces of human rights theatre ever made". In March 2014, Nirbhaya was the centrepiece 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. In August 2014, The Guardian audiences voted Nirbhaya among the top 10 "best fringe moments" in the Edinburgh Festival's history. 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. 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. "Nirbhaya" is considered one of the most impactful moments in India's history of the women's empowerment movement.

Film

Television

• For her performance in Delhi Belly, Jagannathan won the Stardust award for Best Supporting Actress and the L'Oreal Femina Award for Breakthrough Performance in 2012.
• She was named among the top 100 Most Impactful Asians in 2021 and 2022 by Goldhouse
• 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
• 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
• 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).