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Last updated on the 26 March 2024 by Evandrus
Mini Biography
Born: 31 May 1972 Edgware, London, England.Â
Archie Panjabi is a British actress who has won various awards and accolades for her roles in both UK and US television and film. She was born as Archana Panjabi, to Sindhi Hindu immigrants from India. She spent part of her childhood in Mumbai, India and considers herself “part British, part Indian”. She graduated from Brunel University with a degree in management studies in 1994.
Archie Panjabi began her acting career in 1999 with the comedy film East Is East, which depicted the life of a British Pakistani family. She gained more recognition in 2002 with the hit film Bend It Like Beckham, where she played the role of Pinky Bhamra, a British Indian girl who loves football. She also starred in the critically acclaimed film Yasmin in 2004, for which she won the Shooting Star Award at the Berlin International Film Festival and the Best Actress Award at the Reims Film Festival.
Archie Panjabi made her Hollywood debut in 2005 with the Oscar-winning film The Constant Gardener, where she played a British diplomat. She also appeared alongside Angelina Jolie in the 2007 film A Mighty Heart, based on the true story of Mariane Pearl, the wife of the journalist Daniel Pearl who was kidnapped and killed by terrorists. Panjabi portrayed Asra Nomani, a former Wall Street Journal reporter and Pearl’s friend. Her performance earned her the Chopard Trophy for Female Revelation at the Cannes Film Festival.
Archie Panjabi’s most notable role on television was as Kalinda Sharma, a mysterious and resourceful private investigator, in the CBS legal drama The Good Wife. She joined the cast in 2009 and stayed until 2015. She won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 2010, and was nominated for three more Emmys, a Golden Globe, and three Screen Actors Guild Awards. She was the first Asian actor to win a Primetime Emmy for acting. She also voiced several characters in the British children’s animation Postman Pat.
Archie Panjabi has continued to work in various film and television projects, such as the French spy thriller Espion(s), the disaster film San Andreas, the sci-fi drama I Origins, the psychological thriller The Fall, the action series Blindspot, the mystery drama Departure, and the dystopian series Snowpiercer.
She has also been involved in humanitarian causes, such as supporting Amnesty International, the Rotary International, and the British Asian Trust. She is a patron of the London-based charity Peace Direct, which supports local peace-builders in conflict areas.
Suggested viewing
East Is East (1999)
Bftv 8.5 / IMDb 6.9 In 1970s England, a Pakistani father clashes with his British-raised children. He clings to tradition, arranging marriages and enforcing strict religious values. His kids, yearning for independence, rebel against his control. Amidst laughter and tears, they grapple cultural identity, family loyalty and finding their own path in a world between East and West. Top cast: Om Puri, Linda Bassett, Jimi Mistry, Archie Panjabi, Jordan Routledge, Chris Bisson, Lesley Nicole, Emil Marwa. |
Bend It Like Beckham (2002)
Bftv 8.5 / IMDb 6.7 A young South Asian woman in London dreams of defying her family’s traditional expectations by playing professional soccer like her idol, David Beckham. Torn between fulfilling cultural obligations and pursuing her passion, she joins a women’s team, facing prejudice both on and off the field. With unwavering determination, support from her best friend, and undeniable talent, she fights for her right to redefine what it means to “bend it like Beckham” and carve her own path to success. Top cast: Parminder Nagra, Keira Knightley, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Archie Panjabi, Anupam Kher, Shaheen Khan, Frank Harper, Juliet Stevenson, Ameet Chana. |
Archie Panjabi Gallery
