# Sakina Jaffrey

Sakina Jaffrey (born February 14, 1962) is an American actress.

## Early life

Jaffrey was born in New York City, the youngest daughter of Indian-born parents, actress and food and travel writer Madhur Jaffrey, and actor Saeed Jaffrey. Her parents divorced when she was three years old, and she grew up estranged from her father, who subsequently moved to the United Kingdom.
She grew up in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan where she attended PS 41. Later she attended the Nightingale-Bamford School in the Upper East Side.
Jaffrey picked up her love of Chinese culture from her elder sister, Meera. She graduated from Vassar College in 1984, with a major in Chinese Language and Literature, originally planning to be a translator before she became an actress.

## Career

At the age of 17, Jaffrey made her professional acting debut in the play Marie and Bruce by Wallace Shawn at the Public Theatre in New York City.
She appeared with her father in the film Masala (1991) and with her mother in The Perfect Murder (1988). In 2002, she appeared in The Truth About Charlie starring Mark Wahlberg. Her children Cassius and Jamila appear with her in Raising Helen (2004). Jaffrey starred in the English-language U.S.-Indian drama film The Ode (2008).
She starred as Linda Vasquez, the White House Chief of Staff, in the Netflix series House of Cards (2013). In 2014, it was announced that she would be appearing in the second season of Fox's television series Sleepy Hollow as Leena Reyes, the new sheriff.
From 2016 to 2018, she had a starring role in the NBC television series Timeless as Homeland Security Agent Denise Christopher.
She also starred as Malini Soni in The Meyerowitz Stories, a 2017 comedy-drama film directed by Noah Baumbach and costarring Dustin Hoffman and Adam Sandler.

## Personal life

Jaffrey lives in suburban New York City with her husband, Francis Wilkinson, a journalist, and their two children, Cassius and Jamila.

## Acting credits
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1988 | The Perfect Murder | Neena Lal | |
| 1989 | Slaves of New York | Willfredo's receptionist | |
| 1991 | Masala | Rita Solanki | |
| 1995 | The Indian in the Cupboard | Lucy | |
| 1996 | Daylight | Kit's passenger #1 | |
| 1999 | Chutney Popcorn | Sarita | |
| 1999 | Cotton Mary | Rosie | |
| 2001 | Revolution No. 9 | Dr. Ray | |
| 2001 | The Mystic Masseur | Suruj Mooma | |
| 2002 | The Guru | Young Woman in Dance Class | |
| 2002 | The Truth About Charlie | Sylvia | |
| 2003 | Ash Tuesday | June | |
| 2003 | American Made | — | Short film |
| 2004 | Raising Helen | Nilma Prasad | |
| 2004 | The Manchurian Candidate | Mysterious Arabic Woman | |
| 2006 | Hiding Divya | Dr. Sharma | |
| 2007 | Where God Left His Shoes | Doctor | |
| 2007 | Dharini | Kiran | Short film |
| 2007 | Waking Dreams | Rajani | |
| 2007 | The Nanny Diaries | Sima | |
| 2007 | Before the Devil Knows You're Dead | Manager | |
| 2008 | Definitely, Maybe | School Mom | |
| 2008 | The Toe Tactic | Lacticia Utt | |
| 2008 | The Understudy | Nurse | |
| 2008 | The Ode | Parin | |
| 2009 | Company Retreat | Sareeta | |
| 2010 | Nevermind Nirvana | Dr. Sarita Matto | Television film |
| 2011 | Breakaway | Livleen Singh | |
| 2012 | The Domino Effect | Serena | |
| 2013 | The Necklace | Sunita | Short film |
| 2016 | Claire in Motion | Maya | |
| 2017 | The Meyerowitz Stories | Dr. Soni | |
| 2018 | Red Sparrow | Trish Forsyth | |
| 2018 | Behold My Heart | Jane | |
| 2018 | The Equalizer 2 | Fatima | |
| 2019 | Late Night | Mrs. Patel | |
| 2020 | Soul | Doctor | Voice role |
| 2021 | The Hating Game | Helen | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2000 | Law & Order | Dr. Balikrishan | Episode: "Endurance" |
| 2003–2005 | Third Watch | Dr. Hickman | 16 episodes |
| 2004 | Sex and the City | Rama Patel | Episode: "Splat!" |
| 2004 | Law & Order | Roya Koutal | Episode: "Caviar Emptor" |
| 2006 | Heroes | Mrs. Suresh | 2 episodes |
| 2007 | What Goes On | Asha | Episode: "Blue" |
| 2007 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Geeta Chanoor | Episode: "Outsider" |
| 2011 | Blue Bloods | Mrs. Demir | Episode: "Thanksgiving" |
| 2012 | Girls | Gynecologist | Episode: "Vagina Panic" |
| 2013–2018 | House of Cards | Linda Vasquez | 19 episodes |
| 2014–2015 | Sleepy Hollow | Sheriff Leena Reyes | 5 episodes |
| 2014–2018 | Madam Secretary | Chondita Samant | 2 episodes |
| 2015–2017 | Mr. Robot | Antara Nayar | 7 episodes |
| 2015 | Halal in the Family | Fatima Qu'osby | 4 episodes |
| 2015–2016 | The Mindy Project | Sonu Lahiri | 6 episodes |
| 2016 | Blindspot | Susan Albright | Episode: "Cease Forcing Enemy" |
| 2016–2018 | Timeless | Agent Denise Christopher | 26 episodes |
| 2017 | The Problem with Apu | Herself | Documentary film |
| 2018 | Homeland | Dr. Meyer | 3 episodes |
| 2019 | American Gods | Mama-Ji | 4 episodes |
| 2019 | Lost in Space | Captain Kamal | 5 episodes |
| 2020 | Defending Jacob | Lynn Canavan | 7 episodes |
| 2021–2022 | Snowpiercer | Dr Headwood | 16 episodes |
| 2022–2023 | Billions | Daevisha ‘Dave’ Mahar | 20 episodes |
| 2022 | Ms. Marvel | Auntie Shirin | Episode: "Destined" |
| 2024 | Ghosts | Champa Arondekar | Episode: "A Very Arondekar Christmas" |
| 2025 | Goosebumps | Ramona | Recurring (season 2) |
| 2025 | Deli Boys | Seema | |

#### Theatre

| Year | Production | Venue | Notes |
| 1979 | Marie and Bruce | Public Theatre | Professional acting debut |
| 1988 | George Washington Slept Here | Apple Corps Theatre | |
| 1988 | Phaedra Brittanica | CSC | |
| 2009 | The River Crosses Rivers: Short Plays by Women of Color | Castillo Theatre | Production of New Federal Theatre |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Association | Category | Nominated work | Result |
| 2015 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | House of Cards | Nominated |