Archie Panjabi

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**Archana** "**Archie**" **Panjabi** (born 31 May 1972) is an English actress. She has had various roles in both UK and US television including as Mya Roy in Life on Mars and Kalinda Sharma in *The Good Wife*. Her portrayal 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. Additional notable roles include Meenah Khan in *East is East* (1999), Pinky Bhamra in *Bend It Like Beckham* (2002), Yasmin Husseini in *Yasmin* (2005), 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.

 File:Archie Panjabi with Emmy crop.JPG
## 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".

She provided the voices for several characters in the British children's television animation *Postman Pat*. She lent her voice to the video game *Dead Space: Extraction*. Panjabi appeared on the BBC Four *World Cinema Award* show in February 2008, arguing the merits of five international hits such as *The Lives of Others* and *Pan's Labyrinth* with Jonathan Ross and Christopher Eccleston.
In 2009 she portrayed an MI5 agent in the French movie *Espion(s)*, and in the same year she joined the cast of the new CBS television series *The Good Wife* as Kalinda Sharma.

In 2010, she played Saamiya Nasir in the British comedy *The Infidel*. On 28 May 2012, she was cast as pathologist Tanya Reed Smith in BBC Two drama series *The Fall*. Panjabi appeared as Blaise in the BBC World Service radio series *Westway*. After leaving *The Good Wife* in 2015, she guest starred in Fox comedy series *Brooklyn Nine-Nine*. She joined the cast of *Shetland* series 3.

In 2016, it was announced that she will star in ABC anthology drama series *The Jury* as the show's protagonist, Kim Dempsey. She also joined the cast of NBC drama *Blindspot*.

In December 2017 Panjabi commented in *The Daily Telegraph* on the improvement for offers of parts for actors from ethnic groups "I think there's definitely been an acknowledgement of there being a lack of diversity..."
In an interview with *The Guardian* in February 2018 post her *The Good Wife* success Panjabi ruefully recalls "An agent told me an Indian woman could never have a Hollywood career".

## Philanthropy

 File:Archie Panjabi in J. Mendel 1.jpg
Panjabi was appointed the first Pratham USA Ambassador, representing the largest educational movement in India. She is a celebrity participant in the Rotary International's "This Close" public service campaign to end polio. In support of women's rights, she has partnered with Amnesty International to head their Stop Violence Against Women campaign to change the "no recourse to public funds" rule that traps women in a cycle of violence. On 9 February 2011, Panjabi walked in The Heart Truth's Red Dress Collection Fashion Show to increase awareness of the danger of heart disease, the number one killer of women.
The Harvard Foundation and Office for the Arts at Harvard University invited Panjabi to participate in their Artist in Residence Program in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to share her creative process as an actress.

## Awards

*Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Archie Panjabi*
Panjabi was awarded the Chopard Trophy at the Cannes Film Festival in 2007. She was nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for *The Good Wife*, winning in 2010. She won an NAACP Image Award in 2011 for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for the same role. She was also nominated for three SAG Awards with her co-stars of *The Good Wife* for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series.

## Personal life

Panjabi married Rajesh Nihalani in 1998. She is Sindhi Hindu and a bespoke tailor.

## References

1. ↑ Blake, Heidi (31 August 2010). "Emmy-Awards 2010 How Archie Panjabi was told not to pursue her dreams", *The Daily Telegraph* (London). Retrieved on 31 August 2010. Archived from the original on 3 September 2010.
2. ↑ Kaufman, Joann (2010-09-01). "A Cultural Conversation with Archie Panjabi", *The Wall Street Journal* (New York), Dow Jones. Retrieved on 7 September 2014.
3. ↑ Paul, Nisha (October 2007). "Mighty Sensational". *verveonline.com*. http://www.verveonline.com/54/people/mighty.shtml. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
4. ↑ Ilahi, Khalid (2007). "Archie Panjabi, Exclusive chat for A Mighty Heart". *eventcombo.com*. Archived from the original on 10 August 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140810092321/http://www.eventcombo.com/bollywood/bollywood\_features/bolly\_article.cfm?id=286. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
5. ↑ "The Good Wife Cast: Archie Panjabi". CBS. 2012. http://www.cbs.com/shows/the\_good\_wife/cast/61122/?pg=1. Retrieved 18 February 2012.
6. ↑ "Honorary degree for acclaimed actress Archie Panjabi". Brunel University London. 20 July 2011. http://www.brunel.ac.uk/news-and-events/news/news-items/ne\_98123.
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "It's Evening in America". *Vanity Fair*. May 2012. Page 152.
8. ↑ "Archie Panjabi". *The Guardian*.
9. ↑ Munn, Patrick (28 May 2012). "The Good Wife Star Archie Panjabi Cast in BBC Two's 'The Fall'". *TVWise*. http://www.tvwise.co.uk/2012/05/the-good-wife-star-archie-panjabi-cast-in-bbc-twos-the-fall/. Retrieved 28 May 2012.
10. ↑ Nancy Tartaglione (9 April 2015). "Archie Panjabi, Ciaran Hinds Trek To 'Shetland' For BBC Drama's Third Season". http://deadline.com/2015/04/ciaran-hinds-archie-panjabi-cast-shetland-bbc-trailer-1201407178/.
11. ↑ Lesley Goldberg (29 January 2016). "Archie Panjabi to Star in ABC Anthology Drama 'The Jury'". http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/archie-panjabi-star-abc-anthology-860500.
12. ↑ Chavez, Danette (22 June 2016). "Archie Panjabi joins the cast of Blindspot for season two". http://www.avclub.com/article/archie-panjabi-joins-cast-blindspot-season-two-238625.
13. ↑ Telegraph Reporters, "Archie Panjabi: I hope 'Next of Kin' drama will spur debate on radicalisation","The Daily Telegraph", 30 December 2017
14. ↑ Rosanna Greenstreet ," Archie Panjabi Interview"  ,"The Guardian", 3 February 2018
15. ↑ "Archie Panjabi Appointed as Pratham Ambassador" Template:Webarchive Pratham (25 August 2011). Retrieved on 2012-10-31.
16. ↑ "Rotary shares Polio Eradication message". http://www.rotary.org/en/MediaAndNews/News/Pages/121002\_news\_globalfestival.aspx. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
17. ↑ AIUK : Violence against women: Movie star leads battle to overturn 'unjust' UK law Template:Webarchive. Amnesty.org.uk (28 February 2008). Retrieved on 2012-10-31.
18. ↑ The Heart Truth Event Photos, HHS, NIH, NHLBI. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Retrieved on 2012-10-31.
19. ↑ Archie named ‘Artist in Residence’ at Harvard. Ikonzmag.co.uk. Retrieved on 2012-10-31.
20. ↑ TV star Panjabi spends two days at Harvard Template:Webarchive. Indianewengland.com. Retrieved on 2014-07-04.
21. ↑ Sears, Neil (31 August 2010). "British actress Archie Panjabi triumphs", *Daily Mail* (London). Retrieved on 31 August 2010. Archived from the original on 1 September 2010.
22. ↑ Francis, Pam (8 March 2015). "Good Wife's Archie Panjabi: 'Risk is the vital ingredient that flavours success'". Daily Express. http://www.express.co.uk/life-style/life/562308/Good-Wife-Archie-Panjabi-interview. Retrieved 27 April 2016. "Married at 26 to bespoke tailor Rajesh Nihalani. Archie left him at home in England for her first nine months to work on the role [in TV show *The Good Wife*]"
23. ↑ Ferguson, LaToya (5 October 2015). "Brooklyn Nine-Nine subverts expectations to keep the laughs going". *The A.V. Club*. http://www.avclub.com/tvclub/brooklyn-nine-nine-subverts-expectations-keep-laug-226298. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
24. ↑ "(BRK-302) "The Funeral"". *The Futon Critic*. http://www.thefutoncritic.com/listings/20150909fox18/. Retrieved 14 September 2015.

## External links

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* Archie Panjabi (Official website)
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* Archie Panjabi at Emmys.com
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