Aneesa Qureshi

**Aneesa Qureshi** is a major recurring character on *Never Have I Ever*, debuting in Season 2. She is the new Muslim Indian student at Sherman Oaks High, whose confidence and radiance formerly posed an immediate threat to Devi. However, the two girls ultimately become good friends. She is portrayed by Megan Suri.

## Personality

**Aneesa Qureshi** is an outgoing, intelligent, kind, and caring person who deeply cares about the ones close to her. Her kind and caring nature was seen when she was ready to go out of her way to keep Devi safe from being scolded from her mother. She has a confident and radiant personality which can attract anyone, from her peers to her teachers, as noted by Paxton who called Aneesa "dope".

She is also a confident and determined person, as seen by how she confronted and dealt with her bullying at her former school and also her anorexia, along with how she had the courage to move on from her past towards a better future. However, she does deeply hate when people backstab her, as seen by how heartbroken she was when it turned out Devi was the one to start the rumor about her.

## Physical Appearance

**Aneesa** **Qureshi** is an Indian-American teenage girl with short, black, straight hair and brown eyes, being about 5'5" tall. She typically dresses in trendy, sporty clothing.

## History

### Biography

Aneesa became a part of the "cool girls" group, when she went to an all-girls private school, called Toluca Prep. The only thing that her so-called "friends" used to compliment her on was being skinny, which made her feel as though she could never be skinny enough to fit in. She developed anorexia, and hence she had to go to a hospital for treatment. Eventually, everyone at her old school found out she was anorexic, and she had to leave the school because of how bad the bullying got, and she was transferred to Sherman Oaks High not being able to tolerate the bullying.

## Throughout the Series

### Season 2

#### First Day at Sherman Oaks High

A few months into the school year, Aneesa has transferred from Toluca Prep to Sherman Oaks High. She first introduces herself in history class and charms both the teacher and the students with her inviting personality. Aneesa is also compared to the other only Indian girl at school, Devi, which Devi does not take kindly to.

Later, Aneesa is seen socializing with the popular kids. Since they have the same schedule, Devi is tasked with giving Aneesa a tour of the school. As they're touring the place, Aneesa tries to get to know Devi, but Devi ices her out.

Aneesa even wins over Devi's favorite teacher, Mr. Kulkarni, as a jealous Devi watches on. And he isn't the only one. As the day wears on, Aneesa's list of admirers grows. She is always surrounded by large groups of people, flocking in to get to know her. Even Paxton, after taking to her, tells Devi that Aneesa's "dope".

#### Sleepover at Devi's

On Friday, per Nalini's request, Devi invites Aneesa over to her house to have a sleepover. That evening, Aneesa comes to Devi's house and greets Nalini and Nirmala exactly the way they want to be greeted. She asks about Nirmala's health and offers to help Nalini in the kitchen.

In contrast, Eleanor, who is also joining the sleepover, bursts in, tells everyone that she drank a whole Slurpee on the way over, and runs upstairs to pee. Nalini calls her downstairs to take her shoes off before returning her attention to Aneesa.

Later, the girls are upstairs and Aneesa is drawing eyeliner on Eleanor. Devi, annoyed with how comfortable Aneesa is getting, inquires about why Aneesa transferred from a private school to a public one.

### Season 3

Aneesa thinks that Ben may have underlying feelings for Devi. This inspires her to impulsively kiss Fabiola after a soccer game. Aneesa breaks up with Ben. Later, she apologizes to Fabiola for kissing her. Later, Aneesa asks Fabiola out on a date.

However, Fabiola and Aneesa struggle to make the transition from being friends to being a couple. After a game night, Fabiola and Aneesa break up but agree to stay friends.

### Season 4

In *... gotten sweet revenge*, Aneesa is in charge of choosing girls for the soccer team and has a hard time making cuts, thinking she's gonna get kicked in the kneecap. She talks to Fabiola, who is struggling with the fact that no girls ever try out. Aneesa tells her that girls don't join robotics because the team is "Incel City, USA". She admits that the robotics team can be toxic, just like the L.A. River.

In *... had my dream stolen*, Aneesa is sitting with Devi and her friends, listening to Devi talk about how she got deferred from Princeton. Devi asks Aneesa if she can join the girls' soccer team and she respectfully tells Devi that she saw her get winded on an escalator at the mall. Aneesa says she is glad she got recruited to college, so she doesn't have to do anything extra to get in.

In *... said goodbye,* a random student calls Devi "clean sweep” and Aneesa loudly yells at him to shut up. She graduates high school and attends Nirmala's wedding. When the friends are playing the game "Never Have I Ever", Devi says "Never have I ever hooked up with... Ben?", in which Aneesa replies with "Been there."

## Appearances

* *... ruined someone's life*
* *... betrayed a friend*
* *... begged for forgiveness*
* *... been Daisy Buchanan*
* *... stalked my own mother*
* *... been a perfect girl*
* *... had my own troll*
* *... had a valentine*
* *... been ghosted*
* *... cheated*
* *... hooked up with my boyfriend*
* *... lived the dream*
* *... had my dream stolen*
* *... said goodbye*

## Trivia

* Like Devi, she is Indian.
* She is a Muslim, unlike Devi, who is Hindu.
* She is the only other Indian girl apart from Devi at Sherman Oaks High.
* She struggles with anorexia.
* Also, like Devi, she is a talented person who knows how to get her way around things, except that she doesn't get angry easily.
* She plays soccer.
* Pani puri is her favourite food.
* She is really good at doing eye-liner.
* She tweeted "Harry Styles is my god."
	+ This made Aneesa's mom think she was forsaking her religion.
* She is a victim of bullying.
* She has an incredibly protective family who loves her and would go to any end so that she doesn't face tough times.
* Her mom insisted that she wears a full sweatsuit to every pool party.
* On her phone it is shown she is listening to the song "Confidence" by Maya Rosalia.
* She is likely bisexual, as she has dated both Ben and Fabiola.