Poorna Jagannathan is a brilliant American actress and producer who gained fame after her appearance as Menaka Vashisht, friend of Tashi (played by
Imran Khan
) in the box-office black comedy film,
Delhi Belly
in 2011. She received the Best Supporting Actress award at the stardust and the Femina Award for Breakthrough Performance by L’Oreal in year 2012.Â
Poorna was born in Tunis in the Republic of Tunisia in Africa but she was raised up in Pakistan, Argentina, Ireland and Brazil. She studied at the University of Brasilia in Brazil but finished her Journalism course in the University of Maryland, College Park in U.S. She is also a scholar and took up her masters in The Actor’s Studio in
New York
City. But she left after one year.
She was also known for being the producer of Yael Farber’s Nirbhaya, a play that depicts sexual violence in India. The play won the Amnesty International Award in 2013, Scotsman Fringe First award and the Herald Angel Award. The brilliant actress is also prominent and considered as one of the most powerful women in India due to her contributions in films and fashion. Poorna has done various television shows in U.S. including The Game, Law & Order, Rescue Me and more. She also donned several films and she was cast in Thanks for Sharing which stars
Gwyneth Paltrow
,
Mark Ruffalo
and
Tim Robbins
in 2013. Recently, she was also roped in to bagged a role in the third season of the political drama series, House of Cards.
Poorna is also a reputable theatre actress; she has been part of ‘The Barrow Group’, a non-profit Off Broadway company in New York. In year 2012, it has been reported that the actress will join the cast of the television series,
Criminal Justice
on HBO. However, it was shelved and got revived it in 2013 which stars James Gandolfini. But when Gandolfini dies, Robert de Niro will supposedly replaced him but because of some schedule issues, he was replaced by
John Turturro
. In year 2013, she made a guest appearance as Riana in the romantic comedy film, Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani which stars Ranbir Kapoor.
In 2005, the actress was also seen in the comedy drama film, The Weather Man with Nicholas Cage. She also acted in the independent comedy drama film, Peace, Love & Understanding in 2011 and Good Ol’ Boy in 2014. She was also part of the television series like Love Monkey, Awake, The Game, Numb3rs and Royal Pains.
She got married to Azad Oommen on January 2003.