Archie Panjabi is a British actress who has received acclaim for her roles in British and American television and films.
She is best known for her role as mysterious investigator Kalinda Sharma on the legal drama The Good Wife, for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award and received several other nominations.
She has also starred in films such as Bend It Like Beckham, A Mighty Heart and San Andreas, and TV series such as Life on Mars, Blindspot and The Undertaker.
She is the first Asian performer to win a Primetime Emmy Award for acting.
contour
- Full name: Archana Panjabi
- Nickname: Archie
- Date of Birth: May 31, 1972
- Age: 51
- Gender: Female
- Birthplace: Edgware, London, England
- Nationality: British
- Occupation: Actor
- Height: 5 feet 3 inches (1.6 meters)
- Parents: Govind and Padma Panjabi
- Siblings: Ashwin Panjabi (brother)
- Spouse: Rajesh Nihalani (m. 1998)
- Children: None
- Marital status: Married
- Net worth: $3 million
Early life and education
Archie Panjabi, 51, was born on May 31, 1972, in Edgware, London, to Govind and Padma Panjabi, both Sindhi Hindu immigrants from India.
Her ancestors are from Sindh, now part of Pakistan; her parents settled in India after the partition of India and Pakistan. She has a brother named Ashwin who is a director and producer.
She grew up in a multicultural environment and learned several languages, including English, Hindi, Sindhi and French.
She was interested in acting and dancing from a young age and joined a local troupe at age 10. She also received classical ballet training.
She attended Sudbury Primary School and Harrow High School, where she excelled academically and participated in a variety of extracurricular activities.
She then studied management at Brunel University, graduating in 1994. After completing her degree, she decided to pursue an acting career and attended drama school in London.
Personal life
Archie Panjabi has been married to custom tailor Rajesh Nihalani since 1998. The couple’s marriage was an arranged one, which Panjabi initially objected to but later accepted.
They have been together for more than 20 years and have a strong relationship. They don’t have any children yet, but they have a black puppy named Mr. Q, and Panjabi often shares photos with Mr. Q on her social media accounts.
They currently live in Los Angeles, California, but also have a home in London.
Panjabi is a vegetarian and animal lover. She is also involved in charitable and humanitarian causes such as Pratham USA, Amnesty International, Rotary International and the British Asian Trust.
She advocates for women’s rights, education, and environmental issues.
She has also received several awards and honors for her work, including the Chopard Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, the Meteor Award at the Berlin International Film Festival, and the Outstanding Asian Woman Award.
Profession
Panjabi began her acting career in the 1999 film East is East, a comedy about a British Pakistani family, in which she played Meena Khan, the rebellious daughter of her parents.
The film received critical and commercial acclaim and won the BAFTA Award for Best Film. Panjabi has appeared in many British films and television shows such as Holby City, Police Stories and My Family.
She made her Hollywood debut in 2005 with the Oscar-winning film The Constant Gardener, in which she played a British diplomat.
She then gained further recognition for her role as Pinky Bhamra, the younger sister of the heroine in the 2002 comedy film Bend It Like Beckham, which was a global hit and became a classic.
She also starred in the 2004 film Yasmin, in which she played a British Muslim woman who faced discrimination and prejudice after the 9/11 attacks. She won the Best Actress Award at the Reims Film Festival for her performance in the film.
In 2007, she co-starred with Angelina Jolie in the film adaptation of A Mighty Heart, written by Marianne Pearl, the wife of journalist Daniel Pearl, who was kidnapped and killed by terrorists in Pakistan.
Panjabi plays Asra Nomani, a former Wall Street Journal reporter and friend of the Pearls.
She received critical acclaim for her role and was nominated for a London Film Critics Circle Award. She also appeared in the 2008 film Renegade, playing a federal agent, and provided voice work for the video game Dead Space: Expedition.
In 2009, she joined the cast of the new CBS television series The Good Wife, playing the role of Kalinda Sharma, a private investigator working for a law firm.
She was a fan-favorite and critically acclaimed character known for her mysterious and complex personality, fluid sexuality, and wardrobe of leather jackets and boots.
She won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 2010 and has been nominated for two other Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and three Screen Actors Guild Awards.
She also became the first Asian performer to win a Primetime Emmy Award. In 2015, she left the show after the sixth season.
She has since appeared in a number of other films and television shows such as San Andreas, My Origins, The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby, Blindspot, The Fall, The Undertaker, and Next of Kin.
She has also produced and narrated documentaries such as The Secret Life of the Sun and The British Asian Trust. She is currently producing a new TV series, The Essex Serpent, based on the novel by Sarah Perry.
net worth
Archie Panjabi’s net worth is estimated to be $3 million.
She has earned a fortune through her acting career in the UK and US, and has endorsed brands such as L’Oréal Paris and Olay.
die
Archie Panjabi is not dead. As of 2023, she is still alive. However, in November 2023, rumors of her death circulated online, which were later confirmed to be a hoax.
The actress took to Twitter to clear up the rumours and assured fans that she is fine.
dispute
Archie Panjabi and his “The Good Wife” co-star Julianna Margulies have been feuding for a long time.
The two actresses played best friends in the show but their relationship started to deteriorate after the second season when Panjabi was revealed to have slept with Margulie’s husband.
This betrayal allegedly caused a rift between the characters in the show and between the actresses, who could not stand each other.
They no longer filmed together and only communicated via phone or third parties. Fans noticed the lack of chemistry and screen time between the two and speculated that there might be an argument between them.
Neither party has confirmed the feud, but there are hints and clues that it is true. For example, Panjabi won an Emmy Award for her role in 2010, but Margulies neither congratulated her nor mentioned her in her acceptance speech.
Margulies also commented that Panjabi was difficult to work with and had gone in different directions. Panjabi, on the other hand, remained silent and diplomatic on the matter but hinted that there was more to the story.
The feud between the two culminated in the season six finale, when Panjabi’s character left the show. The episode included a farewell scene between the two, but it was later revealed that the scene was shot separately using a body double and green screen.
The scene was widely criticized by fans and critics for being crudely crafted and disrespectful to the character and the actor. Panjabi expressed her disappointment and confusion about the scene on Twitter, while Margulies denied any involvement in the decision and blamed it on scheduling conflicts.
The feud has remained unresolved and the two actresses have never spoken to each other since 2023. They also avoid each other at public events and award ceremonies.
The feud has been one of the most talked-about and controversial topics in television and has overshadowed the achievements and talents of both actresses.
Social Media
- Instagram: @archiepanjabi
- Twitter: @archiepanjabi
Filmography
- The East is the East
- Play like Beckham
- Yasmin
- The Immortal Gardener
- A great year
- Strong Heart
- traitor
- Espion
- The Good Wife
- pagan
- Happy Salesman
- My Origin (2014)
- The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby
- San Andreas
- Blind Spot
- Fall
- leave
- Close relatives
- Essex Serpent (TBD)
