Nazneen Contractor

Actress Nazneen Contractor was born in Mumbai, India.
Nazneen Contractor spent much of her childhood in Nigeria and London and at the age of ten she moved to Canada.

Early on in her career Nazneen Contractor joined the Stratford Shakespeare Festival. Nazneen acted as the lead in a few of there plays including their production of a Midsummer Night's Dream and Pericles. Nazneen Contractor was the first actor of East Asian decent to act in the lead of plays put on by that theater company.


After working with the Stratford Shakespear Festival for two seasons Nazneen Contractor went to the University of Toronto. While studying Nazneen Contractor acted in bit parts in TV shows and films.

In 2008 Nazneen Contractor joined the cast of the hit CBC show The Border.

In 2010 Nazneen Contractor joined the cast of the 8 season of 24 playing the daughter of the president of the Islamic Republic.


Some of Nazneen Contractor's other acting work include Love Letters, We R Friends, Othello, The Papdits, Street Time and The Matthew Shepard Story.


Nazneen Contractor is a follower of the Zoroastrianism.

Padma Lakshmi

Padma Lakshmi is a model, actress and cookbook author.

Padma Parvati Lakshmi was born in Madras (now Chennai) Tamil Nadu, India on September 1, 1970


Padma Lakshmi grew up in America

At the age of 14 was in a car crash, when the car she was riding in with her parents was hit so hard by another driver that they where sent in the air. Everyone in the car that Padma Lakshmi was riding in survived but Padma Lakshmi was left with a large scare that runs down from her shoulder all the way down to her right elbow.


being scared didn't stop Padma Lakshmi from breaking into modeling at the age of 16. Padma Lakshmi modeling care started when a modeling agent saw Padma Lakshmi in cafe in Spain.

Padma Lakshmi says she is the first model of Indian descent to have a modeling career in places like New York, Milan, and Paris.

Due to modeling Padma Lakshmi was part of the 1995 documentary unzipped.


Padma Lakshmi got into acting in 1997 at first she just had small roles in a few Italian TV shows. Padma Lakshmi has had roles in the film Glitter and an episode of Star Trek: Enterprise, an episode of the British show Sharpe and the 2006 TV miniseries the 10 commandments.

Padma Lakshmi biggest acting gigs so far are her roles in Indian films such as Boom and the Mistress of Spice.

In 1999 Padma Lakshmi wrote her first cookbook Easy Exotic, which won that years World Cookbook Awards Cookbook of the year award.

Due to her cookbook in 2000 Padma Lakshmi became the host of the doc Planet Food. In 2001 Padma Lakshmi became the host of Melting Pot: Padma's Passport and in 2006 Padma Lakshmi became the host of Top Chief.

Konnie Huq

Konnie Huq was born Kanak Huq on July 17th 1975 in Hammersmith, London, England.

Konni Huq's parents are from Pabna, Bangladesh


Konnie Huq is a British TV presenter who maybe best known for her work on the kid show Blue Peter. Konnie Huq was the co-host of the show from December 1997 to January 2008. Konnie Huq hosted the show longer then any other woman and is the the third longest running host of Blue Peter's history.

Besides Blue Peter Konnie Huq has hosted a number of other shows such as The Tube, Milkshake, UK top 40, ITV1 London, New York Fashion Week, Zoo days, Your News, Hannah-Oke, the 2008 UK School Games and other shows.

Konnie Huq also has done a bit of acting and appeared on The Sarah Jane Adventures, M.I High, and Robin Hood.

Konnie Huq may also be known for the fact that when she was running in the Olympic torch relay for the 2008 games someone tried to take the torch away from her in protest of the games being held in China, because of that countries human rights issues.

Preity Zinta

Preity Zinta was born in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India on January 31, 1975.

Preity Zinta's father was an officer in the Indian army. When Preity Zinta was 13 years old her father and mother where in a car crash, Preity's dad died in the crash and her mother was injured so badly that she was bedridden for 2 years.

even through such hardships Preity Zinta still managed to get good grades in school and was a fan of Shakespeare and poetry.

Preity Zinta graduated form St. Bede college with an honors degree in English lit and graduated graduate school with a degree in criminal psychology

After college Preity Zinta when into modeling. Her first gig was a commercial for Perk chocolates.

Preity Zinta got into film acting when a friend of hers asked her to come to an audition with her for a Shekhar Kapur film. At the audition Preity Zinta was asked if she would also audition and when she did Shekhar Kapur told her that she should get into acting and gave her a role in the film Tara Rum Pum Pum that never got out of production.

even though that movie didn't get made Kapur recommended her for the movie Dil Se. It was a small role (only 20 minutes of the film) but it lead Preity Zinta to win a flimfare award for best supporting actress.

also in 1998 Preity Zinta worked in the film Soldier. thought that movie wasn't released until two years later.

Preity Zinta has acted in such films as Premante Idera, Raja Kumarudu, Sangharsh, Kya Kehna, Mission Kashmir, Dil Chahta Hai, Chori Chori Chupke Chupke, Koi... Mil Gaya, The Hero: Love Story of a Spy, Kal Ho Naa, Veer-Zaara, Jaan-E-Mann, and Jhoom Barabar Jhoom.

in 1997 Preity Zinta decided to switch the direction of her career instead of acting in mainsteam bollywood films and worked in Indian new wave films (also known as Parallel Cinema) such as Hero, Heaven on Earth, The Last Lear, Har Pall, and Heroes.

In 2008 Preity Zinta became a co-owner of the Indian Premier League cricket team Kings XI Punjab.

Preity Zinta has been romantically linked to a number of people such as model Marc Robinson, fellow co-owner of Kings XI Punjab and heir to the The Bombay Dyeing & Mfg. Co. Ltd Ness Wadia and the Shekhar Kapur.

Payal Rohatgi

Payal Rohatgi was born in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India on November 9th in 1984.

Payal Rohatgi was originally a model and appeared in print, tv ads and music videos


in 2002 Payal Rohatgi was a finalist in Femina Miss India contest. Though not the winner her being a finalist lead to Payal Rohatgi being in the Hindi remake of American Pie, Yeh Kya Ho Raha Hai.


Payal Rohatgi has appeared in such Bollywood films such as Plan, Rahkt, 36 China Town, Heyy Babyy, Dhol, and Dil Kabaddi

Mindy Kaling

Mindy Kaling was born on June 24, 1979 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Mindy Kaling's birth name was Vera Mindy Chokalingam.

Mindy Kaling went to Dartmouth college where she was a member of the comic troupe called "The Dog Day Players" and was in a cappella group that was founded by comedienne Aisha Tyler called The Dartmouth Rockapellas.


Mindy Kaling was also the cartoonist for a comic strip that appeared in her colleges paper called Badly Drawn Girl.

in 2003 Mindy Kaling co-wrote the play Matt & Ben, Mindy Kaling also played Ben Affleck in that play. This play would be listed in Time as one of the top 10 theatrical events of that year.


The buzz form this play was good to Mindy Kaling because the next year she hired to be a writer for the American version of The Office. This writing job then lead to Mindy Kaling having an acting role on the show playing the character Kelly Kapoor. A character that Mindy Kaling says is based on how the head writers see her.


in 2008 Mindy Kaling co-wrote and starred in a web show called House Poor

Mindy Kaling as just signed a 7 figure deal with NBC to create her own TV show, while she works on the Office.

Parminder Nagra

Parminder Nagra is an English actress best known for her roles in the movie Bend it like Beckham and the TV show ER

Parminder Nagra was born in Leicester, England on October 15 1975. Her parents where immigrants form Punjab, Indian and moved to England in the 70's.

in school Parminder Nagra was in band (youth orchestra) and her school's drama club. Parminder Nagra acting in school most have been pretty good because after she graduated her drama teacher asked her to join Hathi Productions, a British Indian theater company. Parminder Nagra's first professional acting role was for the play Nimai where she played the lead.

Parminder Nagra stayed with Hathi for only a number of months before she decided to move to London and further her acting career in 1994. At first Parminder Nagra had a hard time finding acting work and had to sell her voila and take a stocking job but it was to long before 19 year old Parminder Nagra landed the role of the princess in a play of Sleeping Beauty.

From that play Parminder Nagra went back to working with theater companies with actors of Indian decent such as Tamasha and Tara Arts.

in 1996 Parminder Nagra signed to agent Joan Brown, who lead her to TV work. Parminder Nagra then acted in small roles in such shows as Casualty and The Kumars at No. 42.

in 97 Parminder Nagra starred in Oh Sweet Sita. which would lead to her role in Bend it like Bechham when the movies screenwriter say her and wrote the move with Parminder Nagra in mind for the lead, five years later the film was made and that part made Parminder Nagra an international star.

Parminder Nagra then had roles in the movie Ella Enchanted and a TV version of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night and the television drama Second Generation

in 2003 Parminder Nagra became a cast member of the hit show ER which she starred in until the shows end on April 2nd in 2009. Parminder Nagra's role on the show is historic because it was the first recurring Indian character on American TV.


Parminder Nagra also did voiced work in the animated movie Batman: Gotham Knigh.

on January 17th 2009 Parminder Nagra married James Stenson.