Poorna Jagannathan

Poorna Jagannathan
Jagannathan in a Prabal Gurung Dress
Born	1972 (age 44–45) Tunis, Tunisia
Alma mater	University of Maryland
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2001 - present
Spouse(s)	Azad Oommen (m. 2003)

Poorna Jagannathan (born 1972) is an American actress best known for acting in the Bollywood film Delhi Belly opposite Imran Khan. She also initiated and produced the play Nirbhaya, written and directed by Yael Farber, which dealt with breaking the silence around sexual violence. It won the '2013 Amnesty International Award' and was called by The Telegraph as the "One of the most powerful pieces of theater you'll ever see". Jagannathan was featured among the top 10 in Femina magazine's "India's 50 most beautiful women" in 2012 and in 2014, she was named among the top 50 most powerful women in India.

The daughter of a diplomat, Jagannathan was born in Tunis, Tunisia but grew up in Pakistan, Ireland, India, Brazil and Argentina. She began her college education at the University of Brasilia, Brazil but graduated in journalism from the University of Maryland, College Park. On scholarship, she started her master's from The Actor's Studio, one of the world's top drama schools, but left after the first year.

Jagannathan has appeared on several TV shows including House of Cards, Royal Pains, Law & Order, and Rescue Me. Her film credits include Thanks For Sharing by Stuart Blumburg and in 2013, Jagannathan portrayed Riyana Sarai in the Ranbir Kapoor starrer Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani. The movie has become the third highest grossing Bollywood film of all time in India and worldwide. The film was written and directed by Ayan Mukerji and produced by Dharma Films.

Jagannathan is an established theater actress and is part of The Barrow Group in New York City. In 2012, Deadline.com reported that Jagannathan had joined the cast of HBO's new show The Night Of as a series regular. The ensemble cast was led by James Gandolfini and was written and directed by Steven Zaillian and Richard Price. The project was shot at the end of 2012 but was shelved by HBO. It got revived in May 2013 and was slated to start shooting again with Gandolfini in 2014. After Gandolfini's death, Oscar winner Robert De Niro initially stepped in to take over the role originally played by the beloved Sopranos star in the pilot. Due to schedule conflicts, John Turturro replaced De Niro. Filming resumed August 2014 and ended in March 2015 in New York City. The Night Of released on HBO on July 10th, 2016 to critical acclaim. On Metacritic, it currently has a score of 90%, indicating "universal acclaim" based on 40 reviews. It currently has a score of 95% on Rotten Tomatoes with an average rating of 8.5/10 based on 56 reviews; its consensus reads, "The Night Of is a richly crafted, exquisitely performed mystery that will keep viewers enthralled and leave them devastated."