Melinda Shankar | |
---|---|
Born | Ottawa, Ontario, Canada | February 18, 1992
Nationality | Canadian |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 2008–present |
Known for | Degrassi: The Next Generation |
Melinda Leanna Shankar (born February 18, 1992) is a Canadian actress. [1] She is best known for starring as Alli Bhandari in the television series Degrassi: The Next Generation (2008-2015) and as Indira "Indie" Mehta in the YTV series How To Be Indie (2009-2011), for which she won several awards, including a Canadian Screen Award in 2013. [2] [3]
Melinda Shankar was born on February 18, 1992, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada to Canadian parents of Hindu [2] Indo-Guyanese descent who immigrated to Canada. [3] She has two older sisters and a brother, who is also an actor. She was raised in Orleans, Ontario, a suburban section of Ottawa.
She began studying ballet and karate at the age of three. Shankar currently has a black belt in karate. [4] She attended Sir Wilfrid Laurier Secondary School in Ottawa until grade 11 before moving to Toronto when she was sixteen, following her casting in Degrassi: The Next Generation in 2008. [5]
Shankar began her career as a child model and appeared in numerous print advertisements, including a Procter & Gamble billboard in Los Angeles.[ citation needed ] Shankar's mother was an actress and her paternal grandfather was a director in Guyana. Shankar's father would often drive up to five hours from Ottawa to Toronto for her auditions. [6] [7]
In 2008, she debuted as an actress in the popular CTV television series Degrassi, joining the cast as an incoming 9th grade student. [8] Shankar left the show in 2015, after seven seasons.[ citation needed ]
In 2009, she starred in a television series on YTV called How To Be Indie . She played the lead role of Indira "Indie" Metha for two seasons. The series aired its final episode in October 24, 2011. For her role, Shankar won a Gemini Award in 2011 and a Canadian Screen Award in 2013. [9]
Shankar was cast in her first feature film, Festival of Lights in 2010. The movie was filmed on location in New York City and Georgetown, Guyana. Her father served as production manager for the film due to his familiarity with the locations in Guyana. [6] [7]
In 2013, Shankar and a longtime childhood friend began working on an image consulting business. [10]
On February 22, 2014, Shankar launched Miss Conception, a professional styling and image agency based in Toronto. [11]
In 2008, Shankar and her family moved to Toronto when she was cast in Degrassi. She currently resides in North York, a district in Toronto. [12]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2008–2015 | Degrassi: The Next Generation | Allia "Alli" Bhandari | Main cast; 162 episodes |
2009–2011 | How To Be Indie | Indira "Indie" Mehta | Lead role; 52 episodes |
2010 | Harriet the Spy: Blog Wars | Janie Gibbs | TV film |
2010 | Festival of Lights | Reshma | Lead role |
2010 | Trigger | Rocker Chick #1 | TV film |
2013 | Alive | Kaitlyn | TV film |
2017 | Filth City | Monica | Feature film |
2017 | Darker Than Night | Mika | n/a |
2017 | Slasher: Guilty Party | Talvinder "Tal" Gill | Main cast |
2017 | Christmas Wedding Planner | Jealous Bridesmaid | TV film |
2017 | Christmas with a Prince | Bella | TV film |
Stacey Farber is a Canadian actress. She played Ellie Nash in seasons 2 through 8 of the television series Degrassi: The Next Generation. From 2010 to 2011, she starred in the CBC series 18 to Life. From 2014 to 2017, she played Sydney Katz on the Canadian medical drama Saving Hope, and since 2023 she has had a lead role on The Spencer Sisters. Stacey has also recurred on the Netflix drama series Virgin River and the CW superhero series Superman & Lois.
Degrassi Talks is a Canadian non-fiction documentary television miniseries and part of the Degrassi franchise created by Linda Schuyler and Kit Hood. Running six episodes from February 29 to March 30, 1992, it featured actors from Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High taking the role of journalists and conducting interviews with other teenagers and young adults across Canada on various topics addressed by the series such as abuse, substance addiction, homophobia, and teenage pregnancy. It combined candid and man-on-the-street interviews as well as relevant archive footage from the television series and on-screen statistics. Each episode was hosted by an actor whose character had some relation to the focused subject.
Stacie Moana Mistysyn is an American and Canadian actress who is best known for her role as Caitlin Ryan throughout multiple incarnations of the Degrassi teen drama franchise, from Degrassi Junior High through Degrassi: The Next Generation. She previously played Lisa Canard in The Kids of Degrassi Street from 1982 to 1986.
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Linda Schuyler is a Canadian television producer. She is best known for being the co-creator and producer of the Degrassi franchise, which has spanned five series over four decades. She is a co-founder of Playing With Time, Inc., and Epitome Pictures, the production companies involved with the franchise over its 40-year-long history respectively.
Ron Oliver is a Canadian writer, director, producer, and actor who started with the cult hit Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II. He was also a host on Canada's YTV for the shows YTV Hits, The Ron Oliver Show, Oliver's Twist & Rock 'n Talk. He has gone on to direct various television and motion picture scripts. He has been nominated twice for the Directors Guild of America Award. Oliver directed several episodes of both Are You Afraid of the Dark? and Goosebumps.
The eighth season of Degrassi: The Next Generation premiered in Canada on 5 October 2008, concluded on 30 August 2009, and consists of twenty-two episodes. Degrassi: The Next Generation is a Canadian serial teen drama television series. Although only one school year passed in the story timeline since season six, season eight is set in the fall semester of the year in which it aired. Writers have been able to use a semi-floating timeline, so that the issues depicted are modern for their viewers. This season depicts the lives of a group of high school freshmen, juniors, seniors, and graduates as they deal with some of the challenges and issues young adults face such as sex, sexism, sexual identity, financial difficulties, drug use, mental disorders, cyberbullying, child molestation, stress, hostage situations, racism, and psychological abuse. Thirteen actors are added to the ensemble cast, while fourteen cast members have either left the series or been dropped from the main cast to recurring roles. The season focuses heavily on the new generation of students at Degrassi Community School, although it included storylines about those who have graduated and gone on to university.
Frank Woon-A-Tai is the chief instructor of the International Karate Daigaku, President of the Caribbean Karate College, Chief instructor and Chairman of the Guyana Karate College, and Chairman of IKD Canada and IKD Guyana. He is a tenth-degree black belt in Shotokan Karate.
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How to Be Indie is a Canadian television sitcom that aired on YTV from 2009 to 2011 and the Disney Channel until 2012. The program is a single-camera series intended for a youth audience.
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Lisa Punch is a Guyanese-American singer, songwriter, actress, former tv host and beauty pageant titleholder. She is known for being a contestant on the Rising Star ABC television show in 2014 and as the Miss Guyana in 2015. She is also the founder of the Prevention of Teenage Suicide-Guyana (POTS) organization.
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