Nitya Vidyasagar

Last updated
Nitya Vidyasagar
Born
Muscat, Oman
NationalityAmerican
OccupationActress
Years active2005–present
Known for Sesame Street

Nitya Vidyasagar is an American actress best known for her role as "Leela" on Sesame Street from 2008 to 2015.

Contents

Early life and education

Vidyasagar was born in Muscat, Oman to Telugu Indian parents and grew up in Kolkata, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad before moving to the United States in 1995 at the age of 12. [1] She graduated from the St. Andrew's Episcopal School in 2001. [2] [3] She received a BFA with honors in drama and a minor in music from New York University. [4]

Career

Vidyasagar was the first Indian American cast member of Sesame Street. [5] Leela runs a laundromat next to Mr. Hooper's Store. Sesame Street producers were not looking for an Indian American actress before they cast Vidyasagar, [6] but the show's writers plan to use parts of Vidyasagar's background in certain episodes. [4] Leela is described as "a young Indian American who embraces her heritage and culture". [7]

Vidyasagar is primarily a stage actress. She trained at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting. [8] She received praise for her performance in the drama Selling Kabul , in which she plays a central female character anxious for her brother's safety. [9]

Filmography

Film and television

YearTitleRoleNotes
2005ThreeShort
2008 Sita Sings the Blues Lav, KushAnimated
2008–2015 Sesame Street LeelaSeries Regular
2009Split EndsMehar ManjriFeature film
2010 The Good Wife Frida VermaSeason 1 Episode 20: "Mock"
2010 Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps Secretary
2012 Smash Jill AbramsSeason 1 Episode 5: "Lets Be Bad"
2015 The Player Medina RaqibSeason 1 Episode 1: "Pilot"
2016 Major Crimes AmalaSeason 5 Episode 1: "Present Tense"
2017 Blue Bloods Dr. Nadia KhanSeason 8 Episode 9: "Pain Killers"
2017 Suits Stephanie PatelRecurring
2017RakshaArchanaShort
2018 SEAL Team Meera NelsonSeason 1 Episode 12: "The Upside Down"
2018MammothNityaShort
2019 Velvet Buzzsaw Gita
2019TroopersUnaRecurring
2019 S.W.A.T. Sergeant WilsonSeason 2 Episode 21: "Day of Dread"
2019 NCIS: Los Angeles NatashaSeason 11 Episode 10: "Mother"
2022 The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window HillaryEpisode 4 [10]
2022 Station 19 Tabitha SalzmanSeason 5 Episode 12: "In My Tree"
2022 All Rise Zoya Hameed

Theatre

YearTitleRoleNotes
Modern Terrorism: Or They Who Want to Kill Us and How We Learn to Love ThemYalda Abbasi Second Stage Theater [11]
The Glorious Ones Armanda Lincoln Center Theater
Serendib [12] Anna Ensemble Studio Theatre
Cecilia's Last Tea Party [13] [14] CeciliaPassage Theatre Company
A Midsummer Night's Dream [15] Puck Flux Theatre Ensemble
NINJA: The MusicalJanineDesipina & Co
Monetizing Emma [16] EmmaPlanet Connections Festival
Coney Island AvenueAnna New York Theatre Workshop
2022 Selling Kabul [17] AfiyaEnsemble Theatre Company Santa Barbara

References

  1. ↑ "Meet Leela, Sesame Street's newest cast member". muppetcentral.com. 3 November 2022.
  2. ↑ "VIDYASAGAR '01 SHINES ON THE SCREEN THANKS TO 'SUNNY DAYS'". St. Andrew's Episcopal School - MD. 11 August 2019.
  3. ↑ Siskind, Greg. "IMMIGRANT OF THE DAY: NITYA VIDYASAGAR - ACTRESS". ILW.
  4. 1 2 India West profile
  5. ↑ Choudhury, Uttara (16 July 2016). "A Passage to Hollywood: How Indian Actors are Storming the US Entertainment Industry". The Wire.
  6. ↑ Southern Courier article
  7. ↑ "Sesame Street Season 39 press kit". Archived from the original on 2011-04-11. Retrieved 2010-07-23.
  8. ↑ "Sesame Street bio". Archived from the original on 2011-07-18. Retrieved 2010-07-23.
  9. ↑ Scott, Daisy (10 February 2023). Selling Kabul - A timely story of family & determination. Santa Barbara: VOICE Magazine. p. 21.
  10. ↑ Stinson, Katherine (January 28, 2022). "Where Was The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window Filmed?". Distractify. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  11. ↑ Isherwood, Charles (18 October 2012). "Funny, but Plotting Havoc Isn't Easy". The New York Times.
  12. ↑ "Serendib | TheaterMania". 2 April 2007.
  13. ↑ Saltzman, Simon. "A Curtain Up - New Jersey Review Cecilia's Last Tea Party".
  14. ↑ Gates, Anita (18 May 2008). "Trenton Tea Party". The New York Times.
  15. ↑ Sommers, Michael (2 July 2011). "A 'Dream' Perfectly Suited for the Outdoors". The New York Times.
  16. ↑ "免费女人18毛片A级毛片视频,男人添女人下面过程,亚洲综合图色40p,少妇高潮太爽了在线观看图片".
  17. ↑ Diamond, Robert. "Photos: First Look At The Cast of SELLING KABUL At Ensemble Theatre Company". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2023-03-18.


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