Sakina Jaffrey

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Sakina Jaffrey
Sakina Jaffrey 2014.jpg
Jaffrey at the 2014 Montclair Film Festival
Born (1962-02-14) February 14, 1962 (age 62)
Education Nightingale-Bamford School
Alma mater Vassar College (BA)
OccupationActress
Years active1979–present
SpouseFrancis Wilkinson
Children2
Parents
Relatives Kiara Advani (cousin)
Raghu Raj Bahadur (cousin)

Sakina Jaffrey (born February 14, 1962) [1] is an American actress.

Contents

Early life

Jaffrey was born in New York City, the youngest daughter of Indian-born parents, actress and food and travel writer Madhur Jaffrey, and actor Saeed Jaffrey. Her parents divorced when she was three years old, and she grew up estranged from her father, who subsequently moved to the United Kingdom. [2]

She grew up in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan where she attended PS 41. Later she attended the Nightingale-Bamford School in the Upper East Side. [1]

Jaffrey picked up her love of Chinese culture from her elder sister, Meera. She graduated from Vassar College in 1984, with a major in Chinese Language and Literature at the college, originally planning to be a translator before she became an actress. [3]

Career

At the age of 17, Jaffrey made her professional acting debut in the play Marie and Bruce by Wallace Shawn at the Public Theatre in New York City. [1]

She appeared with her father in the film Masala (1991) [4] and with her mother in The Perfect Murder (1988). [5] In 2002, she appeared in The Truth About Charlie starring Mark Wahlberg. [6] Her children Cassius and Jamila appear with her in Raising Helen (2004). [7] Jaffrey starred in the English-language U.S.-Indian drama film The Ode (2008). [8]

She starred as Linda Vasquez, the White House Chief of Staff, in the Netflix series House of Cards (2013). [9] In 2014, it was announced that she would be appearing in the second season of Fox's television series Sleepy Hollow as Leena Reyes, the new sheriff. [10]

From 2016 to 2018, she had a starring role in the NBC television series Timeless as Homeland Security Agent Denise Christopher. [11]

She also starred as Malini Soni in The Meyerowitz Stories , a 2017 comedy-drama film directed by Noah Baumbach and costarring Dustin Hoffman and Adam Sandler. [12]

Personal life

Jaffrey lives in suburban New York City with her husband, Francis Wilkinson, a journalist, and their two children, Cassius and Jamila. [13]

Acting credits

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1988 The Perfect Murder Neena Lal
1989 Slaves of New York Willfredo's receptionist
1991 Masala Rita Solanki
1995 The Indian in the Cupboard Lucy
1996 Daylight Kit's passenger #1
1999 Chutney Popcorn Sarita
1999 Cotton Mary Rosie
2001 Revolution No. 9 Dr. Ray
2001 The Mystic Masseur Suruj Mooma
2002 The Guru Young Woman in Dance Class
2002 The Truth About Charlie Sylvia
2003Ash TuesdayJune
2003American MadeShort film
2004 Raising Helen Nilma Prasad
2004 The Manchurian Candidate Mysterious Arabic Woman
2006Hiding DivyaDr. Sharma
2007 Where God Left His Shoes Doctor
2007DhariniKiranShort film
2007Waking DreamsRajani
2007 The Nanny Diaries Sima
2007 Before the Devil Knows You're Dead Manager
2008 Definitely, Maybe School Mom
2008The Toe TacticLacticia Utt
2008 The Understudy Nurse
2008 The Ode Parin
2009Company RetreatSareeta
2010Nevermind NirvanaDr. Sarita MattoTelevision film
2011 Breakaway Livleen Singh
2012 The Domino Effect Serena
2013The NecklaceSunitaShort film
2016 Claire in Motion Maya
2017 The Meyerowitz Stories Dr. Soni
2018 Red Sparrow Trish Forsyth
2018 Behold My Heart Jane
2018 The Equalizer 2 Fatima
2019 Late Night Mrs. Patel
2020 Soul DoctorVoice role
2021 The Hating Game Helen

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
2000 Law & Order Dr. BalikrishanEpisode: "Endurance"
2003–2005 Third Watch Dr. Hickman16 episodes
2004 Sex and the City Rama PatelEpisode: "Splat!"
2004 Law & Order Roya KoutalEpisode: "Caviar Emptor"
2006 Heroes Mrs. Suresh2 episodes
2007What Goes OnAshaEpisode: "Blue"
2007 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Geeta ChanoorEpisode: "Outsider"
2011 Blue Bloods Mrs. DemirEpisode: "Thanksgiving"
2012 Girls GynecologistEpisode: "Vagina Panic"
2013–2018 House of Cards Linda Vasquez19 episodes
2014–2015 Sleepy Hollow Sheriff Leena Reyes5 episodes
2014–2018 Madam Secretary Chondita Samant2 episodes
2015–2017 Mr. Robot Antara Nayar7 episodes
2015 Halal in the Family Fatima Qu'osby4 episodes
2015–2016 The Mindy Project Sonu Lahiri6 episodes
2016 Blindspot Susan AlbrightEpisode: "Cease Forcing Enemy"
2016–2018 Timeless Agent Denise Christopher26 episodes
2017 The Problem with Apu HerselfDocumentary film
2018 Homeland Dr. Meyer3 episodes
2019 American Gods Mama-Ji 4 episodes
2019 Lost in Space Captain Kamal5 episodes
2020 Defending Jacob Lynn Canavan7 episodes
2021–2022 Snowpiercer Dr Headwood16 episodes
2022–2023 Billions Daevisha ‘Dave’ Mahar20 episodes
2022 Ms. Marvel Auntie ShirinEpisode: "Destined"
2024 Goosebumps (2023 TV series) Ramona [14]

Theatre

YearProductionRoleVenueNotesRef.
1979 Marie and Bruce Public TheatreProfessional acting debut [1]
1988 George Washington Slept Here Apple Corps Theatre [15]
Phaedra BrittanicaCSC [16]
2009The River Crosses Rivers: Short Plays by Women of ColorCastillo TheatreProduction of New Federal Theatre [1]

Awards and nominations

YearAssociationCategoryNominated workResult
2015 Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series House of Cards Nominated

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Sakina Jaffrey". Woody King Jr.'s New Federal Theatre. Retrieved June 12, 2022. Sakina Jaffrey was born on February 14, 1962 in Manhattan.
  2. Sid Adilman (February 2, 1992). "The three faces of Saeed Jaffrey". Toronto Star. p. C1.
  3. Kay Renz (July 4, 2004). "Actress Sakina Jaffrey: Getting Used to the Red Carpet". Boca Raton News. p. 8V.
  4. Woo, Elaine (November 17, 2015). "Saeed Jaffrey dies at 86; Actor exuded flair and versatility from Bollywood to Britain". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  5. The Perfect Murder 1988, directed by Zafar Hai | Film review (timeout.com)
  6. "The Truth About Charlie". www.tcm.com. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  7. "Raising Helen". www.tcm.com. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  8. "Raising Helen". www.tcm.com. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  9. Goodman, Tim (January 26, 2013). "House of Cards: TV Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  10. "Sleepy Hollow Casting Scoop: House of Cards Star Is the New Sheriff in Season 2". E! Online. May 27, 2014. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  11. "Timeless". TVGuide.com. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  12. "The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected)". TVGuide.com. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  13. "'House of Cards' actress Sakina Jaffrey feels '100% New Yorker'". CNN . May 21, 2019.
  14. "'Goosebumps' Adds Six to Season 2 Cast". May 31, 2024.
  15. Nelsen, Don (July 22, 1988). "Hart-Kaufman Play is Mossy". Daily News. New York, New York.
  16. Kissell, Howard (December 16, 1988). "'Phaedra' Seems to Be Out to Lunch". Daily News. New York, New York.