Sophie Khan Levy | |
---|---|
Born | Sophie Shaheen Khan Levy 25 July 1989 Wandsworth, South London, England |
Education | |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 2010–present |
Television | EastEnders |
Sophie Shaheen Khan Levy (born 25 July 1989) is an English actress. Levy has appeared in Royal Shakespeare Company productions, such as Cymbeline (2013), Love's Labour's Lost (2014), A Midsummer Night's Dream (2015) and As You Like It (2019). In 2023, she was cast in the BBC soap opera EastEnders as Priya Nandra-Hart.
Levy was born in 1989 in Wandsworth, South London. Her mother is actress Shaheen Khan who starred in Bend it Like Beckham . She is of mixed race descent. [1] Her mother, Shaheen Khan, set up Tara Arts, one of the country's first acting schools specifically for Asian actors. In her youth, Levy lived in Canada with her cousin for a year and a half. [2] Levy graduated from the University of Warwick, after which she studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. [3] Whilst at Guildhall, she appeared in numerous stage productions, including As You Like It , Merrily We Roll Along and A Respectable Wedding . [4]
Upon graduating from Guildhall in 2013, Levy appeared in Cymbeline , for which she received critical acclaim. [5] She was then contracted by the Royal Shakespeare Company to appear in various productions. [6] [7] They described her as a "fiercely intelligent and brilliant actress". [4] She performed in Hanna, a one-woman show, in 2018, for which she received numerous positive reviews. [8] The Independent wrote that Levy had "a lovely unforced naturalness" and performed the play beautifully, [9] while The Guardian admired her "compelling performance and sympathetic naturalness". [10]
In 2022, Levy starred in three episodes of the Channel 5 series All Creatures Great and Small . [11] Then in 2023, she appeared in an episode of The Sixth Commandment , as well as being cast in the BBC One soap opera EastEnders as Priya Nandra-Hart. [12] [13]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2013 | The Last Bus | Alice | Short film |
2016 | Ride | Poppy | Guest role |
2020 | Avernus | Lou | Short film |
2022 | Mammals | Beth | Guest role |
2022 | All Creatures Great and Small | Florence Pandhi | Recurring role |
2023 | The Sixth Commandment | Gabrielle Ade | Guest role |
2023–present | EastEnders | Priya Nandra-Hart | Regular role |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2023 | Digital Spy Reader Awards | Rising Star | EastEnders | Second | [14] |
Cymbeline, also known as The Tragedie of Cymbeline or Cymbeline, King of Britain, is a play by William Shakespeare set in Ancient Britain and based on legends that formed part of the Matter of Britain concerning the early historical Celtic British King Cunobeline. Although it is listed as a tragedy in the First Folio, modern critics often classify Cymbeline as a romance or even a comedy. Like Othello and The Winter's Tale, it deals with the themes of innocence and jealousy. While the precise date of composition remains unknown, the play was certainly produced as early as 1611.
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Priya Nandra-Hart is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Sophie Khan Levy. Priya was introduced into the serial in episode 6789, originally broadcast on 16 October 2023. The character is devised as part of Ravi Gulati and Davinder "Nugget" Gulati 's backstories in a plot-twist that would introduce Nugget's mother and a secret daughter for Ravi. Khan Levy's character and casting details were both announced on 21 September 2023. Priya is revealed to be looking after her estranged son Nugget, who had gone missing at the time after a dispute with his father and Priya's ex-boyfriend Ravi from what was described as a "bittersweet" break-up years prior, where she left Ravi and Nugget to provide for her unborn daughter Avani Nandra-Hart, also fathered by Ravi but was however unbeknownst to him or Avani. It was later revealed in a plot-twist Priya had not walked out on them – Ranveer Gulati, the adoptive father of Ravi, sexually assaulted Priya and enforced her exit from his family – Priya struck a cord with Suki Panesar as they have similar experiences with Ranveer prior to them meeting.