Nitya Vidyasagar
Nitya Vidyasagar | |
---|---|
Born | Nitya Vidyasagar |
Nationality | American |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 2005–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.
Early life and education
[edit]Vidyasagar was born in Muscat, Oman to Indian Telugu parents and grew up in India at Kolkata, Hyderabad and Bangalore, before moving to the United States in 1995 at the age of 12.[1] She attended the St. Andrew's Episcopal School in Maryland graduating in 2001.[2][3] She received a BFA with Honors in Drama Tisch School of the Arts and a Minor in Music from the College of Arts and Sciences, New York University.[4]
Career
[edit]Vidyasagar is 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
[edit]Film and television
[edit]Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2005 | Three | Short | |
2008 | Sita Sings the Blues | Lav, Kush | Animated |
2008–2015 | Sesame Street | Leela | Series Regular |
2009 | Split Ends | Mehar Manjri | Feature film |
2010 | The Good Wife | Frida Verma | Season 1 Episode 20: "Mock" |
2010 | Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps | Secretary | |
2012 | Smash | Jill Abrams | Season 1 Episode 5: "Lets Be Bad" |
2015 | The Player | Medina Raqib | Season 1 Episode 1: "Pilot" |
2016 | Major Crimes | Amala | Season 5 Episode 1: "Present Tense" |
2017 | Blue Bloods | Dr. Nadia Khan | Season 8 Episode 9: "Pain Killers" |
2017 | Suits | Stephanie Patel | Recurring |
2017 | Raksha | Archana | Short |
2018 | SEAL Team | Meera Nelson | Season 1 Episode 12: "The Upside Down" |
2018 | Mammoth | Nitya | Short |
2019 | Velvet Buzzsaw | Gita | |
2019 | Troopers | Una | Recurring |
2019 | S.W.A.T. | Sergeant Wilson | Season 2 Episode 21: "Day of Dread" |
2019 | NCIS: Los Angeles | Natasha | Season 11 Episode 10: "Mother" |
2022 | The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window | Hillary | Episode 4[10] |
2022 | Station 19 | Tabitha Salzman | Season 5 Episode 12: "In My Tree" |
2022 | All Rise | Zoya Hameed |
Theatre
[edit]Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Modern Terrorism: Or They Who Want to Kill Us and How We Learn to Love Them | Yalda 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] | Cecilia | Passage Theatre Company | |
A Midsummer Night's Dream[15] | Puck | Flux Theatre Ensemble | |
NINJA: The Musical | Janine | Desipina & Co | |
Monetizing Emma[16] | Emma | Planet Connections Festival | |
Coney Island Avenue | Anna | New York Theatre Workshop | |
2022 | Selling Kabul[17] | Afiya | Ensemble Theatre Company Santa Barbara |
References
[edit]- ^ "Meet Leela, Sesame Street's newest cast member". muppetcentral.com. 3 November 2022.
- ^ "VIDYASAGAR '01 SHINES ON THE SCREEN THANKS TO 'SUNNY DAYS'". St. Andrew's Episcopal School - MD. 11 August 2019.
- ^ Siskind, Greg. "IMMIGRANT OF THE DAY: NITYA VIDYASAGAR - ACTRESS". ILW.
- ^ a b India West profile
- ^ Choudhury, Uttara (16 July 2016). "A Passage to Hollywood: How Indian Actors are Storming the US Entertainment Industry". The Wire.
- ^ Southern Courier article
- ^ "Sesame Street Season 39 press kit". Archived from the original on 2011-04-11. Retrieved 2010-07-23.
- ^ "Sesame Street bio". Archived from the original on 2011-07-18. Retrieved 2010-07-23.
- ^ Scott, Daisy (10 February 2023). Selling Kabul - A timely story of family & determination. Santa Barbara: VOICE Magazine. p. 21.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Isherwood, Charles (18 October 2012). "Funny, but Plotting Havoc Isn't Easy". The New York Times.
- ^ "Serendib | TheaterMania". 2 April 2007.
- ^ Saltzman, Simon. "A Curtain Up - New Jersey Review Cecilia's Last Tea Party".
- ^ Gates, Anita (18 May 2008). "Trenton Tea Party". The New York Times.
- ^ Sommers, Michael (2 July 2011). "A 'Dream' Perfectly Suited for the Outdoors". The New York Times.
- ^ "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".
- ^ Diamond, Robert. "Photos: First Look At The Cast of SELLING KABUL At Ensemble Theatre Company". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2023-03-18.
External links
[edit]
- Living people
- People from Muscat, Oman
- Indian emigrants to the United States
- American film actresses
- American television actresses
- American stage actresses
- American people of Telugu descent
- American actresses of Indian descent
- Tisch School of the Arts alumni
- New York University alumni
- 21st-century American actresses
- American television actor, 1980s birth stubs