Amara Karunakaran (born 1984), known professionally as Amara Karan, is an English actress who made her film début as Rita in

Wes Anderson Wesley Wales Anderson (born May 1, 1969) is an American filmmaker. His films are known for their eccentricity and unique visual and narrative styles. They often contain themes of grief, loss of innocence, and dysfunctional families. Cited by so ...

's ''

The Darjeeling Limited ''The Darjeeling Limited'' is a 2007 American comedy-drama film directed by Wes Anderson, which he co-produced with Scott Rudin, Roman Coppola, and Lydia Dean Pilcher, and co-wrote with Roman Coppola and Jason Schwartzman. The film stars Owen W ...

''. The film premièred at the 2007 Venice Film Festival. Karan's second film role was as schoolgirl Peaches in the 2007 film ''St Trinian's''. She made her stage début in 2008 as Jessica in an

RSC RSC may refer to: Arts * Royal Shakespeare Company, a British theatre company * Reduced Shakespeare Company, a touring American acting troupe * Richmondshire Subscription Concerts, a music society in Richmond, North Yorkshire, England * Rock Ste ...

production of ''

The Merchant of Venice ''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan provided by a Jewish moneylender, Shylock. Although classified as ...

'' and as Bianca in an

production of ''

The Taming of the Shrew ''The Taming of the Shrew'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1592. The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunken ...

''. With the latter, she made her West End debut at the Novello Theatre. In 2016, she co-starred on the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

crime drama mini-series, ''

The Night Of ''The Night Of'' is a 2016 American eight-part crime drama television miniseries based on the first season of ''Criminal Justice'', a 2008 British series. The miniseries was written by Richard Price and Steven Zaillian (based on the original ' ...

''. In 2012 she co-starred in the film ''

A Fantastic Fear of Everything ''A Fantastic Fear of Everything'' is a 2012 British horror comedy film starring Simon Pegg, written and directed by Crispian Mills with Chris Hopewell as co-director. It is based on the novella ''Paranoia in the Launderette'' by Bruce Robinson, ...

''.

Background

Karan was born in

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

, London in 1984 to

Sri Lankan Tamil Sri Lankan Tamils ( or ), also known as Ceylon Tamils or Eelam Tamils, are Tamils native to the South Asian island state of Sri Lanka. Today, they constitute a majority in the Northern Province, live in significant numbers in the Eastern Pr ...

parents who had emigrated from

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...

to Britain two years before she was born. She was brought up in

and attended

Wimbledon High School Wimbledon High School is an independent girls' day school in Wimbledon, South West London. It is a Girls' Day School Trust school and is a member of the Girls' Schools Association. History Wimbledon High School was founded by the Girls' Publ ...

. Karan went on to study at

St Catherine's College, Oxford St Catherine's College (colloquially called St Catz or Catz) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford and is the newest college admitting both undergraduate and graduate students. Tracing its roots back to 1868 (although th ...

and while there began acting in amateur plays including ''Sunday Morning at the Centre of the World'' at the Burton Taylor Theatre for which she received rave reviews and was also singled out for her performance in ''

When We Are Married ''When We Are Married'' is a comedy by the English dramatist, J. B. Priestley, written in 1934. It was first performed in London at the St. Martin's Theatre, London on 11 October 1938, and transferred to the larger Prince's Theatre in March 1 ...

'' at the Old Fire Station theatre. During her time at Oxford, Karan wrote, directed, produced, and acted in a short film, ''By Myself'', which came in second place in the 2002 Shoestring Shorts Competition. She began her career as an investment banker (at Hawkpoint and CIBC World Markets) specialising in mergers and acquisitions, before studying for an MA degree in acting at The Arts Educational Schools London. She carried the 2008

Olympic Torch The Olympic flame is a symbol used in the Olympic movement. It is also a symbol of continuity between ancient and modern games. Several months before the Olympic Games, the Olympic flame is lit at Olympia, Greece. This ceremony starts the Olym ...

during its time in London. Since 2016 she has been in a relationship with the actor Jamie de Courcey.Jimi Famurewa
''Amara Karan, The Night Of interview: ‘I’ve not signed for a Season 2, but there’s a huge appetite for more’''
Evening Standard, 26 August 2016

Filmography

Film

Television

Radio

Theatre

Video games

References

External links

* *
''JADOO – Amara Karan – Complete Interview''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Karan, Amara 1984 births Actresses from London Living people English people of Sri Lankan Tamil descent People educated at the Arts Educational Schools English film actresses English Hindus English television actresses English stage actresses English radio actresses Royal Shakespeare Company members English Shakespearean actresses Alumni of St Catherine's College, Oxford People educated at Wimbledon High School People from Wimbledon, London