Anya Lahiri (born 1 May 1982 in

Golders Green Golders Green is an area in the London Borough of Barnet in England. A smaller suburban linear settlement, near a farm and public grazing area green of medieval origins, dates to the early 19th century. Its bulk forms a late 19th century and ea ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

) is an English actress, model, singer and fitness instructor who is of

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

and

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

origin.

Biography

Born in

, London of

and

origin, Lahiri attended the

Henrietta Barnett School The Henrietta Barnett School is a grammar school with academy status primarily for girls in Hampstead Garden Suburb in London. The '' Good Schools Guide'' called the school 'One of the best academic state schools in the country, providing a gen ...

Hampstead Garden Suburb Hampstead Garden Suburb is an elevated suburb of London, north of Hampstead, west of Highgate and east of Golders Green. It is known for its intellectual, liberal, artistic, musical and literary associations. It is an example of early twentie ...

, where she excelled in languages and music. She graduated from

Birkbeck, University of London , mottoeng = Advice comes over nightTranslation used by Birkbeck. , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £4.3 m (2014) , budget = £10 ...

with a degree in humanities and literature in 2005. Anya Lahiri is married to James Macaskill and they have a son.

Career

Modelling and singing

Lahiri was scouted in

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...

at age 14 by

Select Model Management Established in London in 1977, by founders Tandy Anderson and sisters Clare and Chrissie Castagnetti, Select Model Management is a global network of model and talent agencies. Company In their early days, Select was one of the first modelling ag ...

. She was sent on an audition for what she thought was a music video which turned out to be an audition for a musical group. At first, she was reluctant to audition but changed her mind. She performed All Saints' " Never Ever" and was chosen to become a part of the

girl group A girl group is a music act featuring several female singers who generally harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female pop music singing groups, many of who ...

Precious. The band was chosen by British viewers to represent the UK in the 1999

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...

with their first single, " Say It Again", and arrived 12th. After that, they released their first album, called '' Precious'', which yielded two Top 10 hit singles: "Rewind" and "It's Gonna Be My Way". In the summer of 2000, the band tried to enter the United States market. In November 2000, they released their last single, called "New Beginning", with a video clip set in an industrial warehouse with the girl band acting like tough girls. By the end of 2000, the group went under scrutiny and the members decided it was time to stop. Following the breakup of Precious, Lahiri returned to her education, attending

Birkbeck, University of London , mottoeng = Advice comes over nightTranslation used by Birkbeck. , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £4.3 m (2014) , budget = £10 ...

, while continuing to model. During this time, she has modelled for brands such as

Asda Asda Stores Ltd. () (often styled as ASDA) is a British supermarket chain. It is headquartered in Leeds, England. The company was founded in 1949 when the Asquith family merged their retail business with the Associated Dairies company of York ...

and

ASOS ASOS or Asos may refer to: * Asos, a village in Greece * ASOS (retailer), a UK online fashion store * Association Sportive Oussou Saka, a Beninese football team * Automated Surface Observing System, a type of weather station * Air Support Operat ...

as well as gracing the covers of ''

Company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of people, whether Natural person, natural, Legal person, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common p ...

'' and ''

More More or Mores may refer to: Computing * MORE (application), outline software for Mac OS * more (command), a shell command * MORE protocol, a routing protocol * Missouri Research and Education Network Music Albums * ''More!'' (album), by Booka S ...

''. She was one of the

FHM ''FHM'' (For Him Magazine) is a British multinational men's lifestyle magazine that was published in several countries. Its master edition contained features such as the ''FHM'' 100 Sexiest Women in the World, which has featured models, actres ...

PitGirls in 2003.

Acting

In 2003, Lahiri landed her first acting role alongside

Sienna Miller Sienna Rosie Diana Miller (born December 28, 1981) is an American-British actress. Born in New York City and raised in London, she began her career as a photography model, appearing in the pages of Italian ''Vogue'' and for the 2003 Pirelli cal ...

in ''

Keen Eddie ''Keen Eddie'' is an American action, comedy-drama television series that aired on Fox from June 3 to July 24, 2003. The series was originally scheduled to premiere during the 2002–03 television season, but was postponed and premiered as a sum ...

''. Miller advised Lahiri what acting classes to take and which reputable agencies she should try to have represent her. In 2004, she appeared in the movie ''

Tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, altho ...

'' with

Daniel Bernhardt Daniel Bernhardt (born 31 August 1965) is a Swiss actor, model, and martial artist. Career Bernhardt made his acting debut in the leading role in '' Bloodsport II: The Next Kumite'' (1996). He also appeared in two of its sequels and starred in ...

, and in '' The Grooming'' with

Jacqueline Bisset Winifred Jacqueline Fraser Bisset ( ; born 13 September 1944) is a British actress. She began her film career in 1965 and first came to prominence in 1968 with roles in '' The Detective'', ''Bullitt'', and ''The Sweet Ride'', for which she rec ...

. By 2005, she finished her studies in humanities and literature and was free to pursue her interest in acting full-time. In 2006, Lahiri moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, where she focused on becoming an actress. Being an established model, Lahiri signed with Next Models and became the face of the Anna Beth's jewels new collection. That same year, she starred in ''

I Can't Think Straight ''I Can't Think Straight'' is a 2008 British romantic drama film directed by Shamim Sarif. Based on Sarif's 2008 novel of the same name, the film tells the story of a London-based Jordanian of Palestinian descent, Tala, who is preparing for an e ...

''. By 2007, Lahiri moved back to London, where she appeared in five episodes of ''

Dream Team Dream Team may refer to: Sport Basketball * Dream Team, the 1992 United States men's Olympic basketball team in Barcelona * Dream Team II, the 1994 U.S. men's national basketball team at the FIBA World Championship * Dream Team III, the 1996 ...

'' as Emma. Following that, she filmed '' Daylight Robbery'' and '' Goal! 3: Taking on the World''. In 2009, Lahiri focused on modeling; she was signed to agencies such as

Models 1 A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a measure. Models c ...

in London, Next Models in Los Angeles, and MC2 Models in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

. She was featured in editorials for ''

She She most commonly refers to: *She (pronoun), the third person singular, feminine, nominative case pronoun in modern English. She or S.H.E. may also refer to: Literature and films *'' She: A History of Adventure'', an 1887 novel by H. Rider Hagga ...

]'' magazine as well as landing a campaign for Poule de Luxe. She also appeared in '' The Scar Crow'' and ''

Life Blood Lifeblood or Life blood can refer to: * Blood, a bodily fluid in animals * ''Life Blood'' (film), a supernatural horror thriller film released in 2009 * ''Lifeblood'' (album), the seventh studio album by the Welsh alternative rock band Manic Stree ...

''. In 2010, she made the short film ''The Commuter'', which was filmed entirely on the Nokia N8 in HD. She had a small part in '' Swinging with the Finkels'' and played Maddie in '' Meet Pursuit Delange'', a short film. In 2011, Lahiri starred opposite

Adrien Brody Adrien Nicholas Brody (born April 14, 1973) is an American actor. He received widespread recognition and acclaim after starring as Władysław Szpilman in Roman Polanski's '' The Pianist'' (2002), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Acto ...

in a

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...

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Stella Artois Stella Artois ( ) is a pilsner beer, first brewed in 1926 by Brouwerij Artois in Leuven, Belgium. In its original form, the beer is 5.2 per cent ABV, the country's standard for pilsners. The beer is also sold in other countries like the UK, Ire ...

Barry's Boot Camp

Lahiri works at Barry's Boot Camp as a fitness instructor. She plays an integral role in the establishment of Barry's Boot Camp in London. Today, she splits her time among modelling, acting, and being a fitness instructor.

Discography

Filmography

* '' Nature Unleashed: Tornado'' (2004) * ''

'' (2004) * '' The Fine Art of Love: Mine Ha-Ha'' (2005) * ''

'' (2007) * '' Goal! 3: Taking on the World'' (2009) * '' The Scar Crow'' (2009) * ''

'' (2009)

References

External links

Models1 Europe's Leading Model Agency
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lahiri, Anya 1982 births Living people Alumni of Birkbeck, University of London English television actresses English film actresses English female models Eurovision Song Contest entrants for the United Kingdom Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1999 Precious (band) members People educated at Henrietta Barnett School People from Golders Green English people of Indian descent English people of Finnish descent 21st-century English women singers 21st-century English singers