Ayesha Dharker (born 16 March 1978) is a British actress, known for her appearance as

Queen Jamillia This incomplete list of characters from the ''Star Wars'' franchise contains only those which are considered part of the official ''Star Wars'' canon, as of the changes made by Lucasfilm in April 2014. Following its acquisition by The Walt Dis ...

, the Queen of

Naboo Naboo is a fictional planet in the '' Star Wars'' universe. A bountiful world with a mostly green terrain, the planet was the homeworld of two independent societies: the native Gungans, who dwelt in underwater cities, and the human Naboo, who l ...

, in '' Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones,'' and for her stage performances. Her other film roles include starring as a young woman brainwashed into contemplating becoming a suicide bomber in the

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nati ...

film '' The Terrorist'' (1997), for which she was awarded Best Artistic Contribution by an Actress at the

Cairo International Film Festival The Cairo International Film Festival ( ar, مهرجان القاهرة السينمائي الدولي) is an annual internationally accredited film festival held in Cairo Opera House. It was established in 1976 and has taken place every year sin ...

and nominated for a

National Film Award for Best Actress The National Film Award for Best Actress (officially known as the Rajat Kamal Award for the Best Actress) is an honour presented annually at the National Film Awards of India since 1968 to an actress for the best performance in a leading role wit ...

. She has also appeared in '' Outsourced'' and ''

The Mistress of Spices ''The Mistress of Spices'' is a 2005 American romantic drama film by Paul Mayeda Berges, with a screenplay by Gurinder Chadha and Berges. It is based upon the 1997 novel '' Mistress of Spices'' by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni. The film stars Aishwa ...

'', television series such as ''

Arabian Nights ''One Thousand and One Nights'' ( ar, أَلْفُ لَيْلَةٍ وَلَيْلَةٌ, italic=yes, ) is a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as the ''Arabian ...

'', and the West End and

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

musical ''

Bombay Dreams ''Bombay Dreams'' is a Bollywood-themed musical, with music by A. R. Rahman, lyrics by Don Black and the book by Meera Syal and Thomas Meehan, originally produced by Andrew Lloyd Webber. The London production opened in 2002 and ran for two ...

''.

Family

Dharker was born on 16 March 1978 in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

, India. She is the daughter of

Imtiaz Dharker Imtiaz Dharker (born 31 January 1954) is a Pakistan-born British full time poet, artist, and video film maker. She won the Queen's Gold Medal for her English poetry and was appointed Chancellor of Newcastle University from January 2020. In 201 ...

, a poet, artist and documentary film-maker, and

Anil Dharker Anil Dharker (1947 – 26 March 2021) was an Indian journalist and writer. He was the founder and director of the Mumbai International Literary Festival which is held in November every year. He was also the founder and director of Literature Live ...

, a columnist and an ex-editor of the Indian men's magazine ''

Debonair Debonair or Debonaire may refer to: * Debonair (airline), a British airline that operated from 1996 to 1999 * ''Debonair'' (magazine), an Indian men's magazine * ''Debonair'' (play), a 1930 British play by Frank Vosper * Beechcraft Debonair, a ...

''. Her father is from India and her mother, born in

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

, was raised in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, United Kingdom. In May 2010 she married Robert Taylor in

St Giles Cripplegate St Giles-without-Cripplegate is an Anglican church in the City of London, located on Fore Street within the modern Barbican complex. When built it stood without (that is, outside) the city wall, near the Cripplegate. The church is dedicated to S ...

, London.

Career

Dharker made her screen debut in the 1989

François Villiers François Villiers (2 March 1920 – 29 January 2009) Chevalier of the Legion of Honor was a French film director. He was responsible for several films, from '' Hans le marin'' in 1949, to ''Manika, une vie plus tard'', in 1989, which won the ...

film ''

Manika, une vie plus tard ''Manika, une vie plus tard'' (1989) is a movie based on the concept of reincarnation, directed by François Villiers. Manika Kallatil (Ayesha Dharkar) is a young girl who lives in an Indian fishing village in South India. She has visions of her p ...

''. She subsequently went on to star in many American, French and Indian films. She has had many

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

roles in the UK, particularly in ''

Cutting It ''Cutting It'' is a BBC television drama series set in Manchester, England, focusing on the lives and loves of the team running a hairdressing salon. It ran for four series between 2002 and 2005. The show featured a number of actors who have sin ...

'' and ''

Life Isn't All Ha Ha Hee Hee ''Life Isn't All Ha Ha Hee Hee'' is a three-part BBC television miniseries from 2005, adapted from Meera Syal's 1999 novel of the same name. Plot Childhood friends Tania (Laila Rouass), Sunita (Meera Syal) and Chila (Ayesha Dharker), now in their ...

'', in which she co-starred with

Meera Syal Meera Syal FRSL (born Feroza Syal; 27 June 1961) is a English comedian, writer, playwright, singer, journalist and actress. She rose to prominence as one of the team that created '' Goodness Gracious Me'' and portraying Sanjeev's grandmother, ...

. In the international award-winning film '' The Terrorist'' (1999), she played the lead character Malli, a role that earned her a nomination for the

in India and the

Cairo Film Festival The Cairo International Film Festival ( ar, مهرجان القاهرة السينمائي الدولي) is an annual internationally accredited film festival held in Cairo Opera House. It was established in 1976 and has taken place every year sin ...

award for Best Artistic Contribution by an Actress. Dharker's most internationally recognised role came in 2002 when she played

, the Queen of

, in '' Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones''. In the same year she appeared in the critically acclaimed

Anita and Me ''Anita and Me'' is Meera Syal's debut novel, and was first published in 1996. It is a semi-autobiographical novel, based on Syal's childhood in the mining village of Essington, Staffordshire, which won the Betty Trask Award. The story revolves ...

. Dharker starred in the

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948), is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 21 musicals, ...

musical ''

'', both in

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 ...

's West End and on Broadway (2004). She also starred in ''

'' (2005). She has appeared in the episode "

Planet of the Ood "Planet of the Ood" is the third episode of the Doctor Who (series 4), fourth series of British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It was broadcast on BBC One on 19 April 2008. The episode takes place in the year 4126 on the Ood-S ...

" of the long-running

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

sci-fi television series, ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

'' as Solana Mercurio. In 2006, she played the role of Asha in the film '' Outsourced''. In 2008, she played the role of Tara Mandal in the

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford. Origi ...

''.Indian actress cast
ITV In 2010, she played doctor's wife Kamini Sharma opposite

Sanjeev Bhaskar Sanjeev Bhaskar (born 31 October 1963) is a British actor, comedian and television presenter. He is best known for his work in the BBC Two sketch comedy series '' Goodness Gracious Me'' and as the star of the sitcom '' The Kumars at No. 42''. ...

in the BBC's comedy-drama series ''

The Indian Doctor ''The Indian Doctor'' is a Television in the United Kingdom, British television comedy drama, set in the 1960s. Produced by Rondo Media and Avatar Productions, it was first broadcast on BBC One in 2010. The most recent series began on 4 November ...

''. In 2017, Dharker began playing Nina Karnik in a returning role on the long-running BBC drama

Holby City ''Holby City'' (stylised on-screen as HOLBY CIY) is a British medical drama television series that aired weekly on BBC One. It was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a spin-off from the established BBC medical drama ''Casualty'', and pr ...

. In 2020, she appeared as Dr. Sarai in '' The Father'', which was nominated for an ''

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

''. On 16 January 2022, Dharker appeared in Vera in the episode "As the Crow Flies" in the role of Anika Naidu. Audiobooks Dharker was the narrator for the audiobook version of ''

Brick Lane Brick Lane (Bengali: ব্রিক লেন) is a street in the East End of London, in the borough of Tower Hamlets. It runs from Swanfield Street in Bethnal Green in the north, crosses the Bethnal Green Road before reaching the busiest ...

'' by

Monica Ali Monica Ali FRSL (born 20 October 1967) is a British writer of Bangladeshi and English heritage. In 2003, she was selected as one of the "Best of Young British Novelists" by ''Granta'' magazine based on her unpublished manuscript; her debut nove ...

(2003).

Filmography

Films

}) , Malli ,

Award for Best Artistic Contribution by an Actress , - , 2000 , ''

The Mystic Masseur ''The Mystic Masseur'' is a 2001 Merchant Ivory film based on the novel of the same name by V. S. Naipaul. It is one of relatively few films directed by Ismail Merchant, who is better known as the producer in the Merchant Ivory partnership, ...

'' , Leela , , - , 2002 , '' Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones'' ,

, , - , 2002 , ''

'' , Daljeet Kumar , , - , rowspan=2, 2005 , ''

'' , Hameeda , , - , '' Colour Me Kubrick: A True...ish Story'' , Dr. Stukeley , , - , 2006 , '' Outsourced'' , Asha Bhatawdekar , , - , 2007 , ''

Loins of Punjab Presents ''Loins of Punjab Presents'' is a 2007 Indian film directed by Manish Acharya. It stars Shabana Azmi, Ayesha Dharker and Ajay Naidu. The film marked Acharya's feature directorial debut. Plot A New Jersey town catches Bollywood fever when five ...

'' , Opama Menon , , - , 2010 , Red Alert: The War Within , Radhakka , , - , 2020 , '' The Father'' , Dr. Sarai ,

Television

Theatre

References

External links

*
Ayesha Dharker and Manu Narayan
nbsp;– ''Downstage Center'' interview at

American Theatre Wing The American Theatre Wing (the Wing for short) is a New York City–based non-profit organization "dedicated to supporting excellence and education in theatre", according to its mission statement. Originally known as the Stage Women's War Relief ...

.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Dharker, Ayesha Living people 1978 births Actresses from Mumbai Indian emigrants to England English film actresses English musical theatre actresses English radio actresses English soap opera actresses English stage actresses English television actresses British actresses of Indian descent British people of Scottish descent English expatriates in India Actresses in Hindi cinema Actresses in Tamil cinema British expatriate actresses in India European actresses in India European actresses in Bollywood 21st-century English actresses 21st-century British actresses