Richa Gangopadhyay Langella ( Gangopadhyay ; born 20 March 1986) is an Indian-born American former actress and model who predominantly appeared in

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

language films. She resides at

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

. She was cast along with the prominent actors like

Venkatesh Daggubati Daggubati Venkatesh (born 13 December 1960) is an Indian actor known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema and a few hindi films. Venkatesh debuted with the 1986 film ''Kaliyuga Pandavulu'' for which he won his first Nandi Award. In a c ...

Ravi Teja Bhupatiraju Ravi Shankar Raju (born 26 January 1968), known professionally as Ravi Teja, is an Indian film actor and producer who predominantly works in Telugu cinema. He is known for his roles in action comedy films. He is one of the highest- ...

Prabhas Uppalapati Venkata Suryanarayana Prabhas Raju (born 23 October 1979), known mononymously as Prabhas (), is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Telugu cinema. One of the highest-paid actors in Indian cinema, Prabhas has featured in ''Fo ...

Rana Daggubati Ramanaidu "Rana" Daggubati (; born 14 December 1984) is an Indian actor and producer known primarily for his work in Telugu language films, in addition to Hindi and Tamil languages. Rana is described as one of the few actors in India who were ...

Dhanush Venkatesh Prabhu Kasthuri Raja (born 28 July 1983), known professionally as Dhanush, is an Indian actor, producer, director, lyricist and playback singer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. Starring in 46 films over his career, among hi ...

and

Silambarasan Silambarasan Thesingu Rajendar, nicknamed as Simbu or his initials S. T. R., is an Indian actor, filmmaker and musician in Tamil cinema. He began his acting career by playing roles as a child artist in films directed by his father T. Rajendar, b ...

. Her notable films include ''

Leader Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets vi ...

'' (2010) and later worked on several commercially successful Telugu films such as '' Nagavalli'' (2010), ''

Mirapakaay ''Mirapakay'' ( Chili) is a 2011 Indian Telugu-language action comedy film directed by Harish Shankar. Produced by Ramesh Puppala under Yellow Flowers banner, it stars Ravi Teja, Richa Gangopadhyay, and Deeksha Seth with music scored by S. Tha ...

'' (2011), ''

Sarocharu ''Sarocharu'' () was a 2012 Indian Telugu-language romantic comedy film directed by Parasuram starring Ravi Teja and Kajal Aggarwal in the lead roles. Richa Gangopadhyay played an imaginary role by combining the faces of Sandhya and Karthik's ...

'' (2012) and '' Mirchi'' (2013).

Early life

Richa Gangopadhyay was born on 20 March 1986 in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

. Her family moved to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

at the age of three. Her father works as the Vice President of Netshape Technologies, while her mother works as the deputy director of the prestigious Institute of Museums and Library Services, after having been nominated by President Obama to serve as a member of the IMLS Board. Her parents settled in the U.S. in 1989 after spending her first year in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, with Gangopadhyay being brought up in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

and

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. While attending

Okemos High School Okemos High School is a public high school in Okemos, Michigan, United States. It is the only high school in the Okemos Public Schools district. It is located southeast of the main campus of Michigan State University, between Bennett and Joll ...

, as a Junior, she was featured in the local media for founding a youth-tutoring program for at-risk children in

Lansing Lansing () is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is mostly in Ingham County, although portions of the city extend west into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. The 2020 census placed the city's population at 112,644, makin ...

, which she ran for four years. She went on to major in Dietetics and Health Administration at

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

but graduated with a Bachelor of Science in communications with a minor in Theatre Arts. After completing her undergraduate studies, she completed her master's degree in Business Administration from Washington University in St. Louis.

Career

Early career and modeling (2005–08)

In August 2007, Gangopadhyay won the Miss India Michigan pageant and in December of that year, was crowned

Miss India USA Miss India USA is a beauty pageant for young women of Indian descent who are residents of the United States. The pageant was established in 1980 by the India Festival Committee headed by Dharmatma Saran. The winner of the Miss India USA pageant ...

2007 at the 26th annual Miss India USA pageant, held at Royal Albert's Palace in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. Gangopadhyay also secured the title of Miss Photogenic. She represented the U.S. in the 17th Annual Miss India Worldwide Pageant held in Johannesburg, and secured a place in the Top 10. Gangopadhyay left the U.S. in 2008 for Mumbai, India to embark on a career in films. She subsequently graduated with a diploma in acting from Anupam Kher's acting school, Actor Prepares, and completed her portfolio, earning offers for work in fashion shows and for modeling. In early 2009, Gangopadhyay featured in a commercial for Dabur Vatika Almond Hair Oil alongside Bollywood actress

Preity Zinta Preity G Zinta (pronounced ; born 31 January 1975) is an Indian actress and entrepreneur primarily known for her work in Hindi cinema, Hindi films. After graduating with degrees in English literature, English honours and criminal psychology, Z ...

, while also appearing in several print ads and TV commercials for Peter England People, Pepe Jeans, Malabar Gold and Kalaniketan.

Public recognition and success in films (2010–2013)

Gangopadhyay debuted with

and

Priya Anand Priya Anand (born 17 September 1986) is an Indian actress and model who predominantly appears in Tamil films. She has also appeared in Telugu, Hindi, Kannada and Malayalam films. After pursuing higher studies in the US, she began a career in ...

in 2010 Telugu film ''

'', produced by

AVM Productions AVM Productions is an Indian film production studio founded by A. V. Meiyappan. It is the final oldest survived studio in India. The filming studios are located in Vadapalani, Chennai. It has produced over 300 films in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, ...

and directed by

Sekhar Kammula Sekhar Kammula (born 4 February 1972) is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer who works in Telugu cinema. He has garnered two Filmfare Awards South, and six state Nandi Awards for his directional works. Sekhar Kammula was among the ...

. She was recommended to an assistant director of ''Leader'', who in turn recommended her to Sekhar Kammula. Gangopadhyay went to

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

to audition for the film on her birthday. She was selected instantly and The shooting started 2 days later. In the film, she played the role of Archana, a news reporter, daughter of a politician and love interest of the title character, played by debutant

. The film opened in theatres worldwide to positive reviews and did well commercially, with Gangopadhyay's performance described as "pretty and charming" and "good in a performance oriented role" by critics. After the success of the film, director

P. Vasu Vasudevan Peethambharan, known professionally as P Vasu, is an Indian director, writer and actor who works in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi, and Malayalam language films. In a career spanning three decades, Vasu has directed over 64 films.

signed her up to appear in '' Nagavalli'', a sequel to his 2005 film '' Chandramukhi''. The film featured an ensemble cast of

Venkatesh Venkatesh is a given name and family name from the Indian subcontinent derived from Venkateswara, a Hindu deity. Notable persons with the name include: * A. Venkatesh Naik (born 1936), member of the 14th Lok Sabha of India * A. Venkatesh (directo ...

Anushka Shetty Sweety Shetty (born 7 November 1981), known by her stage name Anushka Shetty, is an Indian actress and model who predominantly works in Telugu and Tamil films. She is the recipient of Three Filmfare Awards South, Two Nandi Award, and One Tamil ...

Shraddha Das Shraddha Das (born 4 March 1987) is an Indian actress and model who predominantly appears in Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi, Bengali, and Kannada language films. She made her acting debut in the 2008 Telugu film Siddu from Sikakulam, and since then h ...

and

Poonam Kaur Poonam Kaur is an Indian actress and model who primarily appears in Telugu and Tamil films. She is also a politician, based out of Telangana and a member of the Congress Party. Career Born and raised in Hyderabad, India, Poonam Kaur did he ...

. The film opened to mixed reviews, with Gangopadhyay's portrayal of a girl psychologically possessed by the ghost of Nagavalli, leading to critics dubbing her as "impressive" and "convincing". Her first release in 2011 was the action film ''

'', starring opposite

for the first time. She was signed after the director of the film,

Harish Shankar Sanganabhatla Harish Shankar (born 31 March 1979) is an Indian film director and screenwriter known for his works exclusively in Telugu cinema, and Telugu theater. He made his directorial debut with ''Shock'' (2006), produced by Ram Gopal Var ...

, who had noticed her at the success party of her previous film ''Leader''. He initially offered her the role played by Deeksha as she was an

NRI NRI or Nri may refer to : * Kingdom of Nri, an Igbo kingdom that flourished between the 10th century and early 20th century * National Radio Institute, a now defunct post-secondary vocational correspondence school * National Resources Inventory * N ...

, but when they met to review the script, he was convinced that Gangopadhyay would do justice to the character of Vinamra, a traditional Telugu Brahmin girl. The film opened to good reviews with Gangopadhyay's performance being described as "good and just about hold her own in the dance sequences" by critics. Gangopadhyay was next seen in two Tamil films; the first being ''

Mayakkam Enna ''Mayakkam Enna'' () is a 2011 Indian Tamil-language psychological drama film written and directed by Selvaraghavan and produced by Gemini Film Circuit in association with Aum Productions Selvaraghavan its own banner. It stars his brother Dhanu ...

'', a drama film featuring

and directed by

Selvaraghavan Selvaraghavan is an Indian film director, screenwriter and actor who has directed and acted predominantly Tamil cinema, Tamil films. His directorial debut had with ''Thulluvadho Ilamai'' (2002) but his father is credited for business reasons, w ...

, which earned her tremendous positive reviews and appreciation from all over. She then appeared alongside

Dharani Dharanis (IAST: ), also known as ''Parittas'', are Buddhist chants, mnemonic codes, incantations, or recitations, usually the mantras consisting of Sanskrit or Pali phrases. Believed to be protective and with powers to generate merit for the Bud ...

's ''

Osthe ''Osthe'' (''The Best'') is a 2011 Indian Tamil-language action comedy film directed by S. Dharani, a remake of the 2010 Bollywood film ''Dabangg''. It starred Silambarasan, Richa Gangopadhyay, Sonu Sood, Jithan Ramesh, Santhanam, VTV Ganesh ...

'', the Tamil remake of the 2010 Hindi film ''

Dabangg ''Dabangg'' () is a 2010 Indian Hindi-language action comedy film directed by Abhinav Singh Kashyap and produced by Malaika Arora Khan and Arbaaz Khan under Arbaaz Khan Productions with Dhilin Mehta under Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision. Kha ...

'', winning critical acclaim for her role as Neduvaali. In 2012, she made her debut in Bengali, her mother tongue, through the film '' Bikram Singha : The Lion Is Back'', opposite the prolific

Prosenjit Chatterjee Prosenjit Chatterjee (born 30 September 1962) is an Indian actor and producer. He is widely regarded as one of the leading actors in modern Bengali cinema. He predominantly works in Bengali cinema . He is the son of veteran Bollywood actor Bisw ...

, a remake of the Telugu film ''

Vikramarkudu ''Vikramarkudu'' is a 2006 Indian Telugu-language action film directed by S. S. Rajamouli who co-wrote the film with V. Vijayendra Prasad. The film stars Ravi Teja and Anushka Shetty. It follows a thief who discovers a girl insisting he is her ...

''. She also featured in the Telugu films ''

'', '' Mirchi'' and '' Bhai'' opposite actors

and

Nagarjuna Nāgārjuna . 150 – c. 250 CE (disputed)was an Indian Mahāyāna Buddhist thinker, scholar-saint and philosopher. He is widely considered one of the most important Buddhist philosophers.Garfield, Jay L. (1995), ''The Fundamental Wisdom of ...

, which were released in 2012 and 2013.

Personal life

In October 2013, she announced that she would leave the film industry and move back to the United States to pursue her MBA and focus on her long-term career ambitions. She completed an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

degree from

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...

in May 2017. Gangopadhyay is married to her business school classmate Joe Langella. The couple have a son who was born in May 2021.

Filmography

Awards

*2012: Edison Award for Best Debut Actress – ''

'' * 2012: Edison Award for Best Actress – ''

'' * 2012: Norway Tamil Film Festival Award for Best Actress for ''Mayakkam Enna''

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Langella, Richa 1986 births Living people 21st-century Indian actresses Michigan State University alumni Olin Business School (Washington University) alumni Indian film actresses Actresses in Telugu cinema Actresses in Bengali cinema Actresses in Tamil cinema Female models from Delhi Actresses from New Delhi