Poorna Jagannathan

Poorna Jagannathan (born December 22, 1972) is an American actress and producer of Indian descent. She is best known for her portrayal of Safar Khan in the HBO miniseries The Night Of as well for her role as Nalini Vishwakumar in the Netflix teen comedy series Never Have I Ever by Mindy Kaling.

She also co-conceived, produced and acted in the play Nirbhaya,[1] written and directed by Yaël Farber, which dealt with the taboo around sexual violence.[2] The play won the prestigious 2013 Amnesty International Award and was called by The Telegraph as “One of the most powerful pieces of theater you’ll ever see”.[3] The play is considered one of the most impactful moments in India’s history of women’s empowerment.[4]

Jagannathan was previously a series regular in the Netflix psychological thriller series Gypsy, a recurring in the Apple TV+ crime drama miniseries Defending Jacob,[5] and part of the ensemble cast for HBO’s anthology series, Room 104.[6] She also starred in the cult Bollywood comedy, Delhi Belly as well as the movie Share, which was directed by Pippa Bianco, produced by A24, and released on HBO in 2019.