Nitya Vidyasagar is an American actress best known for her role as "Leela" on ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Worksh ...

'' from 2008 to 2015.

Early life and education

Vidyasagar was born in

Muscat, Oman Muscat (, ) is the capital and most populous city in Oman. It is the seat of the Governorate of Muscat. According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the population of the Muscat Governorate in 2022 was 1.72 million. ...

to Telugu Indian parents and grew up in

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

Bengaluru Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

, and

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

before moving to the United States in 1995 at the age of 12. She graduated from the St. Andrew's Episcopal School in 2001. She received a BFA with honors in drama and a minor in music from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

.India West profile
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Career

Vidyasagar was the first

Indian American Indian Americans are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly from India. The terms Asian Indian and East Indian are used to avoid confusion with Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans in the United States, who ar ...

cast member of

. Leela runs a laundromat next to Mr. Hooper's Store. ''Sesame Street'' producers were not looking for an Indian American actress before they cast Vidyasagar, but the show's writers plan to use parts of Vidyasagar's background in certain episodes. Leela is described as "a young Indian American who embraces her heritage and culture". Vidyasagar is primarily a stage actress. She trained at the

Stella Adler Studio of Acting The Stella Adler Studio of Acting (formerly Stella Adler Conservatory) is a prestigious acting school that was founded by actress and teacher Stella Adler.

. She received praise for her performance in the drama '' Selling Kabul'', in which she plays a central female character anxious for her brother's safety.

Filmography

Film and television

Theatre

References

External links

* Living people People from Muscat, Oman Indian emigrants to the United States American film actresses American television actresses American stage actresses American people of Telugu descent American actresses of Indian descent Tisch School of the Arts alumni New York University alumni 21st-century American actresses Year of birth missing (living people) {{US-tv-actor-1980s-stub