Afshan Noor Azad-Kazi (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Azad; born 12 February 1988) is a British actress, model, and media personality. She is best known for playing the role of Padma Patil in the ''Harry Potter'' film series, beginning in 2005 with ''

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire ''Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire'' is a fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling. It is the fourth novel in the ''Harry Potter'' series. It follows Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, a wizard in his fourth year at Hogwar ...

''.

Early life and education

Azad was born in

Longsight Longsight is an inner city area of Manchester, England, south of the Manchester City Centre, city centre, bounded by Ardwick and Gorton, West Gorton to the north and east; Levenshulme to the south; and Chorlton-on-Medlock, Victoria Park, Man ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, to

Bangladeshi Bangladeshis ( ) are the citizens and nationals of Bangladesh, a South Asian country centred on the transnational historical region of Bengal along the Bay of Bengal, eponymous bay. Bangladeshi nationality law, Bangladeshi citizenship was fo ...

parents from

Chittagong Chittagong ( ), officially Chattogram, (, ) (, or ) is the second-largest city in Bangladesh. Home to the Port of Chittagong, it is the busiest port in Bangladesh and the Bay of Bengal. The city is also the business capital of Bangladesh. It ...

. She attended Whalley Range High School, and took AS-levels in

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...

, English and

business studies Business studies, often simply called business, is a field of study that deals with the principles of business, management, and economics. It combines elements of accountancy, finance, marketing, organizational studies, human resource manageme ...

at Xaverian College in

Rusholme Rusholme () is an area of Manchester, in Greater Manchester, England, two miles south of the Manchester city centre, city centre. The population of the ward at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 13,643. Rusholme is bounded by Chorl ...

. She went on to graduate with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

Journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree of accuracy. The word, a noun, applies to the journ ...

and

Design A design is the concept or proposal for an object, process, or system. The word ''design'' refers to something that is or has been intentionally created by a thinking agent, and is sometimes used to refer to the inherent nature of something ...

from the

University of Salford The University of Salford is a Public university, public research university in Salford, Greater Manchester, Salford, Greater Manchester, England, west of Manchester city centre. The Royal Technical Institute, Salford, which opened in 1896, be ...

Career

Azad is known for her performances as Padma Patil in five of the ''Harry Potter'' films, starting with 2005's ''

''. She acquired the role when casting agents visited her school and, after having attended several auditions, chose her for the part. Azad had stated that she had auditioned "just for the fun of it" and surprisingly got the part. In 2017, Azad guest presented an episode of the

CBBC CBBC is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 6 to 12. Its sister c ...

series '' Marrying Mum & Dad'' with Ed Petrie whilst Naomi Wilkinson was away.

Advocacy

In October 2023, Azad signed an open letter by Artists4Ceasefire to

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

, of artists calling for a ceasefire of the Israeli bombardment of Gaza.

Personal life

Azad married Nabil Kazi on 19 August 2018. They are based in Worcester. They have two daughters. On 29 June 2010, Azad’s father and brother appeared in Manchester

Magistrates' Court A magistrates' court is a lower court where, in several Jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions, all criminal proceedings start. Also some civil matters may be dealt with here, such as family proceedings. Courts * Magistrates' court (England and Wales) ...

, charged with threatening to kill her after discovering she was dating a non-Muslim. They were released on bail. Azad's brother was charged with "assault occasioning actual bodily harm", whilst Azad stayed with friends in London. On 20 December 2010, Azad did not attend court when the prosecution accepted her brother's guilty plea to assault occasioning actual bodily harm and a judge ruled both men were not guilty of threatening to kill Azad. On 21 January 2011, Azad's brother was imprisoned for six months.

Filmography

Film Video games Music videos

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Azad, Afshan Living people 1989 births 21st-century English actresses Actresses from Manchester Alumni of the University of Salford British Internet celebrities British child actresses English female models English film actresses English Muslims English people of Bangladeshi descent People from Longsight People from Chittagong Models from Manchester