Ambika Bhakti Mod (; born 2 October 1995) is a British actress, comedian, and writer. She is best known for her roles in the
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
Netflix
Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
Potters Bar
Potters Bar is a town in Hertfordshire, England,in the historic County of Middlesex Hertsmere Borough Council – Community Strategy First Review (PDF) north of central London. In 2011, it had a population of 21,882. Mod attended Dame Alice Owen's School. She graduated 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 ...
degree in English Studies from
St Mary's College, Durham
St Mary’s College is a Colleges of Durham University, constituent college of Durham University. It is located mainly on Elvet, Elvet Hill to the South of the city centre, becoming the first of Durham’s “Colleges of the University of Durha ...
.
Early in her career, Mod worked as a personal assistant at
Condé Nast
Condé Nast () is a global mass media company founded in 1909 by Condé Nast (businessman), Condé Montrose Nast (1873–1942) and owned by Advance Publications. Its headquarters are located at One World Trade Center in the FiDi, Financial Dis ...
as her day job while doing comedy at night. She studied acting at Theatrix Performing Arts of St Albans, based at the Abbey Theatre, St Albans. At Durham, she did sketch comedy through the university's Revue, performing with Tom Harper at the 2015
Edinburgh Fringe Festival
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as the Edinburgh Fringe, the Fringe or the Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest performance arts festival, which in 2024 spanned 25 days, sold more than 2.6 million tickets and featur ...
and serving as the troupe's president in 2017. She formed a duo, ''Megan from HR'', with Andrew Shires. She performs regularly at improvised comedy theatre The Free Association in London.
Career
Following a series of short films, ''Fair Bnb'', ''Granddaughter, The Sacrifice (aka Leila Margot)'' and ''Pet Name,'' Mod appeared as Shruti Acharya, a struggling junior doctor alongside
Ben Whishaw
Benjamin John Whishaw (born 14 October 1980) is an English actor. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Ben Whishaw, various accolades, including three British Academy Television Awards, two Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Aw ...
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
''’s Daniel Fienberg praised Mod as the highlight among the "regular female characters" and added that she made "Shruti's earnest fragility into the show's true heart". However, he also acknowledged that her character is used more as a vehicle for Kay's actions. For her performance, Mod was chosen for the 2022 BAFTA Breakthrough cohort and received the Broadcasting Press Guild Award for Best Actress. Through the programme for the former, Mod met
Emma Thompson
Dame Emma Thompson (born 15 April 1959) is a British actress and screenwriter. Emma Thompson on screen and stage, Her work spans over four decades of screen and stage, and List of awards and nominations received by Emma Thompson, her accola ...
who became her mentor.
In 2024, Mod played Emma Morley in
Netflix
Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
Leo Woodall
Leo Vincent Woodall (born 14 September 1996) is an English actor. He gained recognition with his roles in the second season of the HBO satirical anthology series '' The White Lotus'' (2022) and in the Netflix romantic drama miniseries '' One Day ...
) who meet annually for 14 years following a one-night stand; she initially declined the part due to the intense nature of her role in ''This Is Going to Hurt'' forming doubts about her ability to play a romantic lead. Reflecting on her original decision, she said, "I think part of the reason why I just didn't see myself playing that part was because insidiously and implicitly, that's a message that I’ve been fed my entire life—that people who look like me aren't romantic leads, that people who look like me aren't the people who the male romantic lead will fall in love with". Her performance received critical acclaim and the role proved to be a major breakthrough in her career. ''One Day'' was the most-watched Netflix series globally during the week of its release. Writing for ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'', Chitra Ramaswamy commended Mod as a "revelation", and added that, "It is hard to believe this is her first lead role". Whilst discussing her character's alteration in ethnicity from the novel and the film adaptation, she expressed her hope that it would "open people's minds a little bit", and said she was "aware how significant it will be to a lot of people, especially young women of colour, young South Asian women in particular".
In 2025, Mod had a small role in Black Bag, the
Disney+
The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
In 2024, she was selected for the ''Forbes'' 30 Under 30 - Europe - Entertainment list, for her advocacy for industry representation as well as her performances in ''This Is Going to Hurt'' and ''One Day''. ''
The Sunday Times
''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...
'' named Mod as one of the 25 most inspiring people aged 30 and under in the UK and Ireland. In late 2024, Mod was on ''Time Magazine'''s annual list of 100 emerging leaders shaping the future. Mindy Kaling wrote: "it feels like there’s nothing to make you sit up, lean forward, and say, 'Wow, I’ve never seen that before.' But that’s exactly how I felt when I saw Ambika Mod in ..''One Day''." Mod was named one of ''Harper's Bazaar UK'' 2024 Women of the Year, and was named their Breakthrough of the Year. In November 2024, Mod was received one of ''British GQ'''s Man of the Year awards.
In February 2025, Mod was selected for ''Elle'''s 40 For 40: Women In Film And Television List, a "power list of the women who'll shape the coming decades in film and television." Author Hanna Flint wrote: "Ambika is a rising star in television, ..she’s reshaping what it means to be a leading lady."