Anjana Vasan (born 31 January 1987) is an Indian-born actress based in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. For her stage work, Vasan has won a

Laurence Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply The Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognize excellence in West End theatre, professional theatre in London. The awards were originally known as the Society of We ...

. On television, she stars in the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

sitcom '' We Are Lady Parts'' (2021–2024), for which she was nominated for a

British Academy Television Award The BAFTA TV Awards, or British Academy Television Awards, are presented in an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. They have been awarded annually since 1955. Background The first-ever Awards, given in 1 ...

. Her films include '' Wicked Little Letters'' (2023).

Early life and education

Vasan was born in

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

(now known as Chennai), India to a

Tamil Hindu Tamil Hindus () are the Tamil-speaking people who follow Hinduism. Hinduism was the first religion to reach the ancient Tamil kingdoms. Tamil Nadu is home to one of the largest functioning Hindu temples in the world. Tamil influence was o ...

family and moved to

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

when she was four years old. She took theatre studies at the

National University of Singapore The National University of Singapore (NUS) is a national university, national Public university, public research university in Singapore. It was officially established in 1980 by the merging of the University of Singapore and Nanyang University ...

before relocating to the United Kingdom, where she graduated in 2012 with a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in Acting from the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama.

Career

In 2011, Vasan made her television debut as Lauren in two episodes of the

comedy-drama '' Fresh Meat''. After completing drama school the following year, she had small roles in the National Theatre Wales production of ''The Radicalisation of Bradley Manning'', the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...

production of ''

Much Ado About Nothing ''Much Ado About Nothing'' is a Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599.See textual notes to ''Much Ado About Nothing'' in ''The Norton Shakespeare'' (W. W. Norton & Company, 1997 ) p. ...

'', as well as ''Golgotha'' at the

Tristan Bates Theatre Sir Alan Arthur Bates (17 February 1934 – 27 December 2003) was an English actor who came to prominence in the Cinema of the United Kingdom#The 1960s, 1960s, when he appeared in films ranging from ''Whistle Down the Wind (film), Whistle Down ...

in London. Vasan played a witch in

Kenneth Branagh Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh ( ; born 10 December 1960) is a British actor and filmmaker. Born in Belfast and raised primarily in Reading, Berkshire, Branagh trained at RADA in London and served as its president from 2015 to 2024. List of award ...

's ''

Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...

'' at the

Manchester International Festival The Manchester International Festival is a biennial international arts festival, with a specific focus on original new work, held in the English city of Manchester and run by Factory International. The festival is a biennial event, first takin ...

and for its New York run at the Park Avenue Armory. In 2015, she made her feature film debut with a small role in the live-action version of ''

Cinderella "Cinderella", or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a Folklore, folk tale with thousands of variants that are told throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988. The protagonist is a you ...

''. In 2018, Vasan played Zahra Alsaadi in the Channel 4 sitcom '' Hang Ups'' and had a role in the anthology film '' London Unplugged''. She played Rosa in '' Summer and Smoke'' at the

Almeida Theatre The Almeida Theatre is a 325-seat producing house located on Almeida Street off Upper Street in the London Borough of Islington. The theatre opened in 1980, and produces a diverse range of drama. Successful plays are often transferred to West E ...

and

Duke of York's Theatre The Duke of York's Theatre is a West End theatre in St Martin's Lane, in the City of Westminster, London. It was built for Frank Wyatt and his wife, Violet Melnotte, who retained ownership of the theatre until her death in 1935. Designed by ...

, marking her West End debut. This was followed by roles '' Rutherford and Son'' at the National Theatre and ''

A Doll's House ''A Doll's House'' (Danish language, Danish and ; also translated as ''A Doll House'') is a three-act Play (theatre), play written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It premiered at the Royal Danish Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 21 De ...

'' at the

Lyric Hammersmith The Lyric Theatre, also known as the Lyric Hammersmith, is a nonprofit theatre on Lyric Square, off King Street, Hammersmith, London."About the Lyric" > "History" ''Lyric'' official website. Retrieved January 2024. Background The Lyric Theatre ...

, the latter of which earned her an ''Evening Standard'' Theatre Award nomination. Vasan starred in the 2020 Riz Ahmed-written and starring drama film '' Mogul Mowgli''. She then reprised her role from the 2018 short ''Lady Parts'' as lead guitar player Amina in '' We Are Lady Parts'' on Channel 4 in 2021. For her performance, Vasan received nominations at the

British Academy Television Awards The BAFTA TV Awards, or British Academy Television Awards, are presented in an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. They have been awarded annually since 1955. Background The first-ever Awards, given in ...

Independent Spirit Awards The Independent Spirit Awards, originally known as the FINDIE or Friends of Independents Awards, and later as the Film Independent Spirit Awards, are awards presented annually in Santa Monica, California, to independent filmmakers. Founded in ...

, and

Gotham Awards The Gotham Awards () are American film awards, presented annually to the makers of independent films at a ceremony in New York City, the city first nicknamed "Gotham" by native son Washington Irving, in an issue of ''Salmagundi'', published on ...

. She also appeared in

Joe Wright Joseph Wright (born 25 August 1972) is an English film director. His motion pictures include the period drama adaptations '' Pride & Prejudice'' (2005), ''Atonement'' (2007), '' Anna Karenina'' (2012), and '' Cyrano'' (2021), the action thrill ...

's '' Cyrano''. Vasan joined the main cast of the BBC spy thriller ''

Killing Eve ''Killing Eve'' is a British spy thriller television series produced in the United Kingdom by Sid Gentle Films for BBC America and BBC Three (streaming service), BBC Three. The series follows Eve Polastri (Sandra Oh), a British intelligence age ...

'' for its fourth and final series as Pam. She returned to the stage as Stella Kowalski in the London revival of ''

A Streetcar Named Desire ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' is a play written by Tennessee Williams and first performed on Broadway on December 3, 1947. The play dramatizes the experiences of Blanche DuBois, a former Southern belle who, after encountering a series of pe ...

'' opposite

Paul Mescal Paul Colm Michael Mescal ( ; born 2 February 1996) is an Irish actor. His accolades include two BAFTA Awards, a Laurence Olivier Award, in addition to nominations for an Academy Award and a Primetime Emmy Award. Born in Maynooth, he studied ...

and

Patsy Ferran Patricia Ferran (born 25 November 1989) is a Spanish-British actress. She trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art before becoming known for her roles on stage and screen. She has received a number of accolades including a Laurence Olivier A ...

. The production opened at the Almeida Theatre in 2022 and moved to the West End's Phoenix Theatre in 2023. Her performance as Stella won Vasan the 2023 Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. In 2023, Vasan starred in the ''

Black Mirror ''Black Mirror'' is a British anthology series, anthology television series created by Charlie Brooker. Most episodes are set in near-future dystopias containing Science fiction, sci-fi technology—a type of speculative fiction. The series i ...

'' episode " Demon 79" as Nida Huq, a woman in 1970s Britain who discovers a talisman. She had previously made a brief appearance in a previous ''Black Mirror'' episode, " Nosedive". She has a role in the comedy film '' Wicked Little Letters'' as PC Gladys Moss.

Filmography

Film

Television

Stage

Audio

* ''Goblin Market'' (BBC) * ''The Man Who Wore Sanitary Pads'' (BBC) * ''Milady'' (BBC)

Awards and nominations

Discography

Albums, EPs

* ''Too Dark For Country'' (released 7 October 2017 - EP) * ''Strange Country Jukebox'' (released 26 July 2021)

References

External links

*
Anjana Vasan at Bandcamp
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vasan, Anjana Living people 21st-century Singaporean actresses 21st-century Singaporean singers Actresses from Chennai National University of Singapore alumni Alumni of the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama Indian emigrants to Singapore Laurence Olivier Award winners Singaporean people of Tamil descent Singaporean emigrants to the United Kingdom Tamil actresses 1987 births