Ayesha Dharker (born 16 March 1978) is a British actress, known for her appearance as Queen Jamillia, the Queen of

Naboo The fictional universe of the ''Star Wars'' franchise features multiple planets and moons. While only the feature films and selected other works are considered canon to the franchise since the 2012 acquisition of Lucasfilm by The Walt Di ...

, in '' Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones,'' and for her stage performances. Her other film roles include starring as a young woman brainwashed into contemplating becoming a suicide bomber in the

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

film '' The Terrorist'' (1997), for which she was awarded Best Artistic Contribution by an Actress at the

Cairo International Film Festival The Cairo International Film Festival is an annual internationally accredited film festival held in Cairo Opera House. It was established in 1976 and has taken place every year since its inception, except for 2011 and 2013, when it was cancelled ...

and nominated for a

National Film Award for Best Actress The National Film Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role is an honour presented annually at the National Film Awards of India since 1968 to an actress for the best performance in a leading role within the Cinema of India, Indian film industry. ...

. She has also appeared in '' Outsourced'' and ''

The Mistress of Spices ''The Mistress of Spices'' is a 2006 romantic drama film directed by Paul Mayeda Berges from a screenplay by Gurinder Chadha and Berges. It is based upon the 1997 novel '' Mistress of Spices'' by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni. The film stars Aishw ...

'', television series such as ''

Arabian Nights ''One Thousand and One Nights'' (, ), is a collection of Middle Eastern folktales compiled in the Arabic language during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as ''The Arabian Nights'', from the first English-language edition () ...

'', and the West End and

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

musical ''

Bombay Dreams ''Bombay Dreams'' is a Bollywood-themed musical, with music by A. R. Rahman, lyrics by Don Black and the book by Meera Syal and Thomas Meehan, originally produced by Andrew Lloyd Webber. The London production opened in 2002 and ran for two ...

''.

Family

Dharker was born on 16 March 1978 in

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

, India. She is the daughter of

Imtiaz Dharker Imtiaz Dharker (born 31 January 1954) is a Pakistani-born British poet, artist, and video film maker. She won the Queen's Gold Medal for her English poetry and was appointed Chancellor of Newcastle University from January 2020. In 2019, she ...

, a poet, artist and documentary film-maker, and Anil Dharker, a columnist and an ex-editor of the Indian men's magazine '' Debonair''. Her father is from India and her mother, born in

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

, was also raised in the United Kingdom. In May 2010 she married Robert Taylor in

St Giles Cripplegate St Giles-without-Cripplegate is an Anglican church in the City of London, located on Fore Street within the modern Barbican complex. When built it stood without (that is, outside) the city wall, near the Cripplegate. The church is dedicated to S ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Career

Dharker made her screen debut in the 1989

François Villiers François Villiers (2 March 1920 – 29 January 2009) Chevalier of the Legion of Honor was a French film director. He was responsible for several films, from '' Hans le marin'' in 1949, to '' Manika, une vie plus tard'', in 1989, which won t ...

film ''

Manika, une vie plus tard ''Manika, une vie plus tard'' (1989) is a movie based on the concept of reincarnation, directed by François Villiers. Manika Kallatil ( Ayesha Dharkar) is a young girl who lives in an Indian fishing village in South India. She has visions of her ...

''. She subsequently went on to star in many American, French and Indian films. She has had many

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

roles in the UK, particularly in ''

Cutting It ''Cutting It'' is a BBC television drama series set in Manchester, England, focusing on the lives and loves of the team running a hairdressing salon. It ran for four series between 2002 and 2005. The show features a number of actors who subsequ ...

'' and '' Life Isn't All Ha Ha Hee Hee'', in which she co-starred with

Meera Syal Meera Syal FRSL (born Feroza Syal; 27 June 1961) is an English comedian, writer, playwright, singer, journalist and actress. She rose to prominence as one of the team that created '' Goodness Gracious Me'' and by portraying Sanjeev's grandmoth ...

. In the international award-winning film '' The Terrorist'' (1999), she played the lead character Malli, a role that earned her a nomination for the

in India and the

Cairo Film Festival The Cairo International Film Festival is an annual internationally accredited film festival held in Cairo Opera House. It was established in 1976 and has taken place every year since its inception, except for 2011 and 2013, when it was cancelled ...

award for Best Artistic Contribution by an Actress. Dharker's most internationally recognised role came in 2002 when she played Queen Jamillia, the Queen of

, in '' Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones''. In the same year she appeared in the critically acclaimed

Anita and Me ''Anita and Me'' is Meera Syal's debut novel, and was first published in 1996. It is a semi-autobiographical novel, based on Syal's childhood in the mining village of Essington, Staffordshire, which won the Betty Trask Award. The story revo ...

. Dharker starred in the

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948) is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End theatre, West End and on Broadway theatre, Broad ...

musical ''

'', both in

's West End and on Broadway (2004). She also starred in ''

'' (2005). She has appeared in the episode "

Planet of the Ood "Planet of the Ood" is the third episode of the fourth series of British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It was broadcast on BBC One on 19 April 2008. The episode takes place in the year 4126 on the Ood-Sphere, the titular pla ...

" of the long-running

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 ...

sci-fi television series, ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'' as Solana Mercurio. In 2006, she played the role of Asha in the film '' Outsourced''. In 2008, she played the role of

Tara Mandal Tara Mandal is a fictional character from the British soap opera ''Coronation Street'', played by Ayesha Dharker. She made her first appearance as Tara during the episode broadcast on 15 September 2008. Tara is introduced as the daughter of Prem ...

in the

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: Television TV stations/networks/channels ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network and company, including: **ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network in the United Kingd ...

soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...

''.Indian actress cast
ITV In 2010, she played doctor's wife Kamini Sharma opposite

Sanjeev Bhaskar Sanjeev Bhaskar (born 31 October 1963) is a British actor, comedian and television presenter. He is best known for his work in the BBC Radio 4 and BBC Two sketch comedy series ''Goodness Gracious Me (TV series), Goodness Gracious Me'' and as t ...

in the BBC's comedy-drama series ''

The Indian Doctor ''The Indian Doctor'' is a British television comedy drama, set in the 1960s. Produced by Rondo Media and Avatar Productions, it was first broadcast on BBC One in 2010. The most recent series began on 4 November 2013 on BBC One daytime and conc ...

''. In 2017, Dharker began playing Nina Karnik in a returning role on the long-running BBC drama

Holby City ''Holby City'' (stylised on-screen as HOLBY CIY) is a British medical drama television series that aired weekly on BBC One. It was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a Spin-off (media), spin-off from the established BBC medical drama '' ...

. In 2020, she appeared as Dr Sarai in ''

The Father Father is the male parent of a child. Father or The Father may also refer to: Name * Daniel Fathers (born 1966), a British actor * Father Yod (1922–1975), an American owner of one of the country's first health food restaurants Cinema * ''Fa ...

'', which was nominated for an ''

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

''. On 16 January 2022, Dharker appeared in Vera in the episode "As the Crow Flies" in the role of Anika Naidu. Audiobooks Dharker was the narrator for the audiobook version of ''

Brick Lane Brick Lane () is a street in the East End of London, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, borough of Tower Hamlets. It runs from Swanfield Street in Bethnal Green in the north, crosses the Bethnal Green Road before reaching the busiest, mo ...

'' by

Monica Ali Monica Ali (; born 20 October 1967) is a British writer of Bangladeshi and English descent. In 2003, she was selected as one of the "Best of Young British Novelists" by ''Granta'' based on her unpublished manuscript; her debut novel, ''Brick L ...

(2003).

Filmography

Films

Television

Theatre

References

External links

*
Ayesha Dharker and Manu Narayan
nbsp;– ''Downstage Center'' interview at

American Theatre Wing The American Theatre Wing (the Wing for short) is a New York City–based non-profit organization "dedicated to supporting excellence and education in theatre", according to its mission statement. Originally known as the Stage Women's War Relief ...

.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Dharker, Ayesha Living people 1978 births 21st-century British actresses Actresses from Mumbai Actresses in Hindi cinema Actresses in Tamil cinema British expatriate actresses in India British soap opera actresses English expatriates in India English film actresses English musical theatre actresses English radio actresses English stage actresses English television actresses Indian emigrants to the United Kingdom British people of Indian descent