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

Naboo Naboo is a fictional planet in the ''Star Wars'' universe. A bountiful world with a mostly green terrain, the planet was the homeworld of two independent societies: the native Gungans, who dwelt in underwater cities, and the human Naboo, who li ...

, 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: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nati ...

film ''

The Terrorist ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

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

Cairo International Film Festival The Cairo International Film Festival ( ar, مهرجان القاهرة السينمائي الدولي) is an annual internationally accredited film festival held in Cairo Opera House. It was established in 1976 and has taken place every year sin ...

and nominated for a

National Film Award for Best Actress The National Film Award for Best Actress (officially known as the Rajat Kamal Award for the Best Actress) 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 wi ...

. She has also appeared in '' Outsourced'' and '' The Mistress of Spices'', television series such as ''

Arabian Nights ''One Thousand and One Nights'' ( ar, أَلْفُ لَيْلَةٍ وَلَيْلَةٌ, italic=yes, ) is a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as the ''Arabian ...

'', and the

West End West End most commonly refers to: * West End of London, an area of central London, England * West End theatre, a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London, England West End may also refer to: Pl ...

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 Stree ...

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 tw ...

''.

Family

Dharker was born on 16 March 1978 in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...

, India. She is the daughter of

Imtiaz Dharker Imtiaz Dharker (born 31 January 1954) is a Pakistan-born British full time 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 201 ...

, 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 ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest ...

, was raised in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

, 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 ...

, London.

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 the ...

film '' Manika, une vie plus tard''. She subsequently went on to star in many American, French and Indian films. She has had many

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication Media (communication), medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of Transmission (telecommunications), television tra ...

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 featured a number of actors who have sin ...

'' 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 a English comedian, writer, playwright, singer, journalist and actress. She rose to prominence as one of the team that created '' Goodness Gracious Me'' and portraying Sanjeev's grandmother, ...

. In the international award-winning film ''

'' (1999), she played the lead character Malli, a role that earned her a nomination for the

in India and the Cairo Film Festival 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 revolv ...

. 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 and on Broadway. He has composed 21 musica ...

musical ''

'', both in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

's West End and on Broadway (2004). She also starred in '' The Mistress of Spices'' (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 #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

sci-fi television series, '' Doctor Who'' 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 Character (arts), fictional character from the Television in the United Kingdom, British ITV (TV network), ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', portrayed by Ayesha Dharker. Creation Her creation and casting were first announce ...

in the ITV

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based ...

''.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 Two sketch comedy series '' Goodness Gracious Me'' and as the star of the sitcom '' The Kumars at No. 42''. ...

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 conclu ...

''. 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 from the established BBC medical drama '' Casualty'', and ...

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

The Father Father is the male parent of a child. 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 * ''Father'' (1966 f ...

'', which was nominated for an ''

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment in ...

''. 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 ( Bengali: ব্রিক লেন) is a street in the East End of London, in the borough of Tower Hamlets. It runs from Swanfield Street in Bethnal Green in the north, crosses the Bethnal Green Road before reaching the busies ...

'' by

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

(2003).

Filmography

Films

}) , Malli ,

Award for Best Artistic Contribution by an Actress , - , 2000 , '' The Mystic Masseur'' , Leela , , - , 2002 , '' Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones'' , Queen Jamillia , , - , 2002 , ''

'' , Daljeet Kumar , , - , rowspan=2, 2005 , '' The Mistress of Spices'' , Hameeda , , - , '' Colour Me Kubrick: A True...ish Story'' , Dr. Stukeley , , - , 2006 , '' Outsourced'' , Asha Bhatawdekar , , - , 2007 , '' Loins of Punjab Presents'' , Opama Menon , , - , 2010 , Red Alert: The War Within , Radhakka , , - , 2020 , ''

'' , Dr. Sarai ,

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 Actresses from Mumbai Indian emigrants to England English film actresses English musical theatre actresses English radio actresses English soap opera actresses English stage actresses English television actresses British actresses of Indian descent British people of Scottish descent English expatriates in India Actresses in Hindi cinema Actresses in Tamil cinema British expatriate actresses in India European actresses in India European actresses in Bollywood 21st-century English actresses 21st-century British actresses