Monica Dogra is an American musician and actress. She has acted in six feature films, as well as released five studio albums with the band Shaa’ir and Func. She is a member on the judging panel of India's first English music talent show, ''The Stage''. She hosted four seasons of the music-Docu series ''The Dewarists'' that was nominated for a Cannes Lion. She also worked on the Viceland Emmy nominated series ''Woman'' produced by Gloria Steinem.

Early life

Monica Dogra is the daughter of

Dogra __NOTOC__ Dogras, or Dogra people, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic community of Pakistan and India. Dogra, Dogras or Dogri may also refer to: * Dogra dynasty, a Hindu dynasty of Kashmir * Dogri language, a language spoken by Dogras and other ethnic commu ...

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

immigrants from

Jammu Jammu () is a city in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute ...

. Her maternal uncle is Dogri

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...

singer Prakash Sharma. She grew up in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

. She attended Oakleigh Elementary School,

Montessori The Montessori method of education is a type of educational method that involves children's natural interests and activities rather than formal teaching methods. A Montessori classroom places an emphasis on hands-on learning and developing ...

and Dulaney High School. She attended

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

, graduating with a bachelor's degree in musical theatre.

Career

In 2005, she formed the electronic rock group "Shaa'ir+Func", along with guitarist Randolph Correia. In 2007, they released their first album ''New Day: The Love Album'', followed by ''Light Tribe'' in 2008 and ''Mantis'' in 2010. She also sang a song "Dooriyan Bhi Hai Zaroori" with

Vishal Dadlani Vishal Dadlani (born 28 June 1973) is an Indian singer, songwriter, music composer and occasional actor. He is one half of the duo Vishal–Shekhar, and frontman and vocalist of one of India's leading rock bands Pentagram. As a great singer, ...

in the film '' Break Ke Baad'' and the theme song in English (with Shahid Mallya) for the film '' Inkaar''. She made her acting debut with a guest appearance in ''

Rock On!! ''Rock On!!'' is a 2008 Indian Hindi-language musical drama film written and directed by Abhishek Kapoor, produced by Farhan Akhtar, and with music by Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy. The film marks the Bollywood debut of Akhtar and Prachi Desai. A ...

''. In 2008, she was approached by Kiran Rao for the lead role in Rao's directorial debut film '' Dhobi Ghat'' - a role Dogra initially turned down, but eventually accepted. In December 2011, she served as a judge for ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

s Never Hide Sounds musical talent contest. She is the host of '' The Dewarists'', a musical collaborative show on

STAR World India Star World (stylized in all capital letters) was an Indian pay television channel owned by The Walt Disney Company India, a company wholly owned by The Walt Disney Company. During its tenure it had mainly telecast shows from multiple Disney-ow ...

. In 2013, she performed with award-winning violinist Scott Tixier, for a series of shows sponsored by Dos Equis around the US. In March 2014, she was featured on the cover page of '' FHM'' Magazine. In March 2013 and May 2015, she was featured on the cover and had a pictorial in ''Maxim India'' Magazine. She is now one of the judges for the show ''The Stage'' alongside

. Monica Dogra will be next seen in her upcoming web series ''The Married Woman'', directed by Sahir Raza. The star cast also includes Ridhi Dogra in lead role.

Early life

Career

Filmography

Television series

Music video appearances

Discography

Television

References

External links