Sakina Jaffrey (born February 14, 1962) is an American actress.

Early life

Jaffrey was born in New York City, the youngest daughter of Indian-born parents, actress and food and travel writer

Madhur Jaffrey Madhur Jaffrey Order of the British Empire, CBE (née Bahadur; born 13 August 1933) is an Indian-born British-American actress, cookbook and travel writer, and television personality. She is recognized for bringing Indian cuisine to the weste ...

, and actor

Saeed Jaffrey Saeed Jaffrey (8 January 1929 – 15 November 2015) was a British-Indian actor. His career covered film, radio, stage and television roles over six decades and more than 150 British, American, and Indian movies. During the 1980s and '90s, he was ...

. Her parents divorced when she was three years old, and she grew up estranged from her father, who subsequently moved to the United Kingdom. She grew up in the

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the s ...

section of Manhattan where she attended

PS 41 Public School 41, also known as the Greenwich Village School, is a public school in Manhattan, New York City. History PS 41 opened in 1867. When Grammar School No. 41 first opened, it was located by what is now the school yard entrance at G ...

. She later attended the

Nightingale-Bamford School The Nightingale-Bamford School is an independent all-female university-preparatory school founded in 1920 by Frances Nicolau Nightingale and Maya Stevens Bamford. Located in Manhattan on the Upper East Side, Nightingale-Bamford is a member ...

on the

Upper East Side The Upper East Side, sometimes abbreviated UES, is a neighborhood in the boroughs of New York City, borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded approximately by 96th Street (Manhattan), 96th Street to the north, the East River to the e ...

. Jaffrey picked up her love of Chinese culture from her elder sister, Meera. She graduated from

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States. The college be ...

in 1984, with a major in

Chinese Language Chinese ( or ) is a group of languages spoken natively by the ethnic Han Chinese majority and List of ethnic groups in China, many minority ethnic groups in China, as well as by various communities of the Chinese diaspora. Approximately 1.39& ...

and Literature, originally planning to be a translator before she became an actress.

Career

At the age of 17, Jaffrey made her professional acting debut in the play ''

Marie and Bruce ''Marie and Bruce'' is a 2004 American comedy drama film directed by Tom Cairns, and starring Julianne Moore and Matthew Broderick. The story spans one day of a couple's dysfunctional, strained relationship. It was based on the 1978 play of the s ...

'' by

Wallace Shawn Wallace Michael Shawn (born November 12, 1943) is an American actor, essayist, playwright, and screenwriter. He is known for playing Vizzini in '' The Princess Bride'' (1987), Mr. Hall in '' Clueless'' (1995), Dr. John Sturgis in '' Young Sheldo ...

at the Public Theatre in New York City. She appeared with her father in the film ''Masala'' (1991) and with her mother in '' The Perfect Murder'' (1988). In 2002, she appeared in '' The Truth About Charlie'' starring

Mark Wahlberg Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg (born June 5, 1971), formerly known by his stage name Marky Mark, is an American actor, producer, and former rapper. Mark Wahlberg filmography, His work as a leading actor, leading man spans the Comedy film, come ...

. Her children Cassius and Jamila appear with her in ''

Raising Helen ''Raising Helen'' is a 2004 American comedy-drama film directed by Garry Marshall and written by Jack Amiel and Michael Begler. It stars Kate Hudson, John Corbett, Joan Cusack, Hayden Panettiere, siblings Spencer and Abigail Breslin, and ...

'' (2004). Jaffrey starred in the English-language U.S.-Indian

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

'' The Ode'' (2008). She starred as Linda Vasquez, the

White House Chief of Staff The White House chief of staff is the head of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, a position in the federal government of the United States. The chief of staff is a Political appointments in the United States, politi ...

, in the

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 ...

series ''

House of Cards A house of cards (also known as a card tower or card castle) is a structure created by stacking playing cards on top of each other, often in the shape of a pyramid. "House of cards" is also an expression that dates back to 1645 meaning a struc ...

'' (2013). In 2014, it was announced that she would be appearing in the second season of

Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

's television series '' Sleepy Hollow'' as Leena Reyes, the new sheriff. From 2016 to 2018, she had a starring role in the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

television series '' Timeless'' as Homeland Security Agent Denise Christopher. She also starred as Malini Soni in ''

The Meyerowitz Stories ''The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected)'' is a 2017 American comedy-drama film directed and written by Noah Baumbach. The film stars Adam Sandler, Ben Stiller, Dustin Hoffman, Elizabeth Marvel and Emma Thompson, and follows a group of dysfunct ...

'', a 2017 comedy-drama film directed by

Noah Baumbach Noah Baumbach (born September 3, 1969) is an American filmmaker. He is known for making light comedies set in New York City and his works are inspired by filmmakers such as Woody Allen and Whit Stillman. His frequent collaborators include Wes A ...

and costarring

Dustin Hoffman Dustin Lee Hoffman (born August 8, 1937) is an American actor. As one of the key actors in the formation of New Hollywood, Hoffman is known for Dustin Hoffman filmography, his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and emotionally vulnerable charac ...

and

Adam Sandler Adam Richard Sandler (born September 9, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, producer and screenwriter. Primarily a comedic leading actor in films, List of awards and nominations received by Adam Sandler, his accolades include an Independent Sp ...

Personal life

Jaffrey lives in New York with her husband, Francis Wilkinson, a journalist, and their two children, Cassius and Jamila.

Acting credits

Film

Television

Theatre

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jaffrey, Sakina American film actresses American television actresses American actresses of Indian descent Living people Vassar College alumni Actresses from Manhattan 21st-century American actresses 20th-century American actresses American people of Punjabi descent People from Nyack, New York 1962 births