Zenobia Shroff (born May 27, 1965) is an Indian-born American actress. Shroff has been an actress, writer, teaching artist and sketch comedian for over 30 years and she is known for her role in the 2017 film ''

The Big Sick ''The Big Sick'' is a 2017 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Michael Showalter and written by Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani. It stars Nanjiani, Zoe Kazan, Holly Hunter, Ray Romano, Adeel Akhtar, and Anupam Kher. Gord ...

'', and as Muneeba Khan in the

Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

TV series '' Ms. Marvel'' and ''

The Marvels ''The Marvels'' is a 2023 American superhero film based on Marvel Comics. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is the sequel to the film '' Captain Marvel'' (2019), a continuation of the telev ...

''.

Early life

Shroff grew up in a

Parsi The Parsis or Parsees () are a Zoroastrian ethnic group in the Indian subcontinent. They are descended from Persian refugees who migrated to the Indian subcontinent during and after the Arab-Islamic conquest of Iran in the 7th century, w ...

family in South Bombay, in what is now known as

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 ...

Career

Shroff began her professional career at age sixteen as a commercial print model. After seven successful years as a

model A model is an informative representation of an object, person, or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin , . Models can be divided in ...

, she switched to acting. She got her acting start in Mumbai under the mentorship of

Pearl Padamsee Pearl Padamsee (1931 – 23 April 2000) was an Indian theatre personality as a stage actress, director and producer of English language theatre in Mumbai active in 1950s–1990s. She acted in a few Hindi and English language films, including ' ...

. She then moved to study acting at

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Circle in the Square Theatre School Circle in the Square Theatre School is a non-profit, tax exempt drama school associated with Circle in the Square Theatre; it is the only accredited conservatory attached to a Broadway theatre. It offers two 2-year full-time programs: a Professi ...

. Soon after, she appeared at the Broadway Castillo Theatre, where she played several roles such as Nora in

Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright, poet and actor. Ibsen is considered the world's pre-eminent dramatist of the 19th century and is often referred to as "the father of modern drama." He pioneered ...

's ''

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 ...

'' to German avant-gardist

Heiner Müller Heiner Müller (; 9 January 1929 – 30 December 1995) was a German (formerly East German) dramatist, poet, writer, essayist and theatre director. His "enigmatic, fragmentary pieces" are a significant contribution to postmodern drama and postd ...

. She also performed in ''Erotic Adventures in Venice'' at the

La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club (sometimes abbreviated as La MaMa E.T.C.) is an Off-Off-Broadway theater founded in 1961 by African-American theatre director, producer, and fashion designer Ellen Stewart. Located in the East Village neighborho ...

and in

Milan Kundera Milan Kundera ( ; ; 1 April 1929 – 11 July 2023) was a Czech and French novelist. Kundera went into exile in France in 1975, acquiring citizenship in 1981. His Czechoslovak citizenship was revoked in 1979, but he was granted Czech citizenship ...

's ''Jacques and His Master''.

2007–2016

In 2007, she was cast as Roxanne in ''

Little Zizou ''Little Zizou'' is a 2008 Indian drama film written and directed by Sooni Taraporevala. ''Little Zizou'' is a comedy about how two battling Mumbai families finally come to terms. ''Little Zizou'' won the "Rajat Kamal" of 'National Film Award ...

'', written and directed by

Sooni Taraporevala Sooni Taraporevala (born 1957) is an Indian screenwriter, photographer, and filmmaker who is the screenwriter of '' Mississippi Masala'', '' The Namesake'' and Oscar-nominated '' Salaam Bombay!,'' all directed by Mira Nair. She also adapted Ro ...

. For that role she was nominated as best actress at the

New York Indian film festival The New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF) is an annual film festival that takes place in New York City, and screens films relating to India, the Indian Diaspora, and the work of Indian filmmakers. The festival began in November 2001 and was foun ...

. A few years later, she appeared in '' When Harry Tries to Marry'', an American

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a sub-genre of comedy and Romance novel, romance fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount all obstacles. Ro ...

film. She followed that up with her first

Bollywood film Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Hollywood". The industry, producing films in th ...

, ''

Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu ''Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu'' () is a 2012 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy film directed by debutant Shakun Batra, who co-wrote the screenplay with Ayesha Devitre. It was produced by Karan Johar and Hiroo Yash Johar under Dharma Productions, ...

'' alongside

Imran Khan Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi (born 5 October 1952) is a Pakistani politician, philanthropist, and former cricketer who served as the 19th prime minister of Pakistan from August 2018 until April 2022. He was the founder of the political party Pak ...

. The film received critical acclaim. Her solo show, ''Show How to Succeed as an Ethnically Ambiguous Actor'' premiered at the Planet Connections Festival in June 2016. For that performance she has been nominated as Outstanding Solo Performer. Shroff has been a lifelong dancer, starting with the classical Indian temple dance,

Bharat Natyam ''Bharatanatyam'' is a Indian classical dance form that came from Tamil Nadu, India. It is a classical dance form recognized by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas of Hinduism and Jainism.< ...

for several years and moving onto jazz and modern as a young adult. She is a founding company member of the

Shiamak Davar Shiamak Davar is an Indian choreographer, noted as one of the first to bring contemporary jazz and western forms of dance to India.West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a Musical theatre, musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a Book (musical theatre), book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo an ...

'', ''

Cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, casino, hotel, restaurant, or nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or drinking, ...

'', and ''

A Chorus Line ''A Chorus Line'' is a 1975 musical conceived by Michael Bennett with music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Edward Kleban, and a book by James Kirkwood Jr. and Nicholas Dante. Set on the bare stage of a Broadway theater, the musical is cent ...

''.

2017–present

She has performed stand-up at the Guild Gallery, the Indo American Arts Council, Don't Tell Mama, UCB and the South Asian International Performing Arts Festival. She went on to perform her show, ''Show How to Succeed as an Ethnically Ambiguous Actor'', with over 30 characters in and off-Broadway at the Castillo Theatre in a full run in the summer of 2017. Also in 2017, she was cast as

Kumail Nanjiani Kumail Ali Nanjiani (; ; Urdu: کمیل علی نانجیانی; born May 2, 1978) is a Pakistani-American stand-up comedian and actor. He is known for his role as Dinesh in the HBO comedy series ''Silicon Valley'' (2014–2019) and for co-writi ...

's mother in ''

'', produced by

Judd Apatow Judd Apatow (; born December 6, 1967) is an American director, producer, screenwriter, and comedian known for his work in comedy films. Apatow is the founder of Apatow Productions, through which he wrote, produced, and directed his films ''The 4 ...

. The cast was nominated for a

Screen Actors Guild Awards Screen Actors Guild Awards (also known as SAG Awards) are accolades given by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). The award was founded in 1995 to recognize outstanding performances in movie an ...

in 2018. She has appeared in the American

medical drama A medical drama is a Television film, television movie or film in which events center upon a hospital, clinic, doctor's office, a paramedic, or any other medical topic or environment. Most recent medical drama (film and television), dramatic progra ...

series '' The Resident'', American

political drama A political drama can describe a Theatre, play, film or TV program that has a politics, political component, whether reflecting the author's political opinion, or describing a politician or series of political events. Dramatists who have written p ...

television series '' Madam Secretary'', and a recurring role as Priya Ullah in seasons 4 and 5 of '' The Affair''. In 2020, she voiced one of the many counselors named “Jerry”, in the

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

Pixar Pixar (), doing business as Pixar Animation Studios, is an American animation studio based in Emeryville, California, known for its critically and commercially successful computer-animated feature films. Pixar is a subsidiary of Walt Disney ...

film ''

Soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

''. In 2022, she was cast as Muneeba Khan in the

Marvel Studios Marvel Studios, LLC, formerly known as Marvel Films, is an American film and television production company. Marvel Studios is the creator of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), a media franchise and shared universe of films and television ser ...

series '' Ms. Marvel'' on

. She reprised the role in the 2023 film ''

''.

Personal life

She holds a master's degree in Psychology.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shroff, Zenobia 1965 births Actresses from Mumbai Living people Indian film actresses Indian television actresses Indian emigrants to the United States American film actresses American television actresses American voice actresses American women comedians American actresses of Indian descent American people of Parsi descent American Zoroastrians American expatriate actresses in India Actresses in Hindi cinema Circle in the Square Theatre School alumni 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses