Personalities with Indian American Ancestry

We have learned that there are numerous of American Asians or multiracial personalities in the film and music industry, who gained popularity in Hollywood and television shows in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. We met famous Filipino American personalities, whom many fans are not aware of. There are also Indian Americans celebrity who made names in the movie, musical, politics and any entertainment field. Here are some of these noted Indian American personalities.

1) Firdous Bamji

Firdous Bamji is an Indian-American, born in Mumbai, India and attended Kodaikanal International School, a small American boarding school in the mountains of South India. Bamji, grew up in Bahrain and moved to South Carolina, United States, and currently residing in New York City and London living with partner actress, Hayley Mills. Mills, age 65, is an English actress, who began her acting career as a child. Mills was 20 years old when she met first husband, director Roy Boulting and married in 1971, and together they had a son, Crispian Mills. During her second relationship with British actor, Leigh Lawson, together they had ason, Jason Lawson. On 18 April 2008, Mills was diagnosed with breast cancer on April 18, 2008, underwent a surgery and chemotherapy and announced in January 2012 to the Good Housekeeping Magazine, that she had recovered. In 2012, Hayley Mills began living with partner Firdous Bamji, who has played leading roles in American and world premieres of plays by famous playwrights as Tony Kushner, Eric Bogosian and Tom Stoppard. Bamji has appeared in a numerous television shows, such as Law & Order and Law & Order:SVU and hit movies, such as Analyze That, Unbreakable and The Sixth Sense.

2) Kal Penn

Kal Penn born Kalpen Suresh Modi, is an American actor, producer, and civil servant, best known for portraying the role as Dr. Lawrence Kutner, on House, the famous television program and in the Harold and Kumar stoner comedy films, playing the character Kumar Patel. In The critically acclaimed The Namesake film, Kal Penn is also recognized for his performance. It was announced that Kal Penn would join the Obama administration on April 8, 2009, as an Associate Director in the White House Office of Public Engagement. Penn left the White House,  in July 2011, to work for the film How I Met Your Mother, and after finishing the film, he return to his political duties. Penn was born in Montclair, New Jersey, to a Hindu Indian family, both parents are Gujarati immigrants from India. Penn’s mother, Asmita, is working as fragrance evaluator for a perfume company, while his father, Suresh Modi, is an engineer. According to reports, on May 10, 2013, it was announced that Penn would join the We Are Men‘s cast.

3)  Danny Pudi

Danny Pudi born Daniel Mark Pudi, is an American actor and comedian, best known for his role on NBC Community television comedy series as Abed Nadir. Danny Pudi, who is of Indian and Polish descent, was born and raised in Chicago, and grew up speaking fluent Polish.  Danny Pudi’s was able to attend auditions due o his home-based job, and helped him to avoid the terms of waiting tables, temping (to work as a temporary) as a  struggling actor. Before joining the cast of Community, Pudi has performed in several television pilots. He has appeared in multiple television commercials advertising products such as Snickers, Verizon, McDonald’s, T-Mobile and Pokémon. Danny Pudi is married to Bridget Showalter, whom he met during their freshman year at Marquette, together they have twins, James Timothy Pudi and Fiona Leigh Pudi, were born on January 12, 2012.Pudi has completed numerous marathons as a runner.

4)  Noureen DeWulf

Noureen DeWulf is an American actress, best known for her roles in movies such as, West Bank Story, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past and The Back-Up Plan. DeWulf was born in New York City, and grew up in Stone Mountain, Georgia, to parents of Indian Gujarati descent from Pune. DeWulf began her acting career in the West Bank Story, an Academy Award winning short film, playing the lead role of Fatima, a singing and dancing Palestinian cashier who fell in love with an Israeli soldier. DeWulf has appeared in several box-office hit films, including The Back-up Plan and Ocean’s Thirteen. Noureen DeWulf is married to goaltender Ryan Miller of the Buffalo Sabres on September 3, 2011. DeWulf ranked in Maxim Magazine‘s “Hot 100″ as one of the most desirable women on the planet on 2007.

5)  Norah Jones

Norah Jones born Geetali Norah Jones Shankar, born in 1979, in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York, is an American singer-songwriter, pianist, and actress. Nora Jones is the daughter of Pandit Ravi Shankar, an Indian sitar player, and American concert producer Sue Jones. Nora Jones is the half sister of an Indian sitar player and composer, Anoushka Shankar. In 1986, after Jones’ parents’ separation, Jones spent her childhood in Grapevine, Texas, with her mother. Nora Jones was in a relationship for eight years with bassist Lee Alexander from 2000 until their breakup in December 2007. Nora Jones traveled to New Delhi, India, after years of estrangement from her father Ravi Shankar, to spend time with him, and wrote and composed some of the material  for her album, The Fall,  with lyrics supposedly reflecting her relationship with ex=boyfriend, Lee Alexander.

6) Tony Kanal

Tony Kanal born Tony Ashwin Kanal, is a British-born American musician, record producer and songwriter, best known as bassist for No Doubt American rock band. Kanal work as songwriter, producing and musical work outside of the band among others artists such asewish singer and songwriter, reggae singer Elan Atias, and Gwen Stefani his No Doubt bandmate. His father Gulab and his mother Lajwanti “Lajju” are Hindus from India, who emigrated from India to London, England, where Tony Kanal was born. Most of Kanal’s childhood were spent in London, and his family also spent short periods living in Toronto, Canada and Munster, Indiana, before residing permanently in London. However, his family decided to return to United States, when Kanal was age eleven, and settled in Anaheim, California. His parents started their family business, a store named “Kanal’s Gifts and Fashion.” In the later part of 1987, during a party where No Doubt performed, Gwen Stefani tried to kiss Kanal when the two went for a walk. Tony Kanal gave in, and the two began dating secretly. The band became  suspicious of Kanal and Stefani’s relationship, and warned Kanal against dating her, but he denied the relationship. While the band was working on Tragic Kingdom, its third album Kanal broke up with Stefani. Gwen Stefani later explained that Tony Kanal was feeling claustrophobic (fear of restriction and fear of suffocation leading to anxiety disorder) in the relationship since he did not have any previous experience relationships. Stefani stated that the break-up took time because both of them are close friends and Kanal did not want to hurt her. After the break-up,Kanal suggested he will leave the band, but Stefani asked Kanal to stay in the band. Most of the songs on that album were written by Gwen Stefani about the breakup, most notably the hit song Don’t Speak. Kanal married American actress Erin Lokitz or Erin Reese. On January 24, 2011, Erin Lokitz gave birth at age 32, to her first child fathered by Eric Kanal, a daughter, Coco Reese Lakshmi Kanal.

  Jay Sean

Kamaljit Singh Jhooti, better known by his stage name Jay Sean, is a British singer-songwriter, rapper, beatboxer and record producer. Jay Sean debuted in the Asian Underground in the United Kingdom scene as a member of the Rishi Rich Project with Dance with You, reaching No. 12 on the 2003 UK Singles Chart. Sean  ranked number 35 in Billboard’s  Hot 100 Artists is sometimes referred to as a “one-man boy band” and was ranked No. 35 in 2009′s Billboard‘s Hot 100 Artists and referred to as one-man boy band. Jay Sean was born in Harlesden, Northwest London to Punjabi Sikh immigrants, parents Sharan and Bindi Jhooti. Jay Sean, chose this stage name for his music career, Jay as his nickname, and Sean is derived from Shaan, meaning shining star or pride in Punjabi, a nickname he was called at home by his grandmother. In 2009, Sean performed in Justin Timberlake’s charity concert to raise funds for the Shriners Hospital for Children, alongside artists such as Alicia Keys, Taylor Swift and MC Zani, raising more than $9 million, and became one of the highest-earning charity events of the year.

7)  Sendhil Ramamurthy

Sendhil Ramamurthy is an Indian American, best known for his roles as Mohinder Suresh as geneticist in the NBC Sci-Fi drama Heroes and in Covert Affairs, the Action Spy series, as Jai Wilcox. Ramamurthy also appeared in the film Shor in the City, currently played the role of Gabriel Lowen, an assistant district attorney in The CW sci-fi romance series Beauty & the Beast. Ramamurthy was born in Chicago to a Kannadiga father and a Tamil mother, both parent are doctors, who had emigrated from India. Ramamurthy was raised speaking English and Kannada. He and his sister, also a physician were raised in San Antonio. Ramamurthy and comedian and film director Jay Chandrasekhar were cousins. Ramamurthy married actress Olga Sosnovska and together they have two children, daughter Halina and son Alex. In 2012, Ramamurthy played the role as Ravi, Kelly Kapoor’s new boyfriend in the eighth season of The Office. 

8) Mindy Kaling

Mindy Kaling born Vera Mindy Chokalingam, is an American actress, comedian, writer, and producer who played Kelly Kapoor on The Office, a NBC sitcom, and on the created and starring for Fox sitcom, The Mindy Project. Kaling is also a co-executive producer, director and writer of several of the show’s episodes of The Office. Kaling was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to a Tamil father, Avu, an architect and Bengali mother, Swati Roysircar, a gynecologist. Kaling has been nicknamed Mindy ever since her mother was pregnant with her when her parents were residing in Nigeria. Her parents, were already planning to move to the United States and wanted an American name for their daughter, and adopted the name Mindy from Mork & Mindy television sitcom. The name Vera is the name referring to the incarnation of a Hindu goddess. In the new created TV show, The Mindy Project, Kaling’s NBC contract includes a development deal for a new show, in which she appears as an actress and contributes as a writer. This new show makes her own network TV show’s the first South Asian-American woman to be the headliner.

9) Navi Rawat

Navi Rawat born Navlata Rawat, is an American television actress, best known for her roles on the drama series The O.C. as Theresa Diaz and on the drama series Numb3rs as a math prodigy Amita Ramanujan. She is the niece of Prem Rawat (also known as Maharaji and as Guru Maharaj Ji and Balyogeshwar, a native of India who teaches a meditation practice he calls knowledge, and leading the Divine Light Mission (DLM), which has been described as a new religious movement, a religious cult). Navi Rawat was born in Malibu, California to Rajaji Rawat, an Indian father, and Claudia, a German mother, the daughter of the police president of Frankfurt am Main. Navi Rawat grew up in Miami, Florida. Navi Ramcar played the fictional character of Amita Ramanujan, Ph.D from the CBS crime drama Numb3rs. In 2012, Navi Rawat is married to Brawley Nolte, son of actor Nick Nolte, on the Tahiti island.

10)  Sheetal Sheth

Sheetal Sheth is an American actress and producer. Sheth appeared opposite Albert Brooks’s film Looking for Comedy on the Muslim World, debuted in the ABCD films and American Chai,and has appeared in the cult films I Can’t Think Straight and The World Unseen. Sheth has been chosen to be a commercial model to endorse brands as CHI haircare and Reebok, and the first Indian American to appear in Maxim magazine. Sheetal Sheth is born in Phillipsburg, New Jersey, the family’s first generation American. In 1998, her parents emigrated to the United States from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Sheth is the second of three children, has an older sister and a younger brother. During her growing up years, Sheth and her family traveled to Malaysia frequently, and regularly visit their family. Sheth primary language is English,  and can speak Gujarati fluently, and has studied Hindi, Spanish and French. Sheth grew up in the Jain spiritual tradition, and though her parents were devout Jains and active in the local Hindu community, Sheth is enrolled in Catholic school, and attended until 12 years old, because of its focus on academics and tough reputation. Her family moved to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and currently residing there. Sheth was an honor student and excelled and was chosen to participate in the Tisch Scholar’s Program.

11) Sunkrish Bala

Sunkrish Bala born Sunkrish Balasubramanian is an American actor, was born in Bombay, Maharashtra, India and is of Tamil ancestry. In 2002, Bala graduated at Bellarmine College Preparatory, San Jose and in 2006, he graduated from the UCLA school of Theater, Film, & Television. Bala portrayed the role as Eric, on the ABC comedy series, Notes from the Underbelly from 2007 to 2008. Bala is currently a regular cast MTV series I Just Want My Pants Back, playing the role of Bobby. Bala appeared in several cameo roles as Alex television action series CSI:NY, as Jordan in Criminal Minds, as Steve Murphy in Grey’s Anatomy,and as Dr. Max Richards in Harry’s Law.

12)  Janina Gavankar

Janina Zione Gavankar is an American actress and musician, also trained as a pianist, vocalist, and orchestral percussionist. Gavankar is noted for her more notable roles as Papi, a lesbian who obsessively seduces and deceives women in The L World, as Leigh Turner, a cop with a big secret on The Gates, Ms. Dewey, the Microsoft’s anthropomorphism or personification branded search engine who comments about the user’s searches, Shiva, on The League, and as Luna Garza, a shapeshifter in True Blood on HBO television series. Gavankar was born in Joliet, Illinois, to Pete Gavankar, an Indian engineer who went to the United States to pursue a master’s degree. Her mother Mohra Gavankar or Shan de Mohra, emigrated to the US from India, a half-Indian and half-Dutch. In January 2012, Janina Gavankar’s father passed away. It was announced that Gavankar landed a role as vampire Tessa in The Vampire Diaries fifth season on August 3, 2013. In 2006, Janina Gavankar claimed, that she was the first celebrity to use Twitter, signed up on Necker Island, island in the British Virgin Islands, north of Virgin Gorda, owned by Sir Richard Branson, (English business magnate and investor and the 4th richest man of the United Kingdom), famous for his Virgin brand, and part of the luxurious properties of the Virgin Limited Edition portfolio. The entire Necker Island operates like a resort and can accommodate more or less than 28 guests. Gavankar created a free template for actors and artists to help them control their online presence in 2011 and in 2012, she spoke about how she discovered solution for data challenges encountered by actors, using open source tools, at the Suits and Spooks Conference.

13) Rory Cochrane

Rory Cochrane is an American actor,noted for his role as Ron Slater in Dazed and Confused, as Lucas in Empire Records, alongside Jason London and Ben Affleck and as Tim Speedle known by his nickname Speed, on the CBS crime drama CSI:Miami, until the character’s death in the third season opening episode Lost Son. Cochrane was born to an Irish father and Indian mother, actress, Nicki Cochrane in Syracuse, New York. In 1989, Rory Cochrane’s first roles a part in a docudrama about drugs with American journalist, Connie Chung on Saturday Night with Connie Chung, and an appeared in 1990′s episode of H.E.L.P.  Cochrane’s film debut in A Kiss Before Dying, following his first small role n Fathers & Sons as Jeff Goldblum‘s son, and appeared in the film Hart’s War starred by actors Bruce Willis and Colin Farrell. Cochrane has also appeared in the 2006′s A Scanner Darkly, a Richard Linklater film. Rory Cochrane’s role as Tim Speedle recurrence on CSI: Miami in the Bang, Bang, Your Debt, as a hallucination to Detective Eric Delko. Rory Cochrane had a four years  relationship with actress, Renée Zellweger.

14)  Aasif Mandvi

Aasif Mandvi born Aasif Hakim Mandviwala, is an Indian-American actor and comedian. On August 9, 2006, Mandvi, started appearing as contributing correspondent on The Daily Show. On March 12, 2007, Mandvi was promoted to a regular correspondent on March 12, 2007 as Senior Middle East Correspondent, started as contributor. Aasif Mandvi was born in Bombay ( now known as Mumbai) India, to a Muslim family. Mandvi was about a year old, when his family emigrated to Bradford, England, where his father owns a corner shop or a small town store that carries a general line of merchandise, and his mother was a nurse. Mandvi’s father became frustrated with Prime Minister of United Kingdom, Margaret Thatcher’s political style, and the family emigrated to Tampa, Florida, in the United States. At the age of 16, Aasif Mandvi, made his television debut as a doorman at the Biltmore Hotel in the Line of Fire episode of the Miami Vice television series. Mandvi has  appeared in numerous television shows, ER, The Sopranos, Sex and the City, CSI, Oz, Ed, The Bedford Diaries, Jerich, Sleeper Cell, Law & Order various editions, Special Victims Unit, Trial by Jury and Criminal Intent. Mandvi was the book reader for 2005′s Salman Rushdie’s audio editions of Shalimar the Clown, and V.S. Naipaul’s 2004 film Magic Seeds. In 2011, Mandvi appeared in Taco Bell commercials. In 2013, Mandvi was cast in a recurring role on the FOX romantic comedy,TV show Us & Them. Mandvi portrayed a major role as Commander Zhao in M. Night Shvamalan’s film The Last Airbender which was released in 2010.

15)  Maulik Pancholy

Maulik Pancholy born Maulik Navin Pancholy, is an American actor noted for his recurring role on Weeds as Sanjay, and as Jonathan on 30 Rock, voice acting as Baljeet Tjinder in Phineas and Ferb, and during Whitney‘s first season as Neal. Pancholy voice acting as  Sanjay Patel in Sanjay and Craig, the Nickelodeon animated series. Pancholy is of Indian ancestry. Maulik Pancholy attended the Yale School of Drama, and in 1995, he went on to major in Theater at Northwestern University, achieving his bachelor’s degree. Pancholy appeared in cameo roles on Law & Order: Criminal Intent, The Sopranos and The Comeback.

16)  Padma Lakshmi

Padma Lakshmi born Padma Parvati Lakshmi is an Indian-born American actress, model, cookbook author, and television host. In 1999, Lakshmi’s first cookbook Easy Exotic won Best First Book Award at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards. Since 2006, Lakshmi has been the host of Top Chef season 2, the US reality television program, for which she received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program nomination. Top Chef won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Reality-Competition Program in 2010. Padma Lakshmi was born in Chennai, India to a Pfizer executive Indian father, and her Tamil mother, Vijaya, the first wife of her father, was a nurse specializing in suicide prevention. Lakshmi was the only child in this marriage, her parents separated when she was age one. Lakshmi grew up moving between her mother in New York and to her grandparents in Chennai, India. In 1984, Lakshmi was 14 years old, when she was diagnosed with Steven-Johnson Syndrome, which is caused by hypersensitivity to an infection or certain kinds of medications. Two days after Lakshmi was discharge from the hospital, Laksmi was driven home from a Hindu temple in Malibu, where her mother brought her to give thanks for the healing, unfortunately along the way home, she met a car accident in Malibu, California, causing an injury to her right arm requiring her surgery, leaving her a 7-inch scar between her elbow and shoulder. Lakshmi speaks fluent English, Hindi, Tamil, Spanish and Italian language. On April 17, 2004, in New York City, Lakshmi married on April 17, 2004 in New York City to novelist Salman Rushdie, twenty-three years her senior, to whom she was introduced by editor and journalist Tina Brown, at a party in 1999 hosted by Brown. However,  on July 2, 2007, the couple filed for divorce. After years of struggling with endometriosis, a condition that causes pelvic pain and has been associated with infertility, Lakshmi confirmed that she was pregnant on October 1, 2009 but the identity of the baby’s father was not revealed. Lakshmi gave birth to a baby girl named Krishna Thea Lakshmi on February 20, 2010. It was revealed later, that the father of Lakshmi’s daughter was Adam Dell, an American venture capitalist and is the brother of Michael Dell, (founder of Dell Inc., computer manufacturing company). Adam Dell sued Lakshmi  in January 2011, for sole custody of their daughter, until they had an amicable settlement out of court agreement in March 2012, with Adam Dell being granted custody and visitation rights and their daughter’s full name changed to Krishna Thea Lakshmi-Dell. Padma Lakshmi has dated Theodore “Teddy” Forstmann, ex-financier of the late Princess Diana. Teddy Forstmann died from complications from brain cancer on November 20, 2011, and has left an undisclosed sum of money in a trust fund for Krishna, Padma Lakshmi’s two-year-old daughter. According to some source, that despite not being Krishna’s biological father, Forstmann had been, doing the role of father since the moment Krishna was born under his care.

17)  Kumail Nanjiani

Kumail Nanjiani is a Pakistani-American actor and stand-up comedian, born in Karachi, Pakistan, raised Muslim, but became an atheist believer later. Nanjani grew up in Pakistan and at the age of 18 he emigrated to the United States. Nanjiani began his career as comedian in Chicago, and he has performed stand-up comedic performance in several television programs such as the Conan, Late Show with David Letterman and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Nanjiani has appeared in Burning Love and The Colbert Report and he was a staff writer and has also a recurring role on Michael & Michael Have Issues. Nanjiani was named one of the 2009′s Comedy Central’s breakout comedians, alongside Nick Kroll, Whitney Cummings, Donald Glover, Aziz Ansari, Matt Braunger, T.J. Miller, Jon Lajoie and Anthony Jeselnik. In late June 2013 Comedy Central announced that The Meltdown With Jonah and Kumail show, rated high, hosted by Jonah Ray and Kumail Nanjiani, featuring Nerd Melt comedy regulars and various comedians. The comedy show is slated to be aired in early 2014. Nanjiani has a cameo role in the 2013 movie The Kings of Summer, as a delivery man. Kumail Nanjiani is married to Emily V. Gordon. Nanjiani appears regularly on Harmontown, a Dan Harmon’s podcast, where Nanjiani plays a character named Chris de Burgh with Harmon in Dungeons & Dragons.

18)  Aziz Ansari

Aziz Ansari is an Indian-American actor and comedian. He played the role as Tom Haveford on the Parks and Recreation, an NBC show.  Aziz Ansari created and starred in the Human Giant a critically acclaimed MTV sketch comedy show in 2007, which ran for two seasons. Since then, he was noted and been featured in several films such as Funny People, I Love You, Man; 30 Minutes or Less and Observe and Report. Aziz Ansari was born in Columbia, South Carolina, grew up in Bennettsville, South Carolina,  to an Indian Tamil Muslim family from Tamil, Nadu, India. His mother, Fatima, works in a medical office, and his father, Shoukath Ansari , is a gastroenterologist. Although he grew up in a Muslim family, Ansari has described himself as being an atheist. Ansari appeared on Flight of the Conchords, a HBO series  playing the role as a xenophobic (an irrational or unexplained fear of losing identity or fear or hatred towards foreigners or other cultures) fruit vendor who had difficulty telling the difference between Australians and New Zealanders. Ansari had a recurring role as Ed as a hospital’s new intern in ABC sitcom Scrubs  season eight. Ansari’s character was written off the show to allow him to work for Parks and Recreation film.

19)  Sir Ben Kingsley

Sir Ben Kingsley CBE, born Krishna Pandit Bhanji, is an Indian-English actor who has won an Oscar, Grammy, BAFTA, Screen Actors Guild and two Golden Globes awards in his entire career. Kingsley was noted  for his role in 1982′s Gandhi film as Mohandas Gandhi, and won the Academy Award for Best Actor, also noted for his performances in the films 1993′s Schindler’s List, 2000′s Sexy Beast, 2010′s Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, 2011′s Hugo and 2013′s Iron Man 3. In 2000, Kingsley was named a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2000, and in 2002, Kingsley was Knighted by Queen Elizabeth II. Kingsley was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2010. In the movie A Common Man, Kingsley was awarded Best Actor for his role at the Madrid International Film Festival in 2013. Kingsley was born in Snainton, North Riding of Yorkshire, near Scarborough to 1920s to 1930s British actress and model Anna Lyna Mary Goodman and Rahimtulla Harji Bhanji, a medical doctor. Ben Kingsley’s mother was was born out of wedlock, while his father, a Gujarati Indian Ismaili Muslim Khoia ancestry, was born in Kenya. Ben Kingsley’s paternal grandfather was a spice trader who had moved from India to Zanzibar, where his father lived until at age 14, the family moved to Britain. Ben Kingsley has been married four times and has four children,  Thomas Bhanji and artist Jasmin Bhanji, with wife actress Angela Morant. His two other sons from wife theatrical director Alison Sutcliffe, are actors Edmund Kingsley and Ferdinand Kingley. Ben Kingley divorced German-born Alexandra Christmann, in 2005, having been shocked after pictures of wife kissing another man was seen on the Internet. Kingsley married Brazilian actress Daniela Lavender on September 3, 2007, at Eynsham Hall, in North Leigh, Oxfordshire. In 2013, He appeared as villain in the 2013′s Iron Man 3 as The Mandarin, and is the next to appear in the Ender’s Game, a movie adaptation playing as Mazer Rackham. 

20)  Naveen Andrews

Naveen Andrews born Naveen William Sidney Andrews, s a Indian-British actor, noted for his role in the television series Lost as Sayid Jarrah, as Kip in the film The English Patient and as Sanjay in the remake of Rollerball in 2002. Andrews also starred in 1996′s Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love, in 1998′s Mighty Joe Young and in 2004s Bride and Prejudice. Naveen Andrews was born in Lambeth, London, to both Malayali Nasrani immigrants from Kerala, India, the son of Nirmala, a psychologist, and Stanley Andrews, a businessman. At the age of 16, while at Emmanuel School, Naveen Andrews fell in love with Geraldine Feakins, his mathematics teacher, and after seven years living together, they had a son, Jaisal, born in 1992. Andrews was in a relationship with actress Barbara Hershey, and lived together in Los Angeles, however they broke up shortly in 2005 and, during that time, Andrews had another son, Naveen Joshua, with Czech actress, Elena Eustache. Andrews and Hershey reconciled, but separated again six months earlier as announced in May 2010. Andrews has been involved in an ongoing custody battle with Eustache over their son, and on January 7, 2009 Andrews was granted temporary sole legal and physical custody of their son. Andrews has revealed about his addiction to heroin and alcoholism for two years in the mid 1990s. As a hobby, Andrews plays guitar and sings, while tap-dancing to his own tune. On May 27, 2010, Naveen Andrews  became a naturalized US Citizen.

21)  Dev Patel

Dev Patel is a British actor, noted for playing in Danny Bole’s 2008 film Slumdog Millionaire as Jamal Malik, for which he won a numerous awards, such as Critics Choice Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award. Dev Patel is also noted for his role in Skins, as Anwar Kharral, as a British Pakistani Muslim teenager, in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel as Sonny Kapoor, and the role as Neal Sampat in Aaron Sorkin’s The Newsroom HBO show. Dev Patel was born in Harrow, London, to Gujarati Hindu Indians, his mother, Anita, a carer or caregiver, and his father, Raj, an IT consultant. Patel’s parents were born in Nairobi, Kenya, in an Indian community,and during their teens, although both parents do not know each other, Anita and Raj emigrated to Britain,  separately but only first met in London. Dev Patel was raised in the Hindu faith. Since 2009, after the filming Slumdog Millionaire, Patel has been dating his co-star Freida Pinto. 

Freida Pinto

Freida Pinto born Freida Selena Pinto, is an Indian actress and model. Pinto wanted to become an actress from a young age. Pinto worked as a model and television presenter, and acted in plays while attending college before her cinematic debut. Freida Pinto became popular when she played the character as Latika in the 2008 Slumdog Millionaire, a British Indian drama film, marking her debut as an actress. Pinto’s mother, Sylvia, is the principal of St. John’s High School, in Goregaon City in the Raigad district of Maharashtra. north of Mumbai, and her father, Frederick, is a senior branch manager at the Bank of Baroda. Pinto was born into a Mangalorian Catholic family in Mumbai, India. Her surname Pinto is of Portuguese origin as due to her ancestors’ conversion to Catholicism by missionaries. Pinto has an elder sister, Sharon, who is the associate producer of New Delhi Television Limited (NDTV), a news channel. Before Freida Pinto’s film debut, she was engaged to her former publicist Rohan Antao, the relationship ended in January 2009. Pinto started dating her Slumdog Millionaire co-star Dev Patel, and have been living together in Los Angeles since then.

22)  Russell Peters

Russell Peters born Russell Dominic Peters is a Canadian actor and comedian. Peters began performing in 1989 in Toronto, and won in 2008 Gemini Award. Russell Peters was born to Eric Peters, his late father born in Bombay (now Mumbai), India who worked as federal meat inspector, and mother Maureen. Peters was born in Toronto, Ontario, and from the age of four, he was raised in nearby Brampton,Ontario. His only and older brother, Clayton, currently serves as his manager. His family is of Anglo-Indian ancestry and is Catholic. Peters met comedian George Carlin in 1992, one of his biggest influences, who advised him to get on stage whenever and possible. After 15 years, in 2007, Peters hosted one of Carlin’s last shows before his death the following year. In 2004,Peters attributes a performance he did on Comedy Now! the Canadian TV comedy show, which became viral after it was uploaded onto YouTube, as the turning point in his career. His style of stand-up performances are mostly composed of observational comedy, where he used humors to highlight racial, ethnic, class and cultural stereotypes. He always refers to his own experiences growing up in an Indian family and impersonating in his acts various English accents of different groups to poke fun and jokes at each group. On July 10, 2010, Peters proposed to girlfriend Monica Diaz, at the Los Angeles International Airport, and announced their engagement via Twitter. Peters and Diaz married on August 20, 2010 at A Little White Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas, attended by Elvis Impersonator and more or less 2o guests. On December 14, 2010, Diaz gave birth to a daughter, Crystianna Marie Peters. Peters revealed that he and Diaz were divorcing in a March 2012 interview. Peters owns two homes in Los Angeles and lives there. Peters also owns homes in Nevada, Las Vegas and Vaughan, Ontario. Peters earned an estimated $15 million between June 2009 and June 2010, according to Forbes, prior year’s report he was named as one of the highest-paid comedians after earning an estimated $5 million. Forbes ranked Russell Peters as the third highest paid comedian.

Naren Shankar

Naren Shankar is a writer, producer and director of several television series. Shankar as a writer, he has contributed for television series such as CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Night Visions, Farscape, The Chronicle, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, The Outer Limits, seaQuest 2032, and Grimm. After receiving  from Cornell University degrees of B. Sc., M.S. and Ph.D in Engineering, Physics and Electrical Engineering, where he was a member of  The Kappa Alpha Society, Naren joined the team behind Star Trek: The Next Generation. Shankar as a producer, he has worked with Farscape and UC: Undercover, and also, contributed to Doom. Naren Shankar is currently the Executive Producer and Writer of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.

23)  Erick Avari

Erick Avari born Nariman Eruch Avari, is an Indian American actor for theater, film and television, noted for his roles in numerous science-fiction serial productions. Erick Avari is of Parsi ancestry, was born in Darjeeling, West Bengal, India, into an old Parsi-Zoroastrian family of  Himalayan foothills town. He is an Avari-Madan family member of Darjeeling and Calcutta, India. His father Eruch Avari ran two movie theaters namely the Capitol theater and the Rink theater. He attended as a day scholar during his early education was at the North Point School, St. Joseph’s College school division. Avari studied at the South Carolina’s College of Charleston. Erick Avari’s great-grandfather was one of the Indian cinema pioneers, Jamshedji Framji Madan. Avari is best known for his roles in numerous films such as The Mummy, Home Alone 4, Planet of the Apes, Stargate, 2007  Flight of the Living Dead, and Mr. Deeds with Adam Sandler. Erick Avari, along with Alexis Cruz, is the only other actor to appear in both the original casts of  Stargate movie and the Stargate SG-1  spin-off series (3 episodes).

Gabrielle Anwa

Gabrielle Anwar is an English actress, best known for her role as Margaret Tudor on The Tudors, for her role as Fiona Glenanne on USA’s Burn Notice and dancing the tango with Al Pacino in Scent of a Woman. Anwar was born in Laleham, Surrey, to her mother, actress Shirley Hills, of English descent and father, award-winning editor and film producer, Tariq Anwar, was born in Delhi, India, to an Austrian-Jewish mother and Indian father. While Gabrielle Anwar was working on films and television in London, she met American actor Craig Sheffer, and lived with him to Hollywood, in the 1980s to 1990s, and had a daughter together, Willow born in 1993. The couple have co-starred in a numerous American films together, such as The Grave, In Pursuit of Honor, Flying Virus, Turbulence 3: Heavy Metal, Long Lost Son, Water Under the Bridge and Save It for Later.  Anwar made an appearance in the 2008′s Law & Order: SVU episode Inconceivable, as Eva Sintzel, a woman trying to get pregnant through the fictitious Hudson Cryobank. Anwar was married to actor John Verea, with whom she had son, Hugo, and daughter, Paisley, before they finally divorce. Ex boyfriend, Sheffer is godfather to Anwar’s two children from her relationship with Verea. Gabrielle Anwar has been in a relationship with Shareef Malnik, since April 2010.

24)  Vik Sahay

Vik Sahay born Vikram “Vik” Sahay is a Indian-Canadian actor best known for playing a member of the Nerd Herd in the NBC television series, playing the role as Lester Patel. Vik Sahay became a regular cast from the second season, and as Rama in the Roxy Hunter saga. Sahay was born to Indian parents in Ottawa, Canada in September. Sahay learned how to perform Indian classical dance with his brother Sidharth Sahay. Vik Sahay has appeared in numerous films such as Hollow Point, Good Will Hunting, Roxy Hunter and the Mystery of the Moody Ghost, eXistenZ, Rainbow, The Ride, Wings of Hope, Afghan Luke, Amal and The Rocker. Sahay portrayed Lester Patel, in television series Chuck as the Hinjew half of Jeffster!. Sahay has also portrayed a role, in the American Reunion film as Prateek Duraiswamy as Stifler’s boss. Sahay was also a guest star as a murder suspect on the FOX show Bones season 8 episode 13.

25)  Nicki Minaj

Nicki Minaj born Onika Tanya Maraj is a Trinidadian-born American rapper, singer, songwriter, actress, and television personality. was born in Saint James, in a Port of Spain suburb, the capital of Trinidad and Tobago, to parents Carol and Robert Maraj. She is of mixed Indian and Afro-Trinidadian ancestry and has two siblings. Minaj’s mother held different jobs, including an accounting clerk, a foreign exchange teller, and a gospel singer. Her father, Robert, worked for American Express, battled from drug addiction and alcoholism and  attempted to kill her mother one time, by setting their house on fire. After Minaj acting career failed, she worked as a waitress in the Bronx at Red Lobster  at the age of 19. However, she was fired because of her discourteousness to customers. Minaj gained attention when she first appeared on 5 Star Chick of Yo Gotti video, which gave Nicki Minaj mainstream success with the urban community.