Karen Johal[1] (born 13 March 1991) is a British actress. She is best known for playing Nicole Shelley[2] on season 3 of the Apple TV+ television series Ted Lasso (2020).[3][4][5] She gained further recognition for her portrayal of Noreen Khan in the BBC television series Phoenix Rise (2023).[6][7] She is a graduate of The American Academy of Dramatic Arts[8] in Manhattan, New York where she starred on stage for The Public Theater[9] and performed live at Carnegie Hall.[10] In June 2023 she was featured in an national ad campaign for global messaging platform WhatsApp alongside British broadcaster Alex Scott.[11]
Karen Johal was born on 13 March 1991 in Birmingham, England to British parents.[12] She is of Indian descent and has two younger brothers. Johal grew up in Aston and comes from a working class background.[13] She attended St. Clares Primary school in Handsworth[14] and Perry Beeches Secondary School[15] in Perry Barr.[16] At age 16 she enrolled at Birmingham Metropolitan College at the Sutton Coldfield campus, where she received A Levels in English Literature, Psychology, Fine Art and Drama. After finishing college, she began working full time as a retail assistant in Birmingham City Centre and part time at the Birmingham Hippodrome. Whilst working, she auditioned for Drama schools with hopes of studying acting professionally.[17] In 2014, after a successful audition in London, she was accepted into The American Academy of Dramatic Arts and relocated to Manhattan, New York.[18] After graduating in 2016 she was offered a place in the third year program,[19] performing in theater productions of Moira Buffini's Welcome to Thebes, Megan Cohen's Truest[20] and Qui Ngyuen's She Kills Monsters.[21] Johal also starred opposite Scottish actor Alan Cumming in original musical Me and the girls directed by Douglas Carter Beane.[22] The musical was choreographed by Lorin Latarro and featured original music by Noël Coward.[23]
In 2017 Johal starred in the off-Broadway production of Julius Caesar[24] directed by Oskar Eustis[25] at Shakespeare in the park for The Public Theater.[26] Later that year she performed on stage at Carnegie Hall in the premiere of The Journey to America for Orchestra Moderne.[27] The performance was directed by Amy Andersson and composed by Emmy award winning American composer Lolita Ritmanis.[28]
Johal was well received by critics and the performance garnered positive reviews in The Huffington Post[29] and The New York Classical Review.[30]
The following year Johal starred in a number of off-Broadway theater productions including As You like it[31][32] and The 7th Inning stretch for Miles Square Theater in New Jersey.[33] She played a series of leading roles in the short films, Frank's Plan (2018) for Amazon Prime,[34] Man on the Phone (2019)[35] and the YouTube Web series Everyone Else Has (2017).[36]
In 2020, Johal relocated to the UK, due to the global pandemic.[37][38][39] The following year she played the lead role as Una in David Harrower's Blackbird[40] and the role of doctor/therapist in Duncan MacMillan's People, Places and Things. Both productions were regional premieres performed in the city of Lichfield, Staffordshire, UK.[41]
In late 2021 Johal starred in a national Christmas commercial for global retailer TK Maxx.[42] The commercial called "Christmas to the Maxx"[43] was directed by Raine Allen Miller and aired in the UK/ Europe.[44] In Spring 2022 Johal performed at the Sky Comedy Rep festival at The Birmingham Repetory theatre.[45] Sky Comedy Rep is an annual comedy festival, featuring original one-act plays from new playwrights.[46] Writers are paired with mentors throughout the research and development stage. Past mentors have included Meera Syal, Guz Khan and Sanjeev Bhaskar.[47] During the festival Johal was cast in the new play Mismatch written by Ashfaq Gorsi and directed by The Rep's Artistic Director Iqbal Khan.[48] The production was performed across two nights in March 2022 and was hosted by Birmingham Comedian, Daren Elliott.[49]
Later in the year, Johal was cast in the newly commissioned BBC television series Phoenix Rise.[50] The show was written & created by Matt Evans and Perrie Balthazar. Phoenix Rise follows a diverse group of teenagers who have been excluded from a West Midlands school as they begin their first steps back into education.[51] Johal played a recurring role on the series as Noreen Khan.[52] Production took place in Coventry and lasted over six months, filming up until the end of 2022.[53] Season one launched on BBC iPlayer on 21 March 2023[54] and on 12 April 2023 it was confirmed, a second series would be aired later in the year.[55] A third and fourth series has also been commissioned by the BBC.[56][57]
Whilst working on production for Phoenix Rise,[58] Johal auditioned for the role of Nicole Shelley on the hit Apple TV+ series Ted Lasso.[59][60] The award winning television series starring Jason Sudeikis, Hannah Waddingham and Nick Mohammed, began production on its rumoured final season on March 7, 2022.[61][62][63][64]
After an initial audition for Executive Producer, Jason Sudeikis and the casting team at Theo Park,[65] Johal won the role. Season 3, aired on Apple TV+ on March 15, 2023[66][67] and the character of Nicole Shelley was introduced in Episode 7 "The Strings that bind us".[68] Johal played Nicole Shelley, the younger sister of Nathan Shelley, played by Nick Mohammed until the series ended on May 31, 2023.[69]
In June 2023, it was announced that season 3 of Ted Lasso had been nominated for 21 Emmy awards including Best Comedy Series.[70][71]
In January 2024, Johal received a nomination for Outstanding Ensemble in a Comedy Series by The Screen Actors Guild Awards for Ted Lasso.[72][73] The Awards Ceremony is due to take place in February 2024 as it was delayed due to the SAG AFTRA Strike, which ended in November 2023.
Johal was cast in a short film for MTV Entertainment titled The Waves (2023) for The Corner Shop in aid of Women's History Month in March 2023.[74] The short film was directed by Bafta award winning director Sindha Agha[75] and aired on Comedy Central, Paramount, VH1 and all channels owned by the MTV Entertainment Group. The short film was developed in concept, based on a poem by Virginia Woolf.[76] "For pain words are lacking", the focal point of the piece centered around the female body and relation to pain.[77]
In Spring 2023, Johal relocated to Hamburg, Germany to play Zarina in Ayad Akhtar's The Who and the What.[78] The production ran for six weeks at The English Theatre of Hamburg with an all British cast.[79]
The Who and the What directed by Clifford Dean was met with overall positive reviews from the German press.[80] Several media outlets made mention of Germany's previous productions of the play, for its controversial decision to cast white actors as Pakistanti American characters.[81] Akhtar's play has been produced all over the world with notable productions in Vienna, Austria, Denmark and New York.[82]
In June 2023, Johal was approached to star in WhatsApp's global campaign, A Private Message alongside British Broadcaster Alex Scott MBE.[83] The campaign was launched to help promote WhatsApp's new chat encryption services for safe messaging and mental health awareness.[84]
Johal currently resides in the UK.[85]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2018 | Frank's Plan | Kathy | Short Film |
2019 | Man on the phone | Felicity | Short Film |
2023 | The Waves | Woman in Labour | Short Film |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2022 | Ted Lasso | Nicole Shelley | Nominated for Outstanding Ensemble in a Comedy Series[86] |
2022 | Phoenix Rise | Noreen Khan | Currently Filming |
Year | Title | Role | Station |
---|---|---|---|
2021 | Midlands Masala with Gagan Grewal | Guest | BBC Sounds |
2023 | National NDR Radio Hamburg | Guest | NDR |