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Nitya Vidyasagar
Born
Nitya Vidyasagar

Muscat, Oman
NationalityAmerican
OccupationActress
Years active2005–present
Known forSesame Street

Nitya Vidyasagar is an American actress best known for her role as "Leela" on Sesame Street from 2008 to 2015.

Early life and education

Vidyasagar was born in Muscat, Oman to Indian Telugu parents and grew up in India at Kolkata, Hyderabad and Bangalore, before moving to the United States in 1995 at the age of 12.[1] She attended the St. Andrew's Episcopal School in Maryland graduating in 2001.[2][3] She received a BFA with Honors in Drama Tisch School of the Arts and a Minor in Music from the College of Arts and Sciences, New York University.[4]

Career

Vidyasagar is the first Indian American cast member of Sesame Street.[5] Leela runs a laundromat next to Mr. Hooper's Store. Sesame Street producers were not looking for an Indian American actress before they cast Vidyasagar,[6] but the show's writers plan to use parts of Vidyasagar's background in certain episodes.[4] Leela is described as "a young Indian American who embraces her heritage and culture".[7]

Vidyasagar is primarily a stage actress. She trained at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting.[8] She received praise for her performance in the drama Selling Kabul, in which she plays a central female character anxious for her brother's safety.[9]

Filmography

Film and television

Year Title Role Notes
2005 Three Short
2008 Sita Sings the Blues Lav, Kush Animated
2008–2015 Sesame Street Leela Series Regular
2009 Split Ends Mehar Manjri Feature film
2010 The Good Wife Frida Verma Season 1 Episode 20: "Mock"
2010 Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps Secretary
2012 Smash Jill Abrams Season 1 Episode 5: "Lets Be Bad"
2015 The Player Medina Raqib Season 1 Episode 1: "Pilot"
2016 Major Crimes Amala Season 5 Episode 1: "Present Tense"
2017 Blue Bloods Dr. Nadia Khan Season 8 Episode 9: "Pain Killers"
2017 Suits Stephanie Patel Recurring
2017 Raksha Archana Short
2018 SEAL Team Meera Nelson Season 1 Episode 12: "The Upside Down"
2018 Mammoth Nitya Short
2019 Velvet Buzzsaw Gita
2019 Troopers Una Recurring
2019 S.W.A.T. Sergeant Wilson Season 2 Episode 21: "Day of Dread"
2019 NCIS: Los Angeles Natasha Season 11 Episode 10: "Mother"
2022 The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window Hillary Episode 4[10]
2022 Station 19 Tabitha Salzman Season 5 Episode 12: "In My Tree"
2022 All Rise Zoya Hameed

Theatre

Year Title Role Notes
Modern Terrorism: Or They Who Want to Kill Us and How We Learn to Love Them Yalda Abbasi Second Stage Theater[11]
The Glorious Ones Armanda Lincoln Center Theater
Serendib[12] Anna Ensemble Studio Theatre
Cecilia's Last Tea Party[13][14] Cecilia Passage Theatre Company
A Midsummer Night's Dream[15] Puck Flux Theatre Ensemble
NINJA: The Musical Janine Desipina & Co
Monetizing Emma[16] Emma Planet Connections Festival
Coney Island Avenue Anna New York Theatre Workshop
2022 Selling Kabul[17] Afiya Ensemble Theatre Company Santa Barbara

References

  1. ^ "Meet Leela, Sesame Street's newest cast member". muppetcentral.com. 3 November 2022.
  2. ^ "VIDYASAGAR '01 SHINES ON THE SCREEN THANKS TO 'SUNNY DAYS'". St. Andrew's Episcopal School - MD. 11 August 2019.
  3. ^ Siskind, Greg. "IMMIGRANT OF THE DAY: NITYA VIDYASAGAR - ACTRESS". ILW.
  4. ^ a b India West profile
  5. ^ Choudhury, Uttara (16 July 2016). "A Passage to Hollywood: How Indian Actors are Storming the US Entertainment Industry". The Wire.
  6. ^ Southern Courier article
  7. ^ "Sesame Street Season 39 press kit". Archived from the original on 2011-04-11. Retrieved 2010-07-23.
  8. ^ "Sesame Street bio". Archived from the original on 2011-07-18. Retrieved 2010-07-23.
  9. ^ Scott, Daisy (10 February 2023). Selling Kabul - A timely story of family & determination. Santa Barbara: VOICE Magazine. p. 21.
  10. ^ Stinson, Katherine (January 28, 2022). "Where Was The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window Filmed?". Distractify. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  11. ^ Isherwood, Charles (18 October 2012). "Funny, but Plotting Havoc Isn't Easy". The New York Times.
  12. ^ "Serendib | TheaterMania". 2 April 2007.
  13. ^ http://www.curtainup.com/ceciliaslastteapartynj.html
  14. ^ Gates, Anita (18 May 2008). "Trenton Tea Party". The New York Times.
  15. ^ Sommers, Michael (2 July 2011). "A 'Dream' Perfectly Suited for the Outdoors". The New York Times.
  16. ^ "免费女人18毛片A级毛片视频,男人添女人下面过程,亚洲综合图色40p,少妇高潮太爽了在线观看图片".
  17. ^ Diamond, Robert. "Photos: First Look At The Cast of SELLING KABUL At Ensemble Theatre Company". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2023-03-18.

External links


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