>Shankydilse at 00:11, 1 July 2021

2021-07-01T00:11:21Z

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{{short description|British actress}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Ayesha Dharker
| image =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1977|3|16|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Mumbai]], [[India]]
| spouse = Robert Taylor (m. 2010)
| children =
| education =
| occupation = Actress
| years_active = 1989–present
| notable_works =
| home_town =
| module = <center>
}}
'''Ayesha Dharker''' (born 16 March 1977) is a British actress, known for her appearance as [[Queen Jamillia]], the Queen of [[Naboo]], in ''[[Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones]],'' and for her stage performances.

Her other film roles include starring as a young woman brainwashed into contemplating becoming a suicide bomber in the [[Tamil language|Tamil]] film ''[[The Terrorist (1997 film)|The Terrorist]]'' (1997), for which she was awarded Best Artistic Contribution by an Actress at the [[Cairo International Film Festival]] and nominated for a [[National Film Award for Best Actress]].{{citation needed| date=July 2019}}

She has also appeared in ''[[Outsourced (film)|Outsourced]]'' and ''[[The Mistress of Spices (film)|The Mistress of Spices]]'', television series such as ''[[Arabian Nights (TV miniseries)|Arabian Nights]]'', and the [[West End theatre|West End]] and [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] musical ''[[Bombay Dreams]]''.

== Family ==
Dharker was born on 16 March 1977 in [[Mumbai]], India.<ref name="TELKOL">{{Cite news |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/culture/the-rise-and-rise-of-ayesha-dharker/cid/1321851 |title=The rise and rise of Ayesha Dharker |last=Roy |first=Amit |date=2016-05-15 |work=The Telegraph (Kolkota) |access-date=2019-07-19}}</ref>

She is the daughter of [[Imtiaz Dharker]], a poet, artist and documentary film-maker, and [[Anil Dharker]], a columnist and an ex-editor of the Indian men's magazine ''[[Debonair (magazine)|Debonair]]''.<ref>[http://www.sawnet.org/whoswho/?Dharker+Ayesha SAWNET: Who's Who: Ayesha Dharker] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160625124009/http://www.sawnet.org/whoswho/?Dharker+Ayesha |date=25 June 2016 }}</ref> Her father is from India and her mother, born in [[Lahore]], was raised in [[Scotland]], United Kingdom.<ref name=TELKOL />

In May 2010 she married Robert Taylor in [[St Giles Cripplegate]], London.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.weddingsutra.com/blog/ayesha-dharkers-london-wedding-2/ |title=Ayesha Dharker's London Wedding |date=30 May 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100603080541/http://weddingsutra.com/blog/index.php/2010/05/30/ayesha-dharkers-london-wedding-2/ |archive-date=3 June 2010}}</ref>

== Career ==
Dharker made her screen debut in the 1989 [[François Villiers]] film ''[[Manika, une vie plus tard]]''. She subsequently went on to star in many American, French and Indian films. She has had many [[television]] roles in the UK, particularly in ''[[Cutting It]]'' and ''[[Life Isn't All Ha Ha Hee Hee]]'', in which she co-starred with [[Meera Syal]].

In the international award-winning film ''[[The Terrorist (1997 film)|The Terrorist]]'' (1999), she played the lead character Malli, a role that earned her a nomination for the [[National Film Award for Best Actress]] in India and the [[Cairo Film Festival]] award for Best Artistic Contribution by an Actress.

Her most internationally recognised role came in 2002 when she played [[Queen Jamillia]], the Queen of [[Naboo]], in ''[[Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones]]''. In the same year she appeared in the critically acclaimed [[Anita and Me]]. Dharker starred in the [[Andrew Lloyd Webber]] musical ''[[Bombay Dreams]]'', both in [[London]]'s West End and on Broadway (2004). She also starred in ''[[The Mistress of Spices (film)|The Mistress of Spices]]'' (2005).

She has appeared in the episode "[[Planet of the Ood]]" of the long-running [[BBC]] sci-fi television series, ''[[Doctor Who]]'' as Solana Mercurio.

In 2006, she played the role of Asha in the film ''[[Outsourced (film)|Outsourced]]''.

In 2008, she played the role of [[Tara Mandal]] in the [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] [[soap opera]] ''[[Coronation Street]]''.<ref>[http://www.itv.com/Soaps/coronationstreet/newsandgossip/Bollywoodactresstojoincast765/default.html Indian actress cast] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080824112543/http://www.itv.com/Soaps/coronationstreet/newsandgossip/Bollywoodactresstojoincast765/default.html |date=24 August 2008 }} ITV</ref>

In 2010, she played doctor's wife Kamini Sharma opposite [[Sanjeev Bhaskar]] in the BBC's comedy drama series ''[[The Indian Doctor]]''.

In 2017, Dharker began playing Nina Karnik in a returning role on long running BBC drama Holby City.

In 2020, she appeared as Dr. Sarai in the ''[[The Father (2020 film)|The Father]]'', which was nominated for an ''[[Academy Award for Best Picture|Academy Award]]''.

'''Audiobooks'''

Narrator for the audio book of [[Brick Lane (book)|Brick Lane]] by Monica Ali (2003).

== Filmography ==

=== Films ===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Film
! Role
! Notes
|-
| 1989
| ''[[Manika, une vie plus tard]]''
| Manika Kallatil
|
|-
| 1992
| ''[[City of Joy (film)|City of Joy]]''
| Amrita H. Pal
|
|-
| 1997
| ''[[Saaz (film)|Saaz]]''
| Kuhu Vrundavan
|
|-
|rowspan=2| 1999
| ''[[Split Wide Open]]''
| Leela
|
|-
| ''[[The Terrorist (1997 film)|The Terrorist]]'' ({{lang-ta|script=latn|Theeviravaathi}})
| Malli
| [[Cairo International Film Festival]] Award for Best Artistic Contribution by an Actress
|-
| 2000
| ''[[The Mystic Masseur]]''
| Leela
|
|-
| 2002
| ''[[Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones]]''
| [[Queen Jamillia]]
|
|-
| 2002
| ''[[Anita and Me]]''
| Daljeet Kumar
|
|-
|rowspan=2| 2005
| ''[[The Mistress of Spices (film)|The Mistress of Spices]]''
| Hameeda
|
|-
| ''[[Colour Me Kubrick: A True...ish Story]]''
| Dr. Stukeley
|
|-
| 2006
| ''[[Outsourced (film)|Outsourced]]''
| Asha Bhatawdekar
|
|-
| 2007
| ''[[Loins of Punjab Presents]]''
| Opama Menon
|
|-
| 2010
| [[Red Alert: The War Within]]
| Radhakka
|
|-
| 2020
| ''[[The Father (2020 film)|The Father]]''
| Dr. Sarai
|
|}

=== Television ===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
| 1991
| ''[[Misteri della giungla nera, I]]''
| Young girl
|
|-
| 1995
| ''[[A Mouthful of Sky]]''
|
|
|-
| 2000
| ''[[Arabian Nights (miniseries)|Arabian Nights]]''
| Coral Lips
|
|-
| 2001
| ''[[Doctors (2000 TV series)|Doctors]]''
| Meena Chauhan
|
|-
| 2002
| ''[[Cutting It]]''
| Sunni Khadir
|
|-
|rowspan=2| 2003
| ''[[Life Isn't All Ha Ha Hee Hee]]''
| Chila
|
|-
| ''[[Doctors (2000 TV series)|Doctors]]''
| Mina Patel
|
|-
| 2005
| ''[[Waking the Dead (TV series)|Waking the Dead]]''
| Mary Sharman
| "Subterraneans" S5:E5&6
|-
| 2008
| ''[[Doctor Who]]''
| Solana Mercurio
| Episode: "[[Planet of the Ood]]"
|-
| 2008–09
| ''[[Coronation Street]]''
| Tara Mandal
|
|-
| 2010
| ''[[The Indian Doctor]]''
| Kamini Sharma
|
|-
| 2015
| ''[[Waterloo Road (TV series)|Waterloo Road]]''
| Yasmeen Khan
|
|-
|2017
|''[[Holby City]]''
|Nina Karnik
|Regular Role
|-
|2021
|''[[Finding Alice (TV series)|Finding Alice]]''
| Tanvi Lal
|
|}

=== Theatre ===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Year
!Title
!Role
!Notes
|-
|1993
| ''Final Solutions''
| Daksha<ref>[https://repository.wellesley.edu/thesiscollection/52 Challenging Religious Communalism With Theatre: Mahesh Dattani’s Final Solutions] Pillai, Sohini,(2012). Honors Thesis Collection, Wellesley College. Retrieved 18 July 2019</ref>
|NCPA
|-
|2001
| ''[[Ramayana|The Ramayana]]''
| Sita
| [[Birmingham Repertory Theatre|Birmingham Rep]]/[[Royal National Theatre]]
|-
|2002
| ''[[Bombay Dreams]]''
| Rani
| Apollo
|-
|2006
| ''[[Doctor Faustus (play)|Doctor Faustus]]''
| Mephistophilis
| [[Bristol Old Vic]]
|-
|2010
|''Arabian Nights''
|Shaharazade
|[[Royal Shakespeare Company]]
|-
|2010
|''Disconnect''
|Vidya
|[[Royal Court Theatre|Royal Court]]
|-
|2013
| ''The Djinns of Eidgah''
|Dr Wani<ref>[https://royalcourttheatre.com/whats-on/the-djinns-of-eidgah-2/ The Djinns of Eidgah] Royal Court Theatre, royalcourttheatre.com. Retrieved 18 July 2019</ref>
|[[Royal Court Theatre|Royal Court]]
|-
|2015
|''[[Othello]]''
|Emilia
|Royal Shakespeare Company
|-
|2015
|''[[Anita and Me#Stage Adaptation|Anita and Me]]''
|Daljit
|Birmingham Rep / Theatre Royal Stratford East
|-
|2016
|''[[A Midsummer Night's Dream]]: A Play for the Nation''
|Titania
|Royal Shakespeare Company
|-
|2016
|''The Island Nation''
|
|Arcola
|-
|2017
|''Hijabi Monologues''
|
|Bush Theatre
|-
| 2018
| ''[[Pericles, Prince of Tyre|Pericles]]''
| Simonida
|Olivier Theatre
|-
|2019
| ''[[Richard II (play)|Richard II]]''
|Aumerle
|[[Sam Wanamaker Playhouse]]
|}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
*{{IMDb name|id=0223499|name=Ayesha Dharker}}
*[https://soundcloud.com/american-theatre-wing/episode8 Ayesha Dharker and Manu Narayan] – ''Downstage Center'' interview at [[American Theatre Wing]].org

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dharker, Ayesha}}
[[Category:1977 births]]
[[Category:British actresses of Indian descent]]
[[Category:Indian emigrants to England]]
[[Category:English film actresses]]
[[Category:English musical theatre actresses]]
[[Category:English radio actresses]]
[[Category:English soap opera actresses]]
[[Category:English stage actresses]]
[[Category:English television actresses]]
[[Category:Actresses from Mumbai]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Indian people of Scottish descent]]

Ayesha Dharker - Revision history

>Shankydilse at 00:11, 1 July 2021