Sarita Choudhury
Choudhury at the 2010Tribeca Film Festival
Born	Sarita Catherine Louise Choudhury Blackheath, London, England
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1990–present
Children	1

Sarita Catherine Louise Choudhury is a British actress. She made her screen debut starring in the romantic drama filmMississippi Masala (1991). She later appeared in American and international film productions, includingA Perfect Murder (1998),Restless (1998),She Hate Me (2004),The War Within (2005),Lady in the Water (2006),Midnight's Children (2012),The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 (2014) andThe Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 (2015),A Hologram for the King (2016), andThe Green Knight (2021).

Choudhury played the leading roles in a number of films, most notably the experimental filmFresh Kill (1994), the historical erotic romanceKama Sutra: A Tale of Love (1996), the dramaFor Real (2009), and the supernatural horror filmEvil Eye (2020). On television, she starred as Mira Berenson in the Showtime thriller seriesHomeland (2011–2017), and as Kith Lyonne in theNetflix superhero series,Jessica Jones (2019). In 2021, Choudhury began starring as Seema Patel in theHBO Max comedy-drama series,And Just Like That....

Choudhury was born inBlackheath, London to English and Bengali-Indian parents.^[1][2] Her father was a scientist, and she grew up in Jamaica and Italy.^[3]

She studied economics and film atQueen's University inKingston, Ontario, Canada, graduating in 1989. Her older brother, Paul Choudhury, also studied at Queen's.^[3]

Choudhury made her big screen debut starring oppositeDenzel Washington in the 1991 romantic drama filmMississippi Masala directed byMira Nair, for which she received herScreen Actors Guild (SAG) card.^[4][5][6] She was still working as a waitress in Manhattan'sEast Village to make ends meet while the film was in theatres.^[5] The film was positively received by critics. After her debut filmMississippi Masala became an art house hit, Choudhury acted as a Pakistani country-western singer in the British comedy filmWild West (1992), a Chilean maid who is raped in Bille August's adaptation ofThe House of the Spirits, and a lesbian mother in the experimental filmFresh Kill directed byShu Lea Cheang.^[7]

After appearing in the American comedy filmThe Perez Family and the made-for-television dramaDown Came a Blackbird in 1995, Choudhury starred as Tara, the Indian princess in the historical erotic romance filmKama Sutra: A Tale of Love (1996) directed by Nair. The film generated controversy at the time of its release and was banned in India due to its erotic theme and sexual content.^[8] The following years, she acted primarily in American productions, notable playing the recurring role on the NBC police drama seriesHomicide: Life on the Street for five episodes during the 1998–99 season as Dr. Kalyani, a medical examiner. In 1998, she appeared in the crime thriller filmA Perfect Murder and the romantic drama filmRestless. The following year, she had a minor role in the thriller filmGloria directed bySidney Lumet. She had recurring roles on the short-lived television dramasDeadline (2000) and100 Centre Street (2001–2002), and later appeared in the comedy filmsIt Runs in the Family (2003) andShe Hate Me (2004).

In 2005, Choudhury starred in the independent political drama filmThe War Within and the following year appeared in the psychological thrillerLady in the Water byM. Night Shyamalan.^[9] In 2007, she played the role of the King's mistress, Helen Pardis, in the NBC short-lived drama seriesKings. The series was based upon the Biblical story ofKing David but set in modern times. Her character's Biblical counterpart wasRizpah, a concubine ofKing Saul. She worked with independent film director Sona Jain in the 2009 drama filmFor Real. In an interview withThe Statesman, she said, "AfterMississippi Masala andKama Sutra I started getting offers in New York... doing theatres... I just went with the flow. One fine day, I thought that I haven't been back to India, haven't shot there and that's something I wanted to. There wereBollywood offers but it was not until Sona's script that made me look at India."^[10] The film had a commercial release in September 2010.

In 2011, Choudhury was cast asSaul Berenson's wife, Mira in the Showtime political thriller series,Homeland. She was promoted to series regular during thethird season.^[11] Along with cast, she receivedScreen Actors Guild Award nomination forOutstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series. AfterHomeland, she co-starred in the romantic comedy-drama film,Learning to Drive (2014), and played Egeria, the Capitol's Minister of Interior inThe Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 (2014) andThe Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 (2015). In 2015–2016, she appeared as the Deputy White House Political Director Sophia Varma in the NBC crime drama seriesBlindspot. In 2016, she starred oppositeTom Hanks in the comedy-drama filmA Hologram for the King.^[12]

Choudhury appeared in the independent filmsThe Last Photograph (2017) andAfter Louie (2018), and was a regular cast member during the third and final season of Hulu drama series,The Path in 2018. In 2019, she starred as Kith Lyonne in the Netflix seriesJessica Jones and the following year appeared in the Hulu miniseriesLittle Fires Everywhere. In 2020, she played the leading role in the supernatural horror filmEvil Eye.^[13][14] She also starred in the Spanish drama filmIt Snows in Benidorm (2020), and appeared in the science fiction dramaAfter Yang andThe Green Knight (2021).

In 2021, Choudhury joined the cast ofHBO Max comedy-drama seriesAnd Just Like That..., aSex and the City revival series.^[15] She plays Seema Patel, a real estate broker who becomes a new friend forCarrie Bradshaw. Choudhury received wide press coverage for her performance in the series.^[16][17] Some of critics dubbed her as "the newSamantha Jones".^[18]The A.V. Club named her the best part of the series.^[19] After herAnd Just Like That... performance, HBO Max announced that Choudhury will be starring and executive producing the family drama seriesThe Colony based on the 2019 filmStray Dolls.^[20]

Choudhury has one daughter named Maria.^[21]

• Indians in the New York City metropolitan area

Wikimedia Commons has media related toSarita Choudhury.

• Sarita Choudhury atIMDb
• Rediff nterview
• Heyoka Magazine nterview with John LeKay
• Eastern Eye Interview

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• 1966 births
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• 21st-century English actresses
• Actors from the Royal Borough of Greenwich
• Actresses from London
• English people of Bengali descent
• English people of Indian descent
• Queen's University at Kingston alumni
• People from Blackheath, London

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