Poorna Jagannathan has been captivating audiences worldwide with her exceptional performance as Dr. Nalini Vishwakumar in the Netflix series Never Have I Ever. In the recently premiered season, she portrays a compassionate and understanding mother to her on-screen daughter, Devi, portrayed by Maitreyi Ramakrishnan. If you’re curious to learn more about this talented actress, keep reading.

Born in Tunis, Tunisia, Poorna is the daughter of Vasantha Jagannathan and G. Jagannathan, an Indian diplomat. Growing up, she had the opportunity to experience diverse cultures, living in Pakistan, Ireland, India, Brazil, and Argentina. Her multilingual abilities shine through as she is fluent in Tamil, Hindi, English, Spanish, and Portuguese. During her time in India, she attended Sardar Patel Vidyalaya in New Delhi. Her family hails from Chennai.

Poorna pursued her higher education at the University of Brasília before completing her journalism degree at the University of Maryland, College Park. She later received a scholarship to pursue a Master of Fine Arts in acting at the Actors Studio Drama School at Pace University. While she eventually dropped out after the first year, she continued her acting studies under the guidance of her mentor, Elizabeth Kemp, whom she met during her time there.

Driven by the tragic gang rape and murder that took place in Delhi on December 16, 2012, Poorna took the initiative to produce and act in a powerful testimonial play titled Nirbhaya. The play aimed to shed light on the issue of sexual violence, using the rape and death of Nirbhaya as its focal point.

Poorna has also garnered critical acclaim for her roles in notable films such as the 2011 Bollywood hit Delhi Belly, where she portrayed a spirited and irreverent journalist. Her performance in Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani was also widely appreciated. However, she is perhaps best known for her portrayal of Safar Khan in the HBO drama miniseries The Night Of.

In her personal life, Poorna is married to Azad Oommen, co-founder of Global School Leaders, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving learning outcomes in under-resourced schools across low- and middle-income countries.