Home > Actresses > N > Nagra, Parminder > Biography


Parminder Nagra, who scored with audiences and critics alike this year as a soccer-playing English teenager in the surprise hit film “Bend It Like Beckham,” joined the cast of “ER” as third-year medical student Neela Rasgotra in a decidedly less athletic role.

“She’s somebody who seems astute, very hardworking and keen to learn,“ says Nagra. “I’d also say that I am somebody who is hardworking and keen to learn -- although I do have my lazy days!”

Nagra was born and raised in Leicester, England but her family is originally from the state of Punjab in India. She admits that she had no formal acting training but that it was something she fell in to.

“I didn’t even know if I wanted to become so involved with the business,” says Nagra. “Because it was more of a gradual thing, my parents got used to it.”

“Bend It Like Beckham” was Nagra’s feature-film debut and breakthrough role as a teenage English girl whose unexpected talents on the soccer field – inspired by her idol, international soccer star David Beckham – do not endear her with her traditional Indian family.

Nagra’s other credits include the upcoming film “Ella Enchanted.” She recently completed “Twelfth Night” for UK Channel 4 and also stars in the leading role for the channel’s two-part drama, “Second Generation.” In the United Kingdom, she also appeared in “A&E,” “Donovan Quick” and “Turning World.”

Nagra can speak fluent Punjabi, a bit of Hindi and “various swear words in different languages,” she confesses. She also recently traveled to Calcutta, marking her first trip to India. Among her acting role modes are Holly Hunter, Jodie Foster and Edward Norton. Her birthday is October 5.
(coutesy of NBC)
A distinctly alluring English actress of Indian descent (whose parents emigrated to Britain in the '60s), Parminder K. Nagra received her international breakthrough role as Jesminder "Jess" Bhamra, the lead character of Gurinder Chadha's delightful teenage soccer comedy Bend It Like Beckham (2002). That movie's status as an instant cult hit lifted Nagra sky-high and brought her legions of U.S. fans. She could soon be seen again in stateside cinemas in a warmly received supporting performance as Areida in the adolescent fantasy Ella Enchanted (2004), starring Anne Hathaway. Nagra's next major role was her multi-season portrayal of Dr. Neela Rasgotra (starting in season ten) on the blockbuster prime-time medical drama ER. Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

Browse More Actresses:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z