Parminder Kaur Nagra is a British actress of Indian origin. She was born on 5th October 1975, in Leicester, England. She is most popular for her breakout role in the internationally acclaimed film Bend It Like Beckham.
Parminder Nagra was into youth orchestra and theatrical productions, when she was still in school. At the age of 16, she did a job as a usher in Leicester Haymarket Theatre. When she was doing her A-levels, she was approached by her former drama instructor, Jez Simons to join Hathi Productions, which is a leading British-Indian theatre company.
In the year 1994, Parminder Nagra was cast as a chorus member in a play. But as the fate would have it, the leading actress of the play dropped out and Parminder was asked to fill in her place. She then left for London to pursue her childhood dream of becoming an actress. In 1994, she received her first theatrical job, when she was cast as the princess in the play Sleeping Beauty.
Parminder Nagra then went on to work with small Indian theatre companies like Tara Arts and Tamasha. She was noticed and was offered small roles in TV series like Casualty and TV movies like King Girl. She continued to work in more TV series like Turning Wood in 1997, with Roshan Seth, Donovan Quick, Goodness Gracious Me and Kumars at No. 42. She slowly built her reputation on the television and later dabbled in some plays for the radio.
Parminder Nagra was noticed by famous director Gurinder Chadda, while she played the role of Sita in the stage drama called Oh Sweet Sita in the year 1997. Gurinder Chadda later offered the role of her lifetime in the immensely successful movie Bend It Like Beckham.
This small budget film was very critically acclaimed and was a huge success in the U.K. the movie broke the barriers of the countries and became the highest grossing British comedy in the U.S. history. The success of this British film opened the doors of Hollywood for Parminder Nagra.
The producer of popular TV series ER, John Wells offered her the role of a medical intern, Neela Rasgotra. She received the Tean Choice Award nomination for ER in the year 2004. She has the honor of being a torch bearer as the Olympic Torch passed through London on its way to Athens. Parmider Nagras parents were Sikh immigrants from Punjab in India to U.K.
Parminder Nagra has two younger brothers and a young sister. Her parents separated when she was a child. She was raised along with her siblings in Leicester by her mother and step father. She has her portrait painted by Stuart Pearson Wright in Londons National Portrait Gallery. She was awarded an honorary DLitt from Leicester University in July 2007.
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