Ellora Patnaik

Ellora Patnaik (born September 5, 1968) is a Canadian actress of film, stage and television as well as an Odissi dancer.

Ellora Patnaik
Born	(1968-09-05) September 5, 1968 (age 56) Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Occupation(s)	Actress and Odissi dancer

Early life

She was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the first child of her parents, Promod and Chitralekha Patnaik; she is seven years older than her brother Devraj Patnaik. Her parents were born in the state of Orissa (now Odisha), India, and immigrated to Canada in the 1960s. Patnaik made numerous trips to India with her family in her youth.

Her parents soon moved to Oakville, Ontario, and then to Burlington, Ontario, where she attended M. M. Robinson High School.

In 1986, she was selected for training by (late) Padma Vibhushan Kelucharan Mohapatra, and went to study at the Odissi Research Centre in Orissa, India.

Dance training

Patnaik's first and primary dance guru was her mother, who began training her as an Odissi dancer from a very young age. She has also received training from such notables as (late) Padma Shri Pankaj Charan Das, (late) Padma Vibhushan Kelucharan Mohapatra, Padma Shri Sanjukta Panigrahi and Padma Shri Gangadhar Pradhan.

Acting

She attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts^{[clarification needed]} from 1992 to 1994 and was a member of the company in her third year.

In 2009, she played Jyoti Mehta, Indie Mehta's mother, in the Canadian television series How to Be Indie on YTV,^[1] she filmed another season in 2010.^{[citation needed]}

Career

Film

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1998	My Own Country	Rajani Verghese
2000	Tapish	Lajwati 'Laji'
2003	Open House	Young Woman
2005	Riding the Bus with My Sister	Girl on Bus
2008	Toronto Stories	Caroline
2008	Statues Come to Life	Statue
2016	Killing Mommy	Detective Morse
2018	Pride, Prejudice, and Mistletoe	Beverly
2020	Kitty Mammas	Helen
2020	Too Close for Christmas	Kim
2021	One Small Visit	Elizabeth George

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2000	The 7th Portal	Imitatia / Anna Nehue
2003	Wild Card	Insurance Adjustor
2004	Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye	Nurse
2006	Billable Hours	Office Worker
2005-2006	True Crimes: The First 72 Hours	Elaine Rupesh / Tara Mulla
2007	The Gathering	Nurse
2008	MVP	Hostess
2009	Being Erica	Erica
2009	The Line	Nikki
2010	Cra$h & Burn	Court Driver
2009-2011	How to Be Indie	Mum (Jyoti) Mehta / Jyoti / Mum Mehta
2011	Degrassi: The Next Generation	Nurse
2012	Beauty and the Beast	Nurse
2016	Orphan Black	Ultra Sound Technician
2016	American Gothic	Dr. Donna Stanhope
2016	Ride	Madhu
2016	Conviction	Dr. Lorraine Martin
2017	The Expanse	Ashanti
2017	Murdoch Mysteries	Padma Bannerjee
2018	Imposters	Dr. Grady
2018	Condor	Tech Female
2018	Guilt Free Zone	Veena
2018	Pride, Prejudice and Mistletoe	Beverly
2018	Coroner	Richie Singh
2019	Talent Drivers	Sex Shop Attendant
2019	The Bold Type	Priya
2019	Titans	Ticket Agent
2019	Hudson & Rex	Deena Roy
2020	Spinning Out	Dr. Latner
2020	Schitt's Creek	Funeral Director
2017-2020	Kim's Convenience	Anjali Mehta
2020	Nurses	Aalia Khan
2020	The Wedding Planners	Deb
2021	Ginny & Georgia	Bhanu
2021	Sort Of	Raffo
2023	Star Trek: Strange New Worlds	T'Pril

Odissi dance teacher

Patnaik has taught Odissi dance since the mid-1980s. In the early 1990s, she took over as the executive director of the Chitralekha Dance Academy.

Theatre work

Year	Title	Role	Theatre	Location
1995	Standing on My Knees	Catherine		New York City, New York
1997	Naga Mandala	Rani	Tarragon Theatre	Toronto, Ontario
2001	Umrao Jaan Ada	Umrao	Rasik Arts
2004	Left	Bobby	Rasik Arts
	Say Goodnight Gracie	Catherine		New York City, New York
	The Heidi Chronicles	Becky/Betsy		New York City, New York
	The Country Wife	Lucy		New York City, New York
	The Seagull	Housemaid		New York City, New York
	The House of Blue Leaves	Little Nun		New York City, New York

See also

• Biography portal
• Ontario portal

• List of Canadian actors
• List of dancers
• List of Indo-Canadians
• List of people from New York City
• List of people from Oakville, Ontario
• List of people from Odisha
• List of people from Toronto

Accolades

Year	Award	Category	Nominee(s)	Result	Ref.
2022	Peabody Awards	Entertainment	Sort Of	Nominated	[2]

References

1. ^{[dead link‍]} "DECODE Strikes How to Be Indie Sales". World-Screen via The TV Realist.com. January 7, 2010. Retrieved September 20, 2010.^{[permanent dead link‍]}
2. Voyles, Blake (September 20, 2023). "83rd Peabody Award Nominees". Retrieved September 20, 2023.

External links

• Ellora Patnaik at IMDb
• Chitralekha Odissi Dance Creations website
• Chandra, Sarat (undated). "Mira Nair's New Girl". odissi.itgo.com. Retrieved October 10, 2013.