Zenobia Shroff

American actress From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Zenobia Shroff

Zenobia Shroff (born May 27, 1965) is an Indian-born American actress. Shroff has been an actress, writer, teaching artist and sketch comedian for over 30 years and she is known for her role in the 2017 film The Big Sick,[2] and as Muneeba Khan in the Disney+ TV series Ms. Marvel and The Marvels.

Quick Facts Born, Citizenship ...
Zenobia Shroff
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Shroff in 2018
Born (1965-05-27) May 27, 1965 (age 59)
Bombay, India (present-day Mumbai)
CitizenshipUnited States
EducationCircle in the Square Theatre School
Occupation(s)Actress, comedian
Years active1989–present
Known forMuneeba Khan in Ms. Marvel[1]
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Early life

Shroff grew up in a Parsi family in South Bombay, in what is now known as Mumbai.[3]

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Career

Shroff began her professional career at age sixteen as a commercial print model. After seven successful years as a model, she switched to acting. She got her acting start in Mumbai under the mentorship of Pearl Padamsee. She then moved to study acting at New York City's Circle in the Square Theatre School.[4][5] Soon after, she appeared at the Broadway Castillo Theatre, where she played several roles such as Nora in Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House to German avant-gardist Heiner Müller.[5] She also performed in Erotic Adventures in Venice at the La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club and in Milan Kundera's Jacques and His Master.[citation needed]

2007–2016

In 2007, she was cast as Roxanne in Little Zizou, written and directed by Sooni Taraporevala. For that role she was nominated as best actress at the New York Indian film festival.[6] A few years later, she appeared in When Harry Tries to Marry, an American romantic comedy film. She followed that up with her first Bollywood film, Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu alongside Imran Khan. The film received critical acclaim.[7] Her solo show, Show How to Succeed as an Ethnically Ambiguous Actor premiered at the Planet Connections Festival in June 2016. For that performance she has been nominated as Outstanding Solo Performer.[8]

Shroff has been a lifelong dancer, starting with the classical Indian temple dance, Bharat Natyam for several years and moving onto jazz and modern as a young adult. She is a founding company member of the Shiamak Davar dance company with whom she toured nationally doing musical theatre including playing Anita in West Side Story, Cabaret, and A Chorus Line.[9]

2017–present

She has performed stand-up at the Guild Gallery, the Indo American Arts Council,[10] Don't Tell Mama, UCB and the South Asian International Performing Arts Festival.[citation needed] She went on to perform her show, Show How to Succeed as an Ethnically Ambiguous Actor, with over 30 characters in and off-Broadway at the Castillo Theatre in a full run in the summer of 2017.[11] Also in 2017, she was cast as Kumail Nanjiani's mother in The Big Sick, produced by Judd Apatow. The cast was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Awards in 2018.[12]

She has appeared in the American medical drama series The Resident, American political drama television series Madam Secretary, and a recurring role as Priya Ullah in seasons 4 and 5 of The Affair.[13] In 2020, she voiced one of the many counselors named “Jerry”, in the Disney-Pixar film Soul.

In 2022, she was cast as Muneeba Khan in the Marvel Studios series Ms. Marvel on Disney+. She reprised the role in the 2023 film The Marvels.[14]

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Personal life

She holds a master's degree in Psychology.[15]

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Filmography

Key
Denotes films that have not yet been released

Film

More information Year, Title ...
Year Title Role Notes Refs.
1989 Percy Vera
2008 Little Zizou Roxanne [6]
2010 When Harry Tries to Marry Geeta Shankar [6]
2012 Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu Nicole Braganza [6]
2016 Misaligned Nadia's Mother Short film
2017 The Big Sick Sharmeen [2][16]
2019 (t)here Geeta (Mother) Short film [17]
2020 Save Yourselves! Su's Mom Voice role [18][19]
2020 Soul Counselor Jerry Voice role [20]
2021 7 Days Rita's Mom [21]
2023 The Marvels Muneeba Khan [14]
TBA This Tempting Madness TBA Post-production
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Television

More information Year, Title ...
Year Title Role Notes Refs.
2018–2019 The Resident Himaya Pravesh 3 episodes [16]
2018 The Affair Priya Ullah 6 episodes [16]
2018 The Greatest American Hero Leena TV film
2018 Madam Secretary Indian Prime Minister Vanya Kharti Episode: "E Pluribus Unum" [16]
2022 Ms. Marvel Muneeba Khan Main role (6 episodes) [22]
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References

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