Richa Moorjani
American actress
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Richa Shukla Moorjani[1] is an American actress who is best known for her roles as Kamala in the Netflix series Never Have I Ever, and as Indira Olmstead in the fifth season of the American crime drama Fargo.
- Actress
- dancer
Richa Moorjani | |
|---|---|
| Education | University of California, Davis |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2011–present |
| Known for | Never Have I Ever |
Early life and family
Moorjani's family lives in Saratoga, California. She attended Saratoga High School and the University of California, Davis, where she majored in communications with a minor in Dramatic Arts. She graduated in 2011.[1]
Moorjani's family managed a Bollywood music band.[2] Her father is Bhojpuri, from Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India, and her mother is a Kannadiga, from Karnataka, India.[3]
Career
Moorjani's early years as an actress saw her playing guest roles in several television shows including The Mindy Project (directed by Mindy Kaling), NCIS: Los Angeles, and 9-1-1. She also voice-acted in Fallout 76, a 2018 online action role-playing video game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks.
Between 2020 and 2023, Moorjani portrayed Kamala Nandiawada, the main character Devi's cousin, in the Netflix original series Never Have I Ever, which was also co-written by Kaling. She had auditioned for Never Have I Ever through an open casting call.[4] Speaking on playing a woman of color in STEM, she told The Hindu, "I learned about how much women of color in STEM go through. It's a real systemic problem where their names are taken off research papers."[5]
As of late-2021, Moorjani's next project Broken Drawer, directed by Rippin Sindher, has been in post-production. The film is loosely inspired by true events, following a young Sikh mother who was killed while working at her family-owned convenience store in rural California. "Rippin called me and told me how special this role was to her, being based on her mother, and that she couldn't see anyone playing it but me. It turned out to be such a lovely and fulfilling experience," Moorjani told The Hindu.[5]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Love Fool | Sheela | Short |
| 2015 | For Here or to Go? | Journalist at Speed Date | |
| X: Past Is Present | Sanjana | ||
| 2019 | Wolf | Arti | Short |
| 2020 | Invisible Brown Man | Seema Desai | Short |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Mark at the Movies | Party girl | One episode (28 May 2011) |
| 2012 | Big Time Rush | Palmwoods Girl #2 | Episode: "Big Time Surprise" |
| The Mindy Project | Geeta | Episode: "Thanksgiving" | |
| 2013 | Sullivan & Son | Girl #1 | Episode: "Ladies Night" |
| 2016 | The New Yorker: Shorts & Murmurs | Episode: "What I Imagine My Boyfriend's Ex-Girlfriends Are Doing Right Now" | |
| 2017 | NCIS: Los Angeles | Rayna | Episode: "Unleashed" |
| 2018 | 9-1-1 | Jenna | Episode: "Merry X-mas" |
| 2020–2023 | Never Have I Ever | Kamala Nandiwadal | Main role; 34 episodes |
| 2021 | Home Economics | Episode: "Bottle Service, $800 Plus Tip (25% Suggested)" | |
| Immoral Compass | Molly | Episode: "Part 8: Nostalgia" | |
| 2022 | True Story | Fenal | Episode: "Abishek's Story" |
| 2023–2024 | Fargo | Indira Olmstead | Season 5, main role[6] |
| 2025 | Alien: Earth | Zoya Zaveri | 2 episodes |
Video games
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Uncharted: The Lost Legacy | Additional voices | Voice roles |
| 2018 | Fallout 76 | Abigayle Singh, Watoga, Natasha Hunt, and Nari Simir |