Anjana Vasan

Anjana Vasan ( ; born 31 January 1987) is an Indian-origin Singaporean actress based in the United Kingdom. For her stage work, Vasan has won a Laurence Olivier Award. On television, she stars in the Channel 4 sitcom We Are Lady Parts (2021–2024), for which she was nominated for a British Academy Television Award. Her films include Wicked Little Letters.

Early life and education Vasan was born in Madras (now known as Chennai), India to a Tamil Hindu family and moved to Singapore when she was four years old. She took theatre studies at the National University of Singapore before relocating to the United Kingdom, where she graduated in 2012 with a Master of Arts in Acting from the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama.

Career In 2011, Vasan made her television debut as Lauren in two episodes of the Channel 4 comedy-drama Fresh Meat. After completing drama school the following year, she had small roles in the National Theatre Wales production of The Radicalisation of Bradley Manning, the Royal Shakespeare Company production of Much Ado About Nothing, as well as Golgotha at the Tristan Bates Theatre in London.

Vasan played a witch in Kenneth Branagh's Macbeth at the Manchester International Festival and for its New York run at the Park Avenue Armory. In 2015, she made her feature film debut with a small role in the live-action version of Cinderella.

In 2018, Vasan played Zahra Alsaadi in the Channel 4 sitcom Hang Ups and had a role in the anthology film London Unplugged. She played Rosa in Summer and Smoke at the Almeida Theatre and Duke of York's Theatre, marking her West End debut. This was followed by roles Rutherford and Son at the National Theatre and A Doll's House at the Lyric Hammersmith, the latter of which earned her an Evening Standard Theatre Award nomination.

Vasan starred in the 2020 Riz Ahmed-written and starring drama film Mogul Mowgli. She then reprised her role from the 2018 short Lady Parts as lead guitar player Amina in We Are Lady Parts on Channel 4 in 2021. For her performance, Vasan received nominations at the British Academy Television Awards, Independent Spirit Awards, and Gotham Awards. She also appeared in Joe Wright's Cyrano.

Vasan joined the main cast of the BBC spy thriller Killing Eve for its fourth and final series as Pam. She returned to the stage as Stella Kowalski in the London revival of A Streetcar Named Desire opposite Paul Mescal and Patsy Ferran. The production opened at the Almeida Theatre in 2022 and moved to the West End's Phoenix Theatre in 2023.

Her performance as Stella won Vasan the 2023 Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.

In 2023, Vasan starred in the Black Mirror episode "Demon 79" as Nida Huq, a woman in 1970s Britain who discovers a talisman. She had previously made a brief appearance in an earlier Black Mirror episode, "Nosedive".

She has a role in the comedy film Wicked Little Letters as PC Gladys Moss.

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes Ref. 2013 Macbeth Third Sister National Theatre Live 2015 Cinderella Maid Behind the Beautiful Forevers Manju Waghekar National Theatre Live 2016 A Midsummer Night's Dream Hermia Recording 2017 Double Act Manager Short film The Children Act Kate King Lear Cordelia Recording 2019 Spider-Man: Far From Home Reporter 2020 Mogul Mowgli Vaseem Dara Hira Bai National Theatre Live 2021 Cyrano Sister Claire 2023 Wicked Little Letters PC Gladys Moss 2027 Amri Indira Sundaram Post-production

Television Year Title Role NotesRef. 2011 Fresh Meat Lauren 2 episodes 2016 Call the Midwife Tripti Valluk Series 5, episode 8 2016 Black Mirror Tranquility Space Cop Fan Episode: "Nosedive" 2017 Ill Behaviour Shazia Miniseries 2018 Lady Parts Amina Comedy short Hang Ups Zahra Alsaadi 5 episodes 2019 Brexit: The Uncivil War Interviewer Television film Pls Like Lorna Episode: "Kids" Sex Education Abortion clinic protester Series 1, episode 3 Temple Katie 2 episodes 2021-2024 We Are Lady Parts Amina Main role, 2 series 2022 Killing Eve Pam 7 episodes 2023 Black Mirror Nida Huq Episode: "Demon 79" 2025 Towards Zero Mary Aldin Three-part miniseries Black Mirror Unnamed Player Cameo Role, Episode: "USS Callister: Into Infinity"

Stage Year Title Role NotesRef. 2012 The Radicalisation of Bradley Manning National Theatre Wales, Cardiff Much Ado About Nothing Servant Royal Shakespeare Company Golgotha Loretta Tristan Bates Theatre, London 2013–2014 Macbeth Third Sister Manchester International Festival / Park Avenue Armory, New York 2014 The Taming of the Shrew Tranio RSC tour Behind the Beautiful Forevers Manju Waghekar National Theatre, London 2015 Dara Hira Bai Image of An Unknown Young Woman Leyla Gate Theatre, London 2016 A Midsummer Night's Dream Hermia Globe Theatre, London 2017 Life of Galileo Virginia Young Vic, London King Lear Cordelia Globe Theatre, London 2018 An Adventure Jyoti Bush Theatre, London 2018–2019 Summer and Smoke Rosa/Nellie/Rosemary Almeida Theatre and Duke of York's Theatre, London 2019 Rutherford and Son Mary National Theatre, London A Doll's House Niru Lyric Hammersmith, London 2022–2023 A Streetcar Named Desire Stella Kowalski Almeida Theatre and Phoenix Theatre, London 2024 BRACE BRACE Sylvia Royal Court Theatre, London2025 A Streetcar Named Desire Stella Kowalski Noël Coward Theatre, London / Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York

Audio Goblin Market (BBC) The Man Who Wore Sanitary Pads (BBC) Milady (BBC)

Awards and nominations Year Award Category Work Result Ref.2019 Evening Standard Theatre Award Best Actress A Doll's House 2021 Gotham Award Outstanding Performance in New Series We Are Lady Parts 2022 British Academy Television Award Best Female Comedy Performance Independent Spirit Award Best Female Performance in a New Scripted Series 2023 Laurence Olivier Award Best Actress in a Supporting Role A Streetcar Named Desire Evening Standard Theatre AwardBest Actress 2024 WhatsOnStage Awards Best Supporting Performer in a Play British Academy Television Award Best Actress Black Mirror: Demon 79 2025British Academy Television AwardBest Female Comedy Performance We Are Lady Parts

Discography

Albums, EPs

Too Dark For Country (released 7 October 2017 - EP) Strange Country Jukebox (released 26 July 2021)