Shabana Azeez

Shabana Azeez (born 9 March 1997) is an Australian actress and voice actress. She has starred in many Australian films and TV series including the 2023 film Birdeater, and became known internationally for her role as medical student Victoria Javadi on the HBO Max medical drama The Pitt (2025–present).

Early life and education Shabana Azeez was born in Adelaide, South Australia to Indo-Fijian parents. She has a younger brother. She was educated at St Aloysius College, an all-girls Catholic school in Adelaide, from 2002 until 2014, where she was a member of the senior debating team and the choir.

Azeez was raised in a household that emphasised the importance of academics.

She undertook a Bachelor of Arts and Media double degree at the University of Adelaide. Azeez also appeared in a comedy band with Varghese. Between acting jobs, Azeez worked as a standardised patient.

Azeez's breakout role was in the 2023 film Birdeater as Irene, who goes on a disastrous bachelor party weekend with her fiancé. Azeez secured her management after Birdeater was shown at South by Southwest in Texas.

In July 2024, it was announced that Azeez had joined the cast of the upcoming HBO Max medical drama The Pitt. Azeez auditioned for The Pitt with a self-taped audition and a subsequent nine-minute-long Zoom call; initially, she did not think she had secured the role. Azeez's character Victoria Javadi (an intelligent young medical student who struggles socially) was not originally written as South Asian, and Azeez also feared her race would negatively impact her success of booking the role. "I remember thinking that it would never happen because they already had a 'brown girl'," she stated, referring to Supriya Ganesh, who played Dr. Samira Mohan. Azeez and Ganesh later became close friends after Azeez moved to Los Angeles for filming. She also learned about gun violence in advance of the first season's mass shooting subplot. With her Pitt co-stars Gerran Howell and Isa Briones, she participated in a "two-week boot camp" where she learned how to perform medical procedures. Before filming season two, she researched post-traumatic stress disorder and toured hospitals and medical schools, interviewing medical students as she did so. She had previously auditioned for the role of Willow.

Azeez stars alongside Hugo Weaving in the SBS series The Airport Chaplain. She plays a single mother named Mira who works in a management role at an airport. Azeez interviewed real airport workers to learn about working in that environment.

In July 2026, it was announced that Azeez will star in Unrequited, directed by Lynn Q. Yu. Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and honors YearAwardCategoryWorkResultRef.2026Actor AwardsOutstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama SeriesThe Pitt