Megan Suri
The American actress Megan Suri was born on 28th March 1999, in Downey, California, and is probably best known for her roles in “Never Have I Ever” and “The MisEducation of Bindu”. Unbeknownst to many casual fans, Megan is a huge sports fan who played basketball competitively for six of her childhood years.
Career
Despite various sources claiming that Megan’s debut role was playing Bindu in “The MisEducation of Bindu” in 2021, she earned her first acting credit in 2010, playing Rani in the Garry Marshall romcom “Valentine’s Day”. Five years later, she played Samira in four episodes of comedy series “The Brink”, followed by an appearance as Claire in an episode of “Bones” two years later – also in 2017, Megan appeared in episodes of “Guidance”, “Future Man”, and “Modern Family”. From 2018 to 2019, she portrayed Quinn in four episodes of “Atypical”, a Netflix series following the life of an autistic adolescent named Sam Gardner.
Megan’s breakthrough role as Bindu Chaudry earned her glowing praise and critical acclaim, with the independent comedy film winning the Indiana Spotlight Award at the 2019 Heartland International Film Festival. The leading characters were Bindu’s friend Peter, played by Philip Labes; her other close friend Sam, played by Gordon Winarick; her mother Kasturi Chaudry, in the form of by Priyanka Bose; and her stepfather Bill – David Arquette.
Megan next made minor appearances in “Speechless” and “How to Get Away with Murder”. In 2020, she played Claire in the independent film “Dramarama” and Simryn in an episode of “Fresh Off the Boat”.
The following year, she was cast as Aneesa in the Netflix series “Never Have I Ever”, which helped her reach a wider audience and grow her fanbase. The coming-of-age comedy drama was created by Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher and is reportedly based on Mindy’s childhood experiences. Aneesa Qureshi is an Indian Muslim who joins Sherman Oaks High School in season two of the show, briefly dating one of the main characters, Ben, and becoming acquainted with Devi, the protagonist of the show. The series premiered on Netflix in April 2020 and was described as a watershed moment for South Asian representation in Hollywood, also being praised for breaking Asian stereotypes.
Since winning over thousands of viewers with her role as Aneesa, Megan has continued to work hard with minor appearances in “Mira, Royal Detective” and “Poker Face”, as well as two movie roles.
In October 2021, Neon and QC Entertainment confirmed that they were joining forces to produce the debut feature film “It Lives Inside”, which is written and directed by Bishal Dutta. The film debuted at the 2023 South by Southwest film festival, and is set for release in September 2023 by Neon. The premise of the movie sees Sam, an Indian American high school student who rejects her heritage to fit in, be forced to come to term with her roots when her former best friend is possessed by a demonic spirit known as a Pishach. While writing and directing the movie, Bishal drew on his childhood experiences of being born in India and moving to North America, and his knowledge of Indian demonic mythology.
Of her role as Sam, Megan recently said: “I’m so excited that we’re getting a horror movie based around an Indian American teenager.” According to the actress, she hit it off with Bishal immediately due to their similar experiences; Bishal was born in India and moved to the States, whereas Megan was born in America but lived in India for two and a half years when she was younger. “I understand going to a place and then coming back and having to acclimate into what you think is the way you’re supposed to be,” she added.
As for upcoming projects, Megan is set to star in the upcoming film adaptation of the high school romcom “The Kiss List”. In April 2023, the actress was confirmed to have signed to WME for representation in all areas; the entertainment talent agency represents the likes of Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Christian Bale, and Jennifer Garner to name a few.
Production has wrapped on the feature adaptation of Sara Jo Cluff's YA novel THE KISS LIST, starring Megan Suri and Parminder Nagra.
Directed by Sonía Sebastian and written by Ximena García Lecuona, THE KISS LIST follows a teen who sets out to prove that she is a good kisser. pic.twitter.com/35WA6KcJGo
— Screen Queens (@screenqueenz) April 19, 2022
Personal Life
As a rising star in the entertainment industry, Megan currently has over 500,000 Instagram followers and counting. The beautiful actress has yet to be publicly linked to anyone, and rarely posts personal photos on her social media, preferring to use her platforms to promote her work and showcase her stunning looks at high-profile events.
Fashion is clearly one of Megan’s strong points, as in the last few months she has been sponsored by high-end brands such as Ralph Lauren, Longchamp, and Miu Miu. A modelling or influencing career might just be on the cards for the actress as well, as she is currently promoting Paco Rabanne’s new FAME perfumes and attending a host of fashion and beauty events.
In May 2022, Megan was interviewed by Lindsey Weissmueller of the Casting Society of America. When asked if she had been encouraged or supported in her career by any casting directors in particular, the “Never Have I Ever” star praised Ally Beans and Jeff Greenberg, saying of Jeff: “The atmosphere he created in his office combined with his kind, encouraging energy took away a lot of my anxiety.”
According to Megan, she always enjoyed entertaining her family members, friends, and classmates as a child, but never dreamed that she’d be able to pursue an acting career due to the lack of Indian-American representation in the industry. After performing in her third grade talent show, Megan was enrolled in acting classes by her father, and the rest is history.
To date, Megan’s favorite role has been playing Simryn Patel in an episode of “Fresh Off the Boat”. The actress claimed to have received hundreds of messages from Indian-American kids and adults from around the world, who were happy to see themselves represented in a positive and innovative way – which is something that she herself wished she had been able to see growing up. For now, the California native’s goal is to keep breaking barriers and perfecting her craft.
