subscribe to newsletter

Poorna Jagannathan is best known for the role of ‘Dr. Nalini Vishwakumar,’ a dermatologist and mother to the central character, ‘Devi Vishwakumar’ in Netflix’s #1 hit comedy series NEVER HAVE I EVER, which is produced by Mindy Kaling. The show just debuted its fourth and final season on Netflix. 

Next up, Poorna wrapped production and will be a lead face in Onyx/Hulu series, DELI BOYS which is produced by Nisha Ganatra, Jenni Konner, and Vali Chandrasekaran. On the feature side, the actress will be seen in Jon Watts’ Apple feature, WOLFS, opposite George Clooney and Brad Pitt (Sept 20, 2024) and feature GOODRICH opposite Michael Keaton/Mila Kunis. 

Additionally, she took a turn as a over-sexualized villain in Happy Madison/Netflix comedy THE OUT-LAWS opposite Adam Devine, Pierce Brosnan, and Nina Dobrev (Summer 2023); as well as, the film adaptation of TURTLES ALL THE WAY DOWN, directed by Hannah Marks for New Line (May 2024, HBO).

Poorna first drew attention for her role in HBO’s Emmy and Golden Globe-nominated show, THE NIGHT OF, opposite Riz Ahmed. Since then, she has had many memorable television roles in shows such as Hulu’s Emmy-winning limited series THE ACT, HBO’s BIG LITTLE LIES, Hulu’s RAMY, and Apple’s DEFENDING JACOB. 

Additional film credits include the A24 feature SHARE directed by Pippa Bianco, which was distributed by HBO after premiering at Cannes, as well as the Bollywood cult film DEHLI BELLY. 

Born in Tunisia, Father was an Indian diplomat, she grew up in Pakistan, Ireland, India, Brazil and Argentina and speaks Tamil, Hindi, English, Spanish and Portuguese. Before her career as an actor, Poorna spent 15 years working in advertising at agencies like TBWA\Worldwide, Ogilvy, and Deutsch Inc. before starting her own consultancy, Cowgirls & Indians.

In 2014, Verve magazine named her among the top 50 most powerful women in India. In 2021 and 2022, she was named among the top 100 Most Impactful Asians by Goldhouse. Jagannathan has also been featured on the cover of Harper's Bazaar, Marie Claire, Femina, Jade and Exotica and covered in numerous publications like Vogue, Elle, Cosmopolitan and Grazia.