TV COLUMN: ARCHIE PANJABI
First-ever Indian to Win Emmy, Best Supporting Actress
Buzzine Bollywood congratulates Archie Panjabi on her first Emmy Award! Claiming one of the highest honors in television, Archie won Best Supporting Actress at the 62nd Emmy Awards in Hollywood for her portrayal of a bisexual private investigator, Kalinda Sharma, opposite Julianna Margulies in CBS’s The Good Wife. The 38-year-old British actress of Indian origin beat out the likes of Rose Byrne (Damages), Sharon Gless (Burn Notice), Christina Hendricks and Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men).
The veteran actor is among the first South Asian actresses to ever claim an award for acting at the top shows, such as the Oscars
or Golden Globes, though it is not the first time she has ever won critical acclaim for her acting skills at an awards-themed program. In 2007, she claimed The Chopard Trophy for a Breakout Performance at that year’s Cannes Film Festival.
Very few visibly minority females, let alone Indians or Asians, have ever taken top honors in an acting category at the Emmys; the last to do so was African-American actress Mary Alice (The Matrix Revolutions, Malcolm X), who was named Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her role in the 1993 dramatic television program I’ll Fly Away.
Isabel Sanford claimed an Emmy for Best Actress in a Comedy Series in 1981 for her portrayal of Louis “Weezy” Jefferson in The Jeffersons. In 1991 Jamaican American actress Madge Sinclair (Coming to America) was named Outstanding Supporting Actress in the dramatic series Gabriel’s Fire.
Hopefully Archie’s victory will be followed with many more diverse actors and actresses claiming similar awards, irrespective of race. Even more ideally, such victories will be discussed more for the actor’s quality of work and less because of the fact he or she were among the first in their respective ethnicities to ever be recognized for what is otherwise qualitative work.
Reportedly accepting the award in an elegant black Tadashi Shoji gown, Archie placed the award and her career in perspective shortly after she was announced the winner.
“When I started in the business in England, just getting a job was a dream. To receive an Emmy now is just beyond my wildest dreams,” she publicly announced. “Working on The Good Wife for me is like a dream come true.”
Born to Sikh parents in West London in 1973, Archie developed quite the acting resume prior to landing her recurring supporting role on The Good Wife. Kicking off her thespian career opposite Bollywood veteran Om Puri in East is East, Archie has also starred in several recognizable productions such as Bend It Like Beckham and The Constant Gardener.
Now married to fellow British actor Raj Nihlipandi, Archie has also starred in A Mighty Heart opposite Angelina Jolie. In that film, she portrayed Asra Nomani, a former Wall Street Journal reporter.
The Emmy Awards are presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and was first awarded in 1949. In the 1970s, a distinction was officially made between Daytime Emmys and Primetime Emmys, with two separate award shows now in rotation.
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