Shivaani (or Shivani) Ghai (born 25 April 1975) is an English actress.
Shivaani Ghai | |
|---|---|
| Born | 25 April 1975 Newcastle upon Tyne, England |
| Other names | Shivani Ghai |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
| Relatives | Danny Keogh (father-in-law) |
Early life
editGhai is of Indian origin and was born in Newcastle upon Tyne.[1] She grew up in Gosforth and attended Gosforth High School. Later, she went to university, where she gained a BA in film and television studies.[2]
Career
editGhai began her acting career on the London stage, working for companies such as Man Mela, Rifco and Kali.[3][4] She moved on to television with minor parts in shows such as Doctors, Spooks and The Bill.[2]
In 2003, she was cast as the guest lead in an American adventure series Adventure Inc. alongside Michael Biehn. Later the same year Gurinder Chadha picked Ghai out at a script reading and cast her as the bride and best friend of Aishwarya Rai in Bride and Prejudice.[2][5] After this, Ghai appeared in BBC shows such as My Hero and Sinchronicity, short films, theatre and commercials. In 2006, she was cast as Sarita Dhavi in Rai Uno's Un medico in famiglia,[5] the popular Italian television programme, when an Indian family was added to the show. She played Sarita Dahvi, which was originally to be cast to an Italian actress of Indian descent, but one could not be found. Ghai could not speak Italian but learnt some scenes for her audition. She became part of the first Indian family on Italian television.[1] After this, Ghai travelled to Tunisia to work on the HBO/BBC co-production House of Saddam, where she played Saddam Hussein's middle daughter Rana. The miniseries aired in September 2008.[2][1]
In 2009, Ghai filmed a guest lead as Jamilla Sagar, in a series called Identity, starring Aidan Gillen and Keeley Hawes.[5] She filmed a five-part drama called Five Days II (sequel to Bafta and Golden globe nominated Five Days). She played Nusrat Preston, a character described as being "at the heart of the serial".[6] She was also noted in the press for standing out amongst an ensemble cast that included Suranne Jones, Anne Reid, David Morrissey, Bernard Hill, and Steve Evets.[7][8][9] She played the part of Rena in the film Cleanskin, which starred Sean Bean and Charlotte Rampling. The film was released in 2012.[5]
In 2012, Ghai appeared in EastEnders playing Ayesha Rana, a friend of Zainab Masood.[10] She first appeared on 17 December 2012. She departed from the show on 1 March 2013.[11]
In 2013, she appeared in Ambassadors as Natalia, the head of public relations. She also played the role of Batya in the History Channel's The Bible.
She was part of the main cast of the apocalyptic series Dominion. In 2016, Shivani Ghai appeared in ABC's The Catch as Felicity.
In 2019, she appeared in Strike Back: Revolution as a very wealthy Hindu entrepreneur and one of the main villains of the series.
In 2021, she landed a recurring role on Batwoman as the villain Safiyah Sohail in Season Two.
Personal life
editShe was married to the late British Asian playwright Parv Bancil.[12] In 2014, she met the South African actor Tyrone Keogh on the set of Dominion. They married two years later.[13] They have a son (born 2022).[14]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Day of the Sirens | Amanda Barnes | |
| 2004 | Bride & Prejudice | Bride | |
| 2005 | Red Mercury | Secretary | |
| 2005 | Goal! The Dream Begins | Ground Attendant | |
| 2007 | Road | Jeet | Short |
| 2010 | The Bounty Hunter | Nazia | |
| 2010 | Rojin | Rojin | Short |
| 2011 | Everywhere and Nowhere | Sairah Khan | |
| 2011 | Spirit | Sara | Short |
| 2012 | Cleanskin | Rena | |
| 2013 | Fireflies | Sharmila | |
| 2016 | London Life | Paro | |
| 2016 | London Has Fallen | Amal Mansoor |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Doctors | Joythi | 1 episode |
| 2002 | The Bill | Young Asian Woman | 1 episode |
| 2003 | Adventure Inc | Zeyar | 1 episode |
| 2005 | My Hero | Mother Group Attendee with Baby | 1 episode |
| 2005 | The Camping Trip | Meera | Television short |
| 2006 | Sinchronicity | Shazney | 2 episodes |
| 2007 | Un medico in famiglia | Sarita | 26 episodes |
| 2007 | Domenica in | Herself | 1 episode |
| 2008 | House of Saddam | Rana Hussein | Miniseries: 2 episodes |
| 2010 | Five Days | Nusrat Preston | Miniseries: 5 episodes |
| 2010 | Identity | Jamilla Atwal | 1 episode |
| 2012–13 | EastEnders | Ayesha Rana | 25 episodes |
| 2013 | The Bible | Batya | Docuseries: 1 episode |
| 2013 | Ambassadors | Natalia | Miniseries: 3 episodes |
| 2014–15 | Dominion | Arika | 19 episodes |
| 2016–17 | The Catch | Felicity | 7 episodes |
| 2019 | Strike Back: Revolution | Anjali Vartak | 2 episodes |
| 2021 | Batwoman | Safiyah Sohail | Recurring role; 8 episodes |
| 2021 | Around the World in 80 Days | Aouda | Recurring role |
Awards and nominations
edit| Year | Award | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | British Soap Awards | Sexiest Female | Longlisted | [15] |
References
edit- ^ a b c "Interview: Shivani Ghai – on the first Indian family on Italian TV and Saddam Hussein's daughter". Asians In Media. 28 July 2008. Archived from the original on 6 December 2010.
- ^ a b c d Sonia Sharma (21 December 2012). "Top Eastenders role for Tyneside actress Shivani Ghai". Evening Chronicle. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
- ^ "Dec2000Tehelka".
- ^ Lewis, Barbara (6 May 2005). "Bells". Archived from the original on 11 June 2011.
- ^ a b c d Shivaani Ghai at IMDb
- ^ "BBC – Press Office – Five Days 2 press pack: Character synopsis".
- ^ Watson, Keith (2 March 2010). "Five Days is a crime drama worth the week-long commitment". Archived from the original on 12 September 2017.
- ^ Viner, Brian (2 March 2010). "Last Night's Television – Why Did You Kill My Dad? BBC2; Five Days, BBC1". The Independent. London.
- ^ "It should have been the film for our generation – what went wrong with the Circle?". 20 November 2017.
- ^ Nickie (16 November 2012). "New face on the Square: Ayesha Rana". EastEnders. BBC. Retrieved 16 November 2012.
- ^ Director: Michael Owen Morris; Executive Producer: Lorraine Newman; Writer: Kim Revill (17 December 2012). "Episode dated 17/12/2012". EastEnders. BBC. BBC One.
- ^ Vasani, Anisha (5 December 2012). "Ghai Life". Asiana.tv. Archived from the original on 2 April 2017.
- ^ "Ty Keogh is married! See the gorgeous photos". 9 December 2016.
- ^ Shivaani Ghai (8 June 2022). "I finally get it". Retrieved 26 March 2023 – via Instagram.
- ^ Kilkelly, Daniel (11 March 2013). "British Soap Awards 2013 voting opens, nominations revealed". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 1 November 2013. Retrieved 11 March 2013.
External links
edit- Shivaani Ghai at IMDb
- Shivaani Ghai at Spotlight