# Amrit Kaur (actress)
**Amrit Kaur** (ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤ ਕੌਰ; born 1993) is a Canadian actress, writer, and comedian best known for playing Bela Malhotra on the Max comedy series *The Sex Lives of College Girls* (2021–2025).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6659224) She is a distinct person from the London-based vocalist Amrita Kaur, from the sarangi player and singer-songwriter Amrit Kaur of Studio Richter Mahr, and from the Norwegian politician [Amrit Kaur](https://www.edgepedia.org/amrit-kaur), who led Rød Ungdom.[2](https://www.amritakaurmusic.com/about) • [3](https://studiorichtermahr.com/amrit-kaur/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1993, in Markham, Ontario, Canada[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6659224) • [4](https://mn2s.com/booking-agency/talent-roster/amrit-kaur/) |
| Background | Punjabi Sikh family; parents emigrated from India to Canada before she was born[4](https://mn2s.com/booking-agency/talent-roster/amrit-kaur/) |
| Education | BFA in theater, School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design, York University, Toronto (graduated 2015)[5](https://www.thefilmcollaborative.org/films/img/epk/Press_Kit_The_Queen_Of_My_Dreams_022424.pdf) • [6](https://entertainment.ie/person/amrit-kaur-723108/) |
| Breakout role | Bela Malhotra, *The Sex Lives of College Girls*, 30 episodes, 2021–2025[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6659224) |
| Signature film work | Dual lead (Azra and young Mariam) in *The Queen of My Dreams* (2023); Best Actor in a Feature Film at the 2024 Canadian Screen Awards[5](https://www.thefilmcollaborative.org/films/img/epk/Press_Kit_The_Queen_Of_My_Dreams_022424.pdf) • [7](https://womeninentertainment.ca/the-hollywood-reporter-women-in-entertainment-canada-to-honour-amrit-kaur-with-the-2025-breakthrough-award/) |
| Honors | TIFF Rising Star (2023); Hollywood Reporter Women in Entertainment Canada Breakthrough Award (2025)[8](https://theindianeye.com/2023/09/16/amrit-kaur-is-the-tiff-rising-stars-acting-talent-poised-for-success/) • [7](https://womeninentertainment.ca/the-hollywood-reporter-women-in-entertainment-canada-to-honour-amrit-kaur-with-the-2025-breakthrough-award/) |
| Height | 5′ 6″ (1.68 m)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6659224) |
## Early life and training
Kaur grew up in the [Greater Toronto Area](https://www.edgepedia.org/greater-toronto-area) in a Punjabi Sikh household; her parents emigrated from India to Canada before her birth.[4](https://mn2s.com/booking-agency/talent-roster/amrit-kaur/) • [9](https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/news/amrit-kaur-couldn-t-help-095942537.html) In interviews she has described a conservative household that would have preferred she become a doctor, and a childhood in which the South Asian women she saw onscreen were mostly beauty queens or caricatures.[9](https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/news/amrit-kaur-couldn-t-help-095942537.html) • [10](https://www.bustle.com/entertainment/who-plays-bela-sex-lives-of-college-girls-amrit-kaur-interview)
**Pageants and conservatory.** At 18 she spent a year competing in Canada's beauty pageant circuit, including the Miss World Canada pageant in 2014, saying she believed convincing judges she was beautiful might open a path to acting.[10](https://www.bustle.com/entertainment/who-plays-bela-sex-lives-of-college-girls-amrit-kaur-interview) • [11](https://www.famousbirthdays.com/people/amrit-kaur.html) She then earned a BFA in theater from the School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design at [York University](https://www.edgepedia.org/york-university) in Toronto, graduating in 2015.[5](https://www.thefilmcollaborative.org/films/img/epk/Press_Kit_The_Queen_Of_My_Dreams_022424.pdf) • [6](https://entertainment.ie/person/amrit-kaur-723108/) While studying there she met the teacher Michèle Lonsdale-Smith, whom she credits with redirecting her focus from her looks to her talent; she continues to train at the Lonsdale Smith Studio in Toronto and performs with its production company, Gracemoon Arts Company.[10](https://www.bustle.com/entertainment/who-plays-bela-sex-lives-of-college-girls-amrit-kaur-interview) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6659224)
## Television career
Before her breakout, Kaur appeared in Canadian and American television including *American Gothic* (2016), *Kim's Convenience* (2016), *Star Trek: Short Treks* (2018), *Hudson & Rex* (2019), *[Nurses](https://www.edgepedia.org/nurses-canadian-tv-series)* (2020), and *The D Cut* (2020), a series inspired by the story of a queer hair salon fighting gentrification.[4](https://mn2s.com/booking-agency/talent-roster/amrit-kaur/) • [12](https://press.wbd.com/na/media-release/hbo-max/hbo-max-announces-lead-cast-new-mindy-kaling-comedy-sex-lives-college-girls)
**The Sex Lives of College Girls.** In 2021 she was cast as Bela Malhotra, one of four lead roommates at the fictional Essex College, in the [HBO Max](https://www.edgepedia.org/hbo-max) comedy co-created by [Mindy Kaling](https://www.edgepedia.org/mindy-kaling) and Justin Noble.[12](https://press.wbd.com/na/media-release/hbo-max/hbo-max-announces-lead-cast-new-mindy-kaling-comedy-sex-lives-college-girls) Bela, a comedy-obsessed New Jersey suburbanite determined to reinvent herself, was described in a TIME review as the show's "inevitable breakout".[13](https://time.com/6118591/sex-lives-college-girls-review/) Kaur appeared in 30 episodes across the show's three seasons (2021–2025), and her character's arc culminated in a coming-out story in the season 3 finale in January 2025.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6659224) • [14](https://www.thewrap.com/sex-lives-of-college-girls-season-3-ending-explained/)
On March 18, 2025, Max canceled the series after three seasons, reportedly over ratings; the producing studio, Warner Bros. Television, confirmed the following month that efforts to move the show to a new streaming home, including Netflix, were unsuccessful.[15](https://www.thewrap.com/the-sex-lives-of-college-girls-canceled-max-3-seasons/) • [16](https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/tv-shows/the-sex-lives-of-college-girls-season-4/) The full series later began streaming on Netflix.[17](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/the-sex-lives-of-college-girls-cast-release-date-news?inapp=true)
## Film work
Kaur's feature debut in a leading role came with Fawzia Mirza's *The Queen of My Dreams*, in which she plays two characters: Azra, a queer Pakistani Canadian graduate student in Toronto in 1999, and her mother Mariam as a young woman in 1969 Karachi.[5](https://www.thefilmcollaborative.org/films/img/epk/Press_Kit_The_Queen_Of_My_Dreams_022424.pdf) • [18](https://missflicks.com/2023/10/13/amrit-kaur-on-playing-two-roles-in-the-queen-of-my-dreams/) The film premiered at the 2023 [Toronto International Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/toronto-international-film-festival), competed for the Sutherland Award at the 2023 [BFI London Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/bfi-london-film-festival), and made its United States premiere at SXSW 2024.[5](https://www.thefilmcollaborative.org/films/img/epk/Press_Kit_The_Queen_Of_My_Dreams_022424.pdf) It was shot partly in Karachi under the working title *Me, My Mom, & Sharmila* while season two of *College Girls* was airing; Kaur has described the dual role as connected to her stated aim of making art that teaches South Asian girls they do not have to live a life of oppression.[19](https://www.teenvogue.com/story/new-hollywood-amrit-kaur-interview-2023)
Her subsequent film credits include *Young Werther* (2024, as Melanie), the television movie *Stealing Vows* (2024, as Gina), and the series *Several* (2025, as Katri in four episodes).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6659224)
## Recognition
TIFF named Kaur one of its 2023 Rising Stars, a program for actors on the verge of international impact.[8](https://theindianeye.com/2023/09/16/amrit-kaur-is-the-tiff-rising-stars-acting-talent-poised-for-success/) At the 2024 [Canadian Screen Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/canadian-screen-awards) she received the Best Actor in a Feature Film award for her dual performance in *The Queen of My Dreams*.[7](https://womeninentertainment.ca/the-hollywood-reporter-women-in-entertainment-canada-to-honour-amrit-kaur-with-the-2025-breakthrough-award/) In 2025, The Hollywood Reporter Women in Entertainment Canada announced she would receive its Breakthrough Award, presented in Toronto on May 29; the inaugural award had gone to Karena Evans in 2024.[7](https://womeninentertainment.ca/the-hollywood-reporter-women-in-entertainment-canada-to-honour-amrit-kaur-with-the-2025-breakthrough-award/)
## What has changed since 2023
Kaur's profile has shifted from supporting television work to award-winning leads. The year 2023 brought her first feature lead and the TIFF Rising Star honor; 2024 brought the Canadian Screen Award; and 2025 brought both the end of the series that made her name, after Max's cancellation and a failed search for a new home, and the Hollywood Reporter Canada Breakthrough Award.[8](https://theindianeye.com/2023/09/16/amrit-kaur-is-the-tiff-rising-stars-acting-talent-poised-for-success/) • [7](https://womeninentertainment.ca/the-hollywood-reporter-women-in-entertainment-canada-to-honour-amrit-kaur-with-the-2025-breakthrough-award/) • [15](https://www.thewrap.com/the-sex-lives-of-college-girls-canceled-max-3-seasons/) With the series' arrival on Netflix in 2026, her best-known work has reached a new platform.[17](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/the-sex-lives-of-college-girls-cast-release-date-news?inapp=true)
## References
1. [Amrit Kaur, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6659224)
2. [About, Amrita Kaur (vocalist) official site](https://www.amritakaurmusic.com/about)
3. [Amrit Kaur, Studio Richter Mahr](https://studiorichtermahr.com/amrit-kaur/)
4. [Amrit Kaur, Booking Agent, MN2S](https://mn2s.com/booking-agency/talent-roster/amrit-kaur/)
5. [The Queen of My Dreams press kit, The Film Collaborative](https://www.thefilmcollaborative.org/films/img/epk/Press_Kit_The_Queen_Of_My_Dreams_022424.pdf)
6. [Amrit Kaur, Entertainment.ie](https://entertainment.ie/person/amrit-kaur-723108/)
7. [The Hollywood Reporter Women in Entertainment Canada to Honour Amrit Kaur with the 2025 Breakthrough Award](https://womeninentertainment.ca/the-hollywood-reporter-women-in-entertainment-canada-to-honour-amrit-kaur-with-the-2025-breakthrough-award/)
8. [Amrit Kaur is the TIFF Rising Stars, The Indian EYE](https://theindianeye.com/2023/09/16/amrit-kaur-is-the-tiff-rising-stars-acting-talent-poised-for-success/)
9. [Amrit Kaur Couldn't Help but Be a Mindy Kaling 'Starfucker' on 'The Sex Lives of College Girls', Yahoo](https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/news/amrit-kaur-couldn-t-help-095942537.html)
10. [Who Plays Bela On 'Sex Lives Of College Girls'? Meet Amrit Kaur, Bustle](https://www.bustle.com/entertainment/who-plays-bela-sex-lives-of-college-girls-amrit-kaur-interview)
11. [Amrit Kaur, Famous Birthdays](https://www.famousbirthdays.com/people/amrit-kaur.html)
12. [HBO Max Announces Lead Cast for New Mindy Kaling Comedy, Warner Bros. Discovery Pressroom](https://press.wbd.com/na/media-release/hbo-max/hbo-max-announces-lead-cast-new-mindy-kaling-comedy-sex-lives-college-girls)
13. [If You Like Sex Education, You'll Love Mindy Kaling's The Sex Lives of College Girls, TIME](https://time.com/6118591/sex-lives-college-girls-review/)
14. [Sex Lives of College Girls Season 3 Ending Explained, TheWrap](https://www.thewrap.com/sex-lives-of-college-girls-season-3-ending-explained/)
15. ['The Sex Lives of College Girls' Canceled at Max After 3 Seasons, TheWrap](https://www.thewrap.com/the-sex-lives-of-college-girls-canceled-max-3-seasons/)
16. ['The Sex Lives of College Girls' Season 4: Everything We Know, Marie Claire](https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/tv-shows/the-sex-lives-of-college-girls-season-4/)
17. [Mindy Kaling Comedy The Sex Lives of College Girls Now Streaming on Netflix, Netflix Tudum](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/the-sex-lives-of-college-girls-cast-release-date-news?inapp=true)
18. [Interview: Amrit Kaur on playing two roles in The Queen of My Dreams, MissFlicks](https://missflicks.com/2023/10/13/amrit-kaur-on-playing-two-roles-in-the-queen-of-my-dreams/)
19. [Amrit Kaur Talks Sex Lives of College Girls Season 3 and Finding Her Purpose, Teen Vogue](https://www.teenvogue.com/story/new-hollywood-amrit-kaur-interview-2023)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › Canadian actors › Surnames J to L*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license