# Anjana Vasan (அஞ்சனா வாசன்)
**Anjana Vasan** (Tamil: அஞ்சனா வாசன்; born 1987) is a Singapore-based Tamil actress and singer-songwriter who works in British theater, television, and film. She is known for playing Amina in Nida Manzoor's Channel 4 comedy *[We Are Lady Parts](https://www.edgepedia.org/we-are-lady-parts)*, for which she won a [Royal Television Society](https://www.edgepedia.org/royal-television-society) award and a BAFTA nomination, and for her Olivier Award-winning performance as Stella in *A Streetcar Named Desire* opposite [Paul Mescal](https://www.edgepedia.org/paul-mescal).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4696728/awards/) • [2](https://www.tribute.ca/people/biography/anjana-vasan/83541/) • [3](https://www.whatsonstage.com/stage-names/anjana-vasan)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1987, in Chennai, India, to a Tamil family; moved to Singapore at age four for her father's job in finance[2](https://www.tribute.ca/people/biography/anjana-vasan/83541/) |
| Training | Theatre studies at the National University of Singapore; Master of Arts in Acting from the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, Cardiff[2](https://www.tribute.ca/people/biography/anjana-vasan/83541/) |
| Breakthrough television role | Amina, lead guitarist of an all-female Muslim punk band, in *We Are Lady Parts* (2021); BAFTA nomination and RTS Television Award for Comedy Performance (Female)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4696728/awards/) |
| Signature stage role | Stella in Rebecca Frecknall's *A Streetcar Named Desire* at the Almeida and in the West End, opposite Paul Mescal; Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role[3](https://www.whatsonstage.com/stage-names/anjana-vasan) |
| Other BAFTA nomination | Leading Actress, for Nida Huq in the *Black Mirror* episode "Demon 79" (2024)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4696728/awards/) |
| Music | Singer-songwriter and guitarist; two EPs, *Too Dark for Country* and *Strange Country Jukebox*[2](https://www.tribute.ca/people/biography/anjana-vasan/83541/) |
## Early life and training
Vasan was born in Chennai, India, to a Tamil family. The family moved to Singapore when she was four years old for her father's job in finance.[2](https://www.tribute.ca/people/biography/anjana-vasan/83541/) She attended the [National University of Singapore](https://www.edgepedia.org/national-university-of-singapore), where she took theater studies and has said that students wrote their own plays, performed Shakespeare, and worked on material by local Singaporean writers.[4](https://www.outlookindia.com/art-entertainment/witching-hour-news-291280)
In 2011 she relocated to Cardiff to study at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, where she completed a [Master of Arts](https://www.edgepedia.org/master-of-arts) in acting.[2](https://www.tribute.ca/people/biography/anjana-vasan/83541/) She had never set foot in the United Kingdom before moving there; at her recall audition she appeared by Skype rather than flying back and forth, and afterward she had to look up where Wales was on a map.[5](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2022/dec/04/anjana-vasan-we-are-lady-parts-streetcar-named-desire-interview) She has described Cardiff as "a happy bubble where I could think only about acting and my friends," and said that studying drama helped her get out of her head and find a way to be open.[5](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2022/dec/04/anjana-vasan-we-are-lady-parts-streetcar-named-desire-interview) • [6](https://www.screendaily.com/features/stars-of-tomorrow-2021-anjana-vasan-actor/5163776.article)
## Theatre
**Early stage career.** After drama school Vasan worked mostly in theater. Her credits include *The Radicalisation of Bradley Manning* for National Theatre Wales, the [Royal Shakespeare Company](https://www.edgepedia.org/royal-shakespeare-company)'s *Taming of the Shrew* and *Much Ado About Nothing*, *Behind the Beautiful Forevers* and *Dara* at the National Theatre, *King Lear* and *A Midsummer Night's Dream* at [Shakespeare's Globe](https://www.edgepedia.org/shakespeares-globe), and *Life of Galileo* at the Young Vic.[7](https://www.gatetheatre.co.uk/profile/anjana-vasan-performer/) • [3](https://www.whatsonstage.com/stage-names/anjana-vasan) She also appeared as one of the witches in [Kenneth Branagh](https://www.edgepedia.org/kenneth-branagh)'s *Macbeth*, staged at the Park Armory in New York and on Broadway.[3](https://www.whatsonstage.com/stage-names/anjana-vasan) • [4](https://www.outlookindia.com/art-entertainment/witching-hour-news-291280)
**A Doll's House.** Her pivotal early role came in 2019, when she played Niru, a rechristened Nora, in an adaptation of Ibsen's *A Doll's House* at the Lyric Hammersmith that moved the action to colonial India. The performance earned her an Evening Standard Theatre Award Best Actress nomination.[6](https://www.screendaily.com/features/stars-of-tomorrow-2021-anjana-vasan-actor/5163776.article) • [2](https://www.tribute.ca/people/biography/anjana-vasan/83541/)
**Summer and Smoke and A Streetcar Named Desire.** Vasan played Rosa in director Rebecca Frecknall's revival of [Tennessee Williams](https://www.edgepedia.org/tennessee-williams)'s *Summer and Smoke*, which ran at the Almeida Theatre and transferred to the [Duke of York](https://www.edgepedia.org/duke-of-york)'s Theatre.[3](https://www.whatsonstage.com/stage-names/anjana-vasan) • [8](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/anjana-vasan-black-mirror-streetcar-b2354747.html) She worked with Frecknall again as Stella in *A Streetcar Named Desire* at the Almeida in late 2022, opposite Paul Mescal as Stanley, with the production later transferring to the West End.[5](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2022/dec/04/anjana-vasan-we-are-lady-parts-streetcar-named-desire-interview) • [3](https://www.whatsonstage.com/stage-names/anjana-vasan) The play ran at the Almeida from December 10 to February 4.[5](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2022/dec/04/anjana-vasan-we-are-lady-parts-streetcar-named-desire-interview) Vasan has said that Frecknall strips away expectations and begins simply with the actors' instincts, building the story patiently and rigorously; she noted that there are not many Stellas who look like her, so the story would be surprising and would hopefully feel urgent.[5](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2022/dec/04/anjana-vasan-we-are-lady-parts-streetcar-named-desire-interview)
The production brought two major British theater awards: a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role and an Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actress, both for her Stella.[3](https://www.whatsonstage.com/stage-names/anjana-vasan) Tribute's biography records that both Mescal and Vasan won Olivier awards for their work in the play.[2](https://www.tribute.ca/people/biography/anjana-vasan/83541/) The show later transferred to New York, where Vasan was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Performance in a Play in 2025.[9](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Anjana-Vasan/)
## Television
Vasan made her television debut in 2011 on the British series *Fresh Meat*, followed by small roles in shows including *Temple*, *Hang Ups*, *Ill Behaviour*, *Sex Education*, and *Call the Midwife*.[2](https://www.tribute.ca/people/biography/anjana-vasan/83541/) • [10](https://www.metacritic.com/person/anjana-vasan/)
**We Are Lady Parts.** Her breakthrough came as Amina, the 26-year-old PhD student and loveable, geeky lead guitarist of a punk band formed by young Muslim women, in Nida Manzoor's Channel 4 comedy *We Are Lady Parts* (2021).[6](https://www.screendaily.com/features/stars-of-tomorrow-2021-anjana-vasan-actor/5163776.article) • [11](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/anjana-vasan/) She had reprised the character from Manzoor's earlier short film *Lady Parts*.[12](https://notablepeopleproject.org/anjana_vasan) For the audition, not initially seeing herself as right for a role meant for "someone cool," she realized the character was the nerd who loved folk music; she and another performer had to dance and lip-sync to a track, and at a loss she bit the head off a flower.[5](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2022/dec/04/anjana-vasan-we-are-lady-parts-streetcar-named-desire-interview) The performance brought her a 2022 BAFTA TV Award nomination for Female Performance in a Comedy Programme, a 2021 Gotham Independent Film Award nomination for Outstanding Performance in a New Series, a 2022 Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Female Performance in a New Scripted Series, and a Royal Television Society Breakthrough Award nomination; she won the 2022 RTS Television Award for Comedy Performance (Female).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4696728/awards/) She has described the show's message as embracing your weirdness to make art on your own terms, and noted that the production was made almost solely by women of color.[5](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2022/dec/04/anjana-vasan-we-are-lady-parts-streetcar-named-desire-interview) She appeared as Amina through the series' run to 2024.[12](https://notablepeopleproject.org/anjana_vasan)
**Killing Eve.** In 2022 she played the assassin-in-training Pam in the fourth and final season of *Killing Eve*. She did her own stunts, including a scene in which she jumped into Hampstead Ponds on a freezing day with [Fiona Shaw](https://www.edgepedia.org/fiona-shaw), who had recently broken her knee; both held each other's hands, screaming and giggling through the take.[5](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2022/dec/04/anjana-vasan-we-are-lady-parts-streetcar-named-desire-interview)
**Black Mirror.** In "[Demon 79](https://www.edgepedia.org/demon-79)," the final episode of season six of *Black Mirror* (2023), she starred as Nida Huq, a meek shop assistant who begins killing people with bricks and hammers. The role brought a 2024 BAFTA TV Award nomination for Leading Actress.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4696728/awards/) • [2](https://www.tribute.ca/people/biography/anjana-vasan/83541/) Vasan has connected her roles in *We Are Lady Parts*, *A Streetcar Named Desire*, and *Black Mirror* as characters whose capabilities are underestimated or do not match who they are, adding that she herself is someone people may have underestimated because she is "small, brown and foreign."[8](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/anjana-vasan-black-mirror-streetcar-b2354747.html)
She has also appeared in *Agatha Christie's Towards Zero* as Mary Aldin and in *Only Murders in the Building*.[10](https://www.metacritic.com/person/anjana-vasan/)
## Film
Vasan's screen work includes a small role in Disney's *Cinderella* (2015), *The Children Act*, Joe Wright's musical *Cyrano* with [Peter Dinklage](https://www.edgepedia.org/peter-dinklage) and [Haley Bennett](https://www.edgepedia.org/haley-bennett), and the Queen's Reporter in *Spider-Man: Far From Home* (2019).[7](https://www.gatetheatre.co.uk/profile/anjana-vasan-performer/) • [6](https://www.screendaily.com/features/stars-of-tomorrow-2021-anjana-vasan-actor/5163776.article) • [2](https://www.tribute.ca/people/biography/anjana-vasan/83541/) Her first starring film role was as Vaseem in [Riz Ahmed](https://www.edgepedia.org/riz-ahmed)'s drama *Mogul Mowgli* (2020), which Rotten Tomatoes lists as her highest-rated film at 93 percent.[2](https://www.tribute.ca/people/biography/anjana-vasan/83541/) • [13](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/anjana_vasan) In 2023 she played PC Gladys Moss, a character based on a real person, in *Wicked Little Letters*, alongside Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley; the comedy is based on the true story of women investigating who sent obscene letters to 1920s residents of Littlehampton.[2](https://www.tribute.ca/people/biography/anjana-vasan/83541/) • [8](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/anjana-vasan-black-mirror-streetcar-b2354747.html)
## Music
Outside acting, Vasan plays guitar, sings, and writes songs, and has released two EPs, *Too Dark for Country* and *Strange Country Jukebox*. She has said she writes and releases music as a hobby carried over from the spirit of *We Are Lady Parts*, and during the pandemic lockdown she wrote and released an album.[2](https://www.tribute.ca/people/biography/anjana-vasan/83541/) • [5](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2022/dec/04/anjana-vasan-we-are-lady-parts-streetcar-named-desire-interview) An early profile described her as an actress and blues singer.[4](https://www.outlookindia.com/art-entertainment/witching-hour-news-291280)
## Recognition
In 2021, Screen International named her one of its Stars of Tomorrow.[6](https://www.screendaily.com/features/stars-of-tomorrow-2021-anjana-vasan-actor/5163776.article) Her awards record per IMDb lists one win and six nominations across the BAFTA Television Awards, Gotham Awards, Film Independent Spirit Awards, and Royal Television Society awards.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4696728/awards/) Her Royal Welsh College later made her a Fellow of the college.[14](https://cdn.rwcmd.ac.uk/documents/Graduation/Fellow-Anjana-Vasan-English.pdf) She has said she wants to direct one day, having dabbled with directing and drama coaching as a teenager in Singapore, but that for now there are many more acting roles she wants to explore.[6](https://www.screendaily.com/features/stars-of-tomorrow-2021-anjana-vasan-actor/5163776.article)
## References
1. [Anjana Vasan – Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4696728/awards/)
2. [Anjana Vasan Biography, Tribute.ca](https://www.tribute.ca/people/biography/anjana-vasan/83541/)
3. [Who is Anjana Vasan? Career, theatre and latest news, WhatsOnStage](https://www.whatsonstage.com/stage-names/anjana-vasan)
4. [Witching Hour, Outlook India](https://www.outlookindia.com/art-entertainment/witching-hour-news-291280)
5. [Actor Anjana Vasan: 'We Are Lady Parts is about embracing your weirdness', The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2022/dec/04/anjana-vasan-we-are-lady-parts-streetcar-named-desire-interview)
6. [Stars of Tomorrow 2021: Anjana Vasan (actor), Screen Daily](https://www.screendaily.com/features/stars-of-tomorrow-2021-anjana-vasan-actor/5163776.article)
7. [Anjana Vasan – Performer, Gate Theatre](https://www.gatetheatre.co.uk/profile/anjana-vasan-performer/)
8. [Black Mirror's Anjana Vasan: 'I've been underestimated because I'm small, brown and foreign', The Independent](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/anjana-vasan-black-mirror-streetcar-b2354747.html)
9. [Anjana Vasan (Actor) – Credits, Bio, BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Anjana-Vasan/)
10. [Anjana Vasan, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/person/anjana-vasan/)
11. [Anjana Vasan – Actress, Singer, Songwriter, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/anjana-vasan/)
12. [Anjana Vasan – Notable People Project](https://notablepeopleproject.org/anjana_vasan)
13. [Anjana Vasan, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/anjana_vasan)
14. [Fellow – Anjana Vasan, Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama](https://cdn.rwcmd.ac.uk/documents/Graduation/Fellow-Anjana-Vasan-English.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Theater and dance › Stage practitioners and craft › Acting: theory, technique, and teachers › Acting coaches and training biographies › Overview of acting teaching and coaching*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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