Top 11 Indian Actresses In Hollywood: From Priyanka Chopra To Padma Lakshmi

From Priyanka Chopra's groundbreaking roles to Padma Lakshmi's contributions, these 11 Indian actresses have made their mark in Tinseltown. Here's a look at their journey and impact in Hollywood.

By Seema Sinha

Updated on May 08, 2024 | 07:18 PM IST | 813.5K

Priyanka Chopra (Left) Ritu Arya (Center) Padma Lakshmi (Right) (IMDb)

From Mindy Kaling in The Office to Ritu Arya in Barbie, Hollywood and the audience it serves have come a long way.

Apart from these two powerhouses of talent, over the years, Hollywood has also enjoyed significant contributions from Indian actresses like Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone, Alia Bhatt, and more, hence, here's a list of 11 Indian actresses in Hollywood who have left their mark in Tinseltown by either appearing in supporting roles or leading major projects on their own.

Top 11 Indian Actresses in Hollywood — A recap of their Journey and Impact

11. Padma Lakshmi

Date of Birth: 1 September 1970
Early life: Born in India, Padma Parvati Lakshmi immigrated to the USA when she was a child and was raised in California. She pursued modeling before she embarked on a television career. Besides being an actor, Lakshmi is also a TV host, an author, and an activist.
Notable work in Hollywood: Glitter, Pirates: Blood Brothers, Boom, The Mistress of Spices, and more.

10. Sonal Shah

Sonal Shah (IMDb)

Year of Birth: 1986
Early life: Born to Gujarati Jain parents, Sonal was raised in Wheaton, Illinois. She moved to Los Angeles in 2006 to pursue her acting career, and come 2009, she began appearing on Scrubs as Dr. Sonja ‘Sunny’ Dey.
Notable work in Hollywood: Limitless Love, The Powerpuff Girls, Princess Rehab, Definition Please, and more.

9. Ashley Ganger

Ashley Ganger (IMDb)

Date of Birth: 8 November 2000
Early life: The 23-year-old Indian Canadian actress stepped foot in Hollywood with the 2020 Netflix drama Grand Army and her very first project went on to garner both critical and commercial acclaim.
Notable work in Hollywood: Late Bloomer

8. Tiya Sircar

Date of Birth: 16 May 1982
Early life: Indian-American Tiya Sircar showed interest in dancing and acting from a young age and went on to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Theatre and Dance. Before becoming an actress, Tiya worked in sales at Dell.
Notable work in Hollywood: Master of None, Hannah Montana, The Internship, and more.

7. Ritu Arya

Date of Birth: 17 September 1988
Early life: English-Indian actress Ritu Arya's parents work in real estate. She also has two brothers Romi and Rahul, the latter of whom is also an actor. Beginning her acting career at Southampton University Theater Group, Arya subsequently went on to train at the Oxford School of Drama.
Notable work in Hollywood: Barbie, The Umbrella Academy, Red Notice, The Stranger, and more.

6. Sunita Mani

Sunita Mani (IMDb)

Date of Birth: 13 December 1986
Early life: Born to Usha and Venk Mani from Tamil Nadu, India, Usha gained her early education at Dickson County High School in Tennessee. Before acting, Mani also explored the stand-up comedy scene.
Notable work in Hollywood: Evil Eye, Save Yourselves! Spirited, GLOW, and more.

5. Geraldine Vishwanathan

Geraldine Vishwanathan (Instagram)

Date of Birth: 20 June 1995
Early life: Born in Australia, Vishwanathan, half Indian and half Swiss, broke into Hollywood in 2018 with Blockers, in which she played one of the three teenagers whose parents are poised to stop them from losing their virginity.
Notable work in Hollywood: Cat Person, The Broken Hearts Gallery, The Package, and more.

4. Kosha Patel

Kosha Patel (IMDb)

Date of Birth: 9 September 1989
Early Life: As per her IMDb profile, Kosha is an actress and writer known for acclaimed projects like Grey’s Anatomy, House of Lies, and more.
Notable work in Hollywood: The Newsroom, Trust Fund, Crazy Ex-girlfriend, Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce, and more.

3. Deepika Padukone

Deepika Padukone in XXX (IMDb)

Date of Birth: 5 January 1986
Early life: Born in Copenhagen, Denmark, to badminton prodigy Prakash Padukone, Deepika and her family moved to Bangalore when she was a child. Deepika’s modeling career took off in 2004, and by 2006 she was acting in Kannada films. Her breakthrough Bollywood role came in 2007 in Farah Khan’s Om Shanti Om, opposite Shah Rukh Khan.
Notable work in Hollywood: In 2017, Deepika stepped foot in Hollywood, starring in XXX: Return of Xander Cage opposite Vin Diesel. In the film, she played Serena Unger, a skilled huntress and the former love interest of Diesel's character, Cage.

2. Alia Bhatt

Alia Bhatt in Heart of Stone (IMDb)

Date of Birth: 15 March 1993
Early life: Born in a family with a background in the entertainment industry, Alia Bhatt made her acting debut in Bollywood in 2012 with Karan Johar’s film Student of the Year. Since then, she's gone on to become a national award-winning, as well as a highly commercially successful actress.
Notable work in Hollywood: In 2023, Bhatt made her Hollywood debut with Heart of Stone, opposite Jamie Dornan and Gal Gadot.

1. Priyanka Chopra

Priyanka Chopra in Baywatch (IMDb)

Date of Birth: 18 July 1982
Early life: Priyanka stepped into showbiz following her 2000 Miss World win. After a significant time in the Indian film industry, called Bollywood, Priyanka stepped foot in Hollywood in 2015 via the ABC thriller series Quantico. The Bollywood diva and former Miss World, since then, never looked back in her career. Today, Chopra is not only a recognized Hollywood actress, she has also ventured into producing.
Notable work in Hollywood: Baywatch, Love Again, Citadel, The Matrix Resurrections, and more.