Indian American Actress Anjali Bhimani Joins Disney+’s ‘Ms. Marvel’ in Recurring Role
- Written by Bisha K. Ali, “Ms. Marvel” centers on Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani), a Pakistani American teen based in New Jersey.
Actress Anjali Bhimani has joined the cast of Disney+’s “Ms. Marvel” in a recurring role. “Details regarding her character are under wraps,” Deadline reported. Aramis Knight, Matt Lintz, Laurel Marsden, Rish Shah, and Saagar Shaikh also star.
Written by Bisha K. Ali, “Ms. Marvel” centers on Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani), a Pakistani American teen based in New Jersey. She is the studios’ first onscreen Muslim hero. The character of Ms. Marvel first appeared in 2014 as Marvel’s first Muslim character to star in her own title. Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige told Deadline that in addition to appearing on the small screen, Kamala Khan will be included in future Marvel films.
The Cleveland, Ohio-born and Orange County, California-raised Bhimani began performing in school and community theater for most of her young life, according to her website. She went on to earn a degree in theatre from Northwestern University’s theater school, with a certificate in musical theatre.
After leaving Northwestern, she performed at several regional theater companies, eventually moving to New York. She joined the cast of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Bombay Dreams,” going on to take over the role of Bollywood diva Rani in the hit musical. Other collaborations include working with Tony Kushner and Maurice Sendak on their production of “Comedy on the Bridge/Brundibar,” the world premiere of “The Existents,” starring and with music by Ty Taylor, “A Widow of No Importance” by Shane Shakrani, and as Safia Das in playwright D. Tucker Smith’s “Roof of the World.”
On television and film, Bhimani has been seen as Bina on Netflix’s Emmy-nominated series “Special”; Joya on “Alex Inc.”; and tiger mom Nina Patel on ABC’s hit comedy “Modern Family.” Other notable appearances include Marvel’s “Runaways,” “S.W.A.T.,” “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” “Grace and Frankie,” “The Neighborhood Miss India America,” “Silicon Valley,” “Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders,” “NCIS: Los Angeles,” “The Fosters,” Necessary Roughness,” “Law and Order: SVU,” and “The Sopranos,” among others.
She is well known to gaming and animation audiences as the voice of the reality-bending hero Symmetra in Blizzard Entertainment’s wildly popular video game Overwatch. In the gaming community she is also known for her work as the headstrong Mrs. Miriam Landisman on the series Undeadwood and the noble Fy’ra Rai in Exandria Unlimited, produced by Critical Role Studios, and as the hardened sniper Stingray We’re Alive: Frontier by Geek and Sundry.
In 2017, Bhamani created the positivity and life-hacking web series I Am Fun Size on YouTube, a series in which she shares her experiences and interviews other well-known performers in order to help people looking to live fuller, bigger lives. The upcoming companion book, “I Am Fun Size, And So Are YOU!,” will be available this year.