Janina Zione Gavankar (/dʒəˈniːnə ɡəˈvɑːŋkər/; born November 29, 1980)[1][2][3] is an American actress and musician. She is trained as a pianist, vocalist, and orchestral percussionist, and she majored in theatre at the University of Illinois Chicago.[4][5][6] Her roles include Eva “Papi” Torres on Showtime’s The L Word, Shiva on The League, Leigh Turner on The Gates, Luna Garza on HBO's True Blood, McKenna Hall on The CW's Arrow, and Diana Thomas on FOX's Sleepy Hollow. In marketing, she also played "Ms. Dewey", a personified search engine and virtual assistant for Microsoft.[7]
Janina Gavankar | |
---|---|
![]() Gavankar at the premiere of Star Wars: The Last Jedi in 2017 | |
Born | Janina Zione Gavankar November 29, 1980 Joliet, Illinois, U.S. |
Occupation(s) | Actress, musician |
Years active | 2000–present |
Website | janinagavankar |
Early life
editGavankar was born in Joliet, Illinois, to Ganesh "Peter" Gavankar, an engineer from Mumbai, who first travelled to the U.S. to pursue a master's degree, and Shan Demohra "Mohra" Gavankar, of half-Indian and half-Dutch descent from Pune, who also emigrated there from India. [8]
Career
editGavankar has acted in theatre, film, television, and online. Her most notable roles include Iden Versio, a canon Star Wars character and the protagonist of Star Wars: Battlefront II; shapeshifter Luna Garza in True Blood, Papi in The L Word; Ms. Dewey, the personification of a Microsoft live search engine; and Shiva, the namesake of the sought after trophy on The League.[citation needed] She regularly appears in Funny or Die shorts.[9]
In 2006, she joined the cast of The L Word as a series regular and shot all of the clips used for Ms. Dewey.[7] In 2007, she landed a lead role in the CW pilot, Dash 4 Cash.[10] In 2008, Gavankar appeared in the TV series Stargate Atlantis, Grey's Anatomy, NCIS, My Boys, and Factory. In 2009, she appeared in the TV shows The Cleaner, Dollhouse, Three Rivers, and The League, as well as indie films, Men, Interrupted, Indian Gangster, and Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey. Gavankar provided the voice of Nikki in Quantum Quest. She landed another lead role in The Gates, since cancelled, on ABC.[11] She appears on CW's Arrow as a vice squad police officer and brief girlfriend to Oliver Queen.
Gavankar is a gamer[12] and has appeared on, as well as co-hosted, G4 TV's Attack of the Show!, Epileptic Gaming's Up All Night, where she helped review Rock Band, Burnout Paradise, and Army of Two.[13]
In 2011, Gavankar became a series regular in HBO's True Blood as a public school teacher and shapeshifter, Luna Garza, who gets romantically involved with one of the main characters of the series.[14][15]
Her indie film, Satellite of Love,[16] premiered at the Dallas International Film Festival in 2012, and her 2012 indie I'm Afraid of Virginia Wolf is currently in post-production.[citation needed] On December 20, 2012, Gavankar was the last person interviewed for the now cancelled Attack of the Show!, which aired on G4 TV.[citation needed]
On August 3, 2013, Gavankar landed a role as a witch named Qetsiyah in the fifth season of The Vampire Diaries.[citation needed] She guest starred in the third season of Husbands.[17]
In 2014, she starred as Amita in the video game, Far Cry 4.[18] She also played Detective Meredith Bose on The Mysteries of Laura from 2014 to 2016.[19]
She starred as Iden Versio, the main character in the campaign mode of the 2017 Electronic Arts video game, Star Wars Battlefront II.[citation needed]
In 2018, she appeared in two films. Blindspotting premiered at the Sundance Film Festival,[20] and The Vanishing of Sidney Hall was distributed by A24.[21]
In late 2019, Gavankar had a supporting role in the new Apple TV+ series, The Morning Show.
Starting in 2021, Gavankar had a starring role as the antagonist in seasons 2 & 3 of the ABC hit show, Big Sky, playing the sibling in a mafia family.
Music
editGavankar returned to music with a cover of Kanye West's "Love Lockdown".[22] Gavankar's former all-female singing group, Endera, was signed to Cash Money Records Universal Records.[23]
She collaborated on a project for a song called "Tell Me What" in India with Pratichee Mohapatra of Viva, Deep, and Navraaz. She has had songs licensed to films and television and has sung and played marimba on film scores. Gavankar was featured in Russian artist Ella Leya's music video for "Wish I Could",[24] in the music video by San Francisco-based band Recliner for their single "Float Away",[25] as well as the music video for Manu Narayan's band Darunam.[26]
In August 2012, she released the single for her upcoming EP, entitled Waiting for Godot,[27] and in November, Billboard premiered the official music video.[28] It went on to win numerous film festival awards.[29][30]
While in high school, Gavankar auditioned for the front ensemble of the Phantom Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps of Rockford, Illinois. Before hearing whether she had made the corps, she was accepted for the Yale School of Drama's summer camp and went there. "I fell in love with drum corps when I was 13 years old", Gavankar has stated, and remains a strong fan of the activity. When she heard the Martin Garrix/Usher collaboration, "Don't Look Down", she had the idea of performing it as marching music. With assistance from Drum Corps International, she contacted the Jersey Surf Drum and Bugle Corps and arranger Colin Bell. She went into the studios in New York with fifty members of Jersey Surf and recorded the music video "Don't Look Down- #JustAddDrumCorps Edition" that was released in April 2015.[31]
On May 20, 2015, Gavankar performed a percussion duet at Carnegie Hall with Questlove for the Best Buddies charity benefit.[32]
Technology
editGavankar was the first actress to use Twitter, signing up on Richard Branson's computer on Necker Island in 2006.[33][34]
Gavankar was the personification of Microsoft's interactive search engine Ms. Dewey.[7][35]
In 2011, she created a free template for actors and artists to help them control their online presence[36] and in 2012, spoke at the Suits and Spooks Conference about how she discovered a solution for data challenges faced by actors through the use of open source tools.[37]
In 2017, she launched a private discussion forum for members of the games industry.[38]
In 2018, she produced the first narrative film to use the Arri Alexa LF.[39]
Awards
editIn 2008, Gavankar was nominated for an Asian Excellence Award.[41] In 2012, Gavankar received the Gravity Summit Award for Excellence in Social Media.[42]
Filmography
editFilm
editYear | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2000 | Forward Anticipation in Chicago | Corrin | Short film |
2001 | Why Is God... | Mina | Short film |
2002 | Barbershop | Fine Woman | |
2003 | Dark | Kaya | |
2004 | Barbershop 2: Back in Business | Field Reporter | |
2005 | Just Speak | Melody | Short film |
Cup of My Blood | Iona | ||
2008 | Shattered! | Maria | |
2009 | Indian Gangster | Geeta | Short film |
2010 | Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey | Niki | Voice |
Men, Interrupted | Cece Twain | Short film | |
2011 | The Custom Mary | Ms. Rime | |
Victory or Death | Selah | Short film | |
2012 | Satellite of Love | Michelle | |
2013 | Who's Afraid of Vagina Wolf? | Katia Amour / The Stud | |
The Final Moments of Karl Brant | Detective Hostetler | Short film | |
2014 | Code Academy | Madame Counselor | |
Think Like a Man Too | Vanessa | ||
2016 | Pee-wee's Big Holiday | Party Guest | |
2017 | The Vanishing of Sidney Hall | Gina | |
2018 | Blindspotting | Val | |
The White Orchid | Tina | ||
2019 | Stucco | J | Short film Also director, writer and producer |
2020 | The Way Back | Angela | |
2021 | Encounter | Piya | |
2024 | Borderlands | Commander Knoxx | |
TBA | Cortex | Sama | Post-production |
Television
editYear | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2004 | Strong Medicine | Nurse Juni | Episode: "Omissions" |
2007–2009 | The L Word | Eva "Papi" Torres | 12 episodes |
2008 | My Boys | Terri | Episode: "The Transitioning" |
Stargate Atlantis | Sergeant "Dusty" Mehra | Episode: "Whispers" | |
Grey's Anatomy | Intern Lisa | 2 episodes | |
2009 | NCIS | Angela Lopez | Episode: "Caged" |
Dollhouse | Lynn | Episode: "Epitaph One" | |
The Cleaner | Usha Patel | 2 episodes | |
Three Rivers | Ada Rahimi | Episode: "Place of Life" | |
2009–2015 | The League | Shiva | 10 episodes |
2010 | The Gates | Leigh Turner | 13 episodes |
2011 | Traffic Light | Alexa | 3 episodes |
2011–2013 | True Blood | Luna Garza | 25 episodes |
2012 | The Exes | Kerry | Episode: "My Dinner with Phil" |
Choke.Kick.Girl: The Series | Katie | Episode: "Hammerfist, Knee, Guillotine Fiend" | |
2013 | Love Is Dead | Marisol Rajagopal | Television film |
Arrow | Detective McKenna Hall | 4 episodes | |
The Goodwin Games | Hannah | Episode: "The Birds of Granby" | |
Just Face It | Ava | Miniseries | |
Husbands | Kajal | Episode: "I Dream of Cleaning" | |
The Vampire Diaries | Qetsiyah / Tessa | 4 episodes | |
2014 | Nikki & Nora: The N&N Files | Lea Sadina | 4 episodes |
Garfunkel and Oates | Dr. Sharma | Episode: "Third Member" | |
2014–2016 | The Mysteries of Laura | Meredith Bose | 38 episodes |
2015 | The History of Us | Sabrina | Television film |
2017 | Sleepy Hollow | Diana Thomas[43] | 13 episodes |
2018 | Hell's Kitchen | Herself (guest) | Episode: "Stars Heating Up Hell" |
2019 | Relics and Rarities | Mumeé | 2 episodes |
You're The Worst | Rachel | Episode: "Zero Eggplants" | |
Better Things | Nikki | 2 episodes | |
2019–2021 | The Morning Show | Alison Namazi | 15 episodes |
2020 | Space Force | Hannah Howard | Episode: "Edison Jaymes" |
2020–2022 | The Mighty Ones | Kensington | Voice, 29 episodes |
2021–2022 | Big Sky | Ren Bhullar | 18 episodes |
2022 | The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window | Meredith | 2 episodes[44] |
Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi | Pav-ti | Voice, episode: "Life and Death"[45] | |
2023 | Never Have I Ever | Akshara | Episodes: "...wrecked my future" and "...gone to prom" |
Video games
editYear | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2014 | Far Cry 4 | Amita | |
2017 | Horizon Zero Dawn | Tatai | Also The Frozen Wilds DLC |
Star Wars Battlefront II | Iden Versio | Voice and motion capture | |
2019 | Afterparty | Lola | |
2022 | God of War Ragnarök | Sinmara | Largely cut from the game's storyline; present in files[46] |
2023 | Forspoken | Tanta Sila | Voice and motion capture[47] |
2023 | Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical | Freddie | |
Alan Wake II | Agent Estevez | [48] |
Audiobooks
editYear | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2017 | Star Wars Battlefront II: Inferno Squad | Narrator[49] | |
2019 | Randomize: Forward[50] | Short story |
Crew work
editYear | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2020 | The Mandalorian | Assistant Puppeteer[51] | Uncredited Episode: "Chapter 11: The Heiress" |
References
edit- ^ "Janina Gavankar — Shape shifting Stunner". FHM. Archived from the original on June 26, 2012. Retrieved June 25, 2012.
- ^ "Stephen Moyer is Such A Proud Father". Us Weekly. Retrieved June 27, 2012.
- ^ "Desi designer wear at Grammys red carpet". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on January 25, 2013. Retrieved June 27, 2012.
- ^ Nguyen, Bernie (November 6, 2006). "Ask Janina". Nirali Magazine. p. Arts. Archived from the original on January 22, 2007. Retrieved January 28, 2007.
- ^ Swartz, Shauna (January 4, 2007). "Interview With The L Word's Janina Gavankar". AfterEllen.com. Viacom International Inc. Archived from the original on May 12, 2007. Retrieved May 21, 2007.
- ^ "Recent Grads Find Success". UIC Alumni. September–October 2004. Retrieved November 10, 2006.
- ^ a b c Sweeney, Miriam E. (2013). "Not just a pretty (inter)face: A critical analysis of Microsoft's 'Ms. Dewey'" (PDF). University of Illinois. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 2, 2020. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
As one of my co-workers typed in different words and phrases, the "Ms. Dewey" character (pre-recorded film footage of actress, Janina Gavankar) engages in flirtatious banter, sometimes becoming irritated or condescending if too much time passes before entering a search term: "Hellloooo... type something here!"
- ^ Khan, Natasha. "Janina Gavankar profile". SAPNA Magazine. p. Arts + Entertainment. Archived from the original on January 1, 2016. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
- ^ "Janina Gavankar profile". funnyordie.com. Archived from the original on March 23, 2016. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
- ^ "Breaking News – Development Update: Wednesday-Thursday, April 4–5". thefutoncritic.com.
- ^ "'Prison Break' actor joins ABC's 'Gates'". The Hollywood Reporter. October 13, 2010. Retrieved September 5, 2011.
- ^ "Janina Gavankar Talks True Blood, Video Games & More". G4tv.com. Archived from the original on March 23, 2016. Retrieved May 2, 2012.
- ^ "Epileptic Gaming's "Up All Night"". Wire.ggl.com. Archived from the original on October 2, 2011. Retrieved September 5, 2011.
- ^ "True Blood Promotes Jessica Tuck; Adds Three New Actresses". TV Guide. Retrieved November 29, 2010.
- ^ "Janina Gavankar on Comic-Con, Playing a Shapeshifter, and Why She'd Totally Love to Watch True Blood with You – Exclusive – True Blood". Wetpaint.com. July 21, 2011. Retrieved September 5, 2011.
- ^ "Official Site of 'Satellite of Love'". Archived from the original on September 9, 2012. Retrieved May 2, 2012.
- ^ Raftery, Liz (August 14, 2013). "Exclusive: CW's Web Series Husbands Adds Cast Members from True Blood, CollegeHumor". TV Guide. Retrieved August 14, 2013.
- ^ "Janina Gavankar talks about her role in Far Cry 4". Archived from the original on November 20, 2014. Retrieved November 17, 2014.
- ^ "Janina Gavankar Joins 'The Mysteries Of Laura', Brandon Smith In 'One Big Happy'". Deadline Hollywood. March 13, 2014. Retrieved January 15, 2015.
- ^ Debruge, Peter (November 29, 2017). "Sundance Film Festival Unveils Full 2018 Features Lineup". Variety. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
- ^ "A24, DirecTV Acquire Logan Lerman Sundance Mystery 'Sidney Hall' (Exclusive)". TheWrap. April 4, 2017. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
- ^ "Janina Gavankar – Love Lockdown". June 17, 2010. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved September 5, 2011 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Anokhi Sexy & Successful – Janina Gavankar". Anokhi Magazine. Archived from the original on January 23, 2011. Retrieved January 5, 2011.
- ^ "Ella Leya's "Wish I Could"". December 1, 2010. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved September 5, 2011 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Recliner's "Float Away"". sausagefilms.com. Archived from the original on August 26, 2011. Retrieved September 5, 2011.
- ^ "Darunam's "All That's Beautiful Must Die"". Livevideo.com. Archived from the original on September 30, 2011. Retrieved September 5, 2011.
- ^ Martin, Andrew. "Premiere: Janina Gavankar "Waiting For Godot"". Complex.
- ^ "True Blood's Janina Gavankar: Exclusive Video Premiere". Billboard.
- ^ "Simplicity makes 'Waiting for Godot' top music video of 2013 (Includes interview)". digitaljournal.com.
- ^ "WAITING FOR GODOT". Winter Film Awards. March 19, 2013. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
- ^ "Jersey Surf helps Janina Gavankar unleash her inner band geek". Drum Corps International. April 15, 2015. Archived from the original on July 1, 2015. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
- ^ "Best Buddies New York Benefit Concert – Elaine Kwon and Friends – Wednesday, May 20, 2015 – Carnegie Hall". carnegiehall.org. Archived from the original on April 29, 2015. Retrieved October 11, 2015.
- ^ Bilton, Nick (September 30, 2014). Hatching Twitter: A True Story of Money, Power, Friendship, and Betrayal. USA: Portfolio. p. 102. ISBN 978-1591847083.
- ^ Janina Gavankar Cements Geek Cred on Attack of the Show! Archived September 13, 2012, at archive.today, trueblood-news.com. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
- ^ "Spending time with Ms. Dewey". NPR Marketplace Tech. December 13, 2006. Retrieved April 1, 2012.
- ^ "Janina Gavankar: 'True Blood' Shapeshifter Goes Posterous On Her Industry". Forbes. November 5, 2011. Retrieved November 5, 2011.
- ^ "Suits and Spooks". taiaglobal.com. Archived from the original on October 11, 2015. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
- ^ "Battlefront 2 actor and DeviantArt founder launch NeoGAF competitor: The Forum". PCGamesN. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
- ^ Schneider, Logan (June 2018). "Logan Schneider on ARRI Alexa LF and Signature Primes" (PDF). FDTimes.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 16, 2019. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
- ^ "Star Wars: Battlefront II's Janina Gavankar straddles being a fan, an actress, and a gamer page 2 | GamesBeat". venturebeat.com. December 4, 2017. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
- ^ [1][permanent dead link]
- ^ "True Blood and Social Media Star Janina Gavankar to Receive Gravity Summit's Excellence in Social Media/Entertainment Award". Archived from the original on January 29, 2012. Retrieved May 2, 2012.
- ^ Petski, Denise (July 22, 2016). "'Sleepy Hollow': Janina Gavankar Cast As Ichabod Crane's New Partner". Deadline. Retrieved July 22, 2016.
- ^ Thoman, Lauren (January 28, 2022). "The End of The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window Explained". Looper. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
- ^ Carter, Justin (May 28, 2022). "Ahsoka, Qui-Gon & Count Dooku Return in New Anthology Series, Tales of the Jedi". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
- ^ McNulty, Thomas (December 15, 2022). "God Of War Ragnarök's Cut Secret Ending Is Perfect For DLC". ScreenRant. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
- ^ Mitsuno, Raio (September 9, 2021). "Journey with Frey to Forspoken's fantastical world next spring". PlayStation Blog. Sony Interactive Entertainment. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
- ^ Lumb, David (September 27, 2023). "Alan Wake 2 Is Tough, Dark and Compellingly Strange". CNET. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
- ^ Battlefront II Inferno Squad (Star Wars) Audiobook. Retrieved April 28, 2018.
- ^ "Randomize: Forward Audiobook". Amazon. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
- ^ Hood, Cooper (November 16, 2020). "The Mandalorian's Secret Battlefront 2 Cameo Revealed". Screenrant. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
External links
edit- Official website
- Janina Gavankar at IMDb
- Janina Gavankar profile, Lesbicanarias.es (in Spanish)
- Interview, Rediff.com (September 7, 2007)
- Interview, forbes.com (November 2012)