Quick Facts
Gemini
Biography
Richa Moorjani is an American actress who is best known for her role as Kamala in the Netflix series Never Have I Ever and as Indira Olmstead in the fifth season of American crime drama Fargo.
Early life and family
Moorjani was born and raised in an Indian Sindhi Hindu family settled in the United States. She attended Saratoga High School (California) and the University of California, Davis, where she majored in communications. She graduated in 2011.
For over 25 years, Moorjani has been a student of Srimati Anuradha Nag (Tarangini School of Kathak Dance) and has been trained in various styles of western and Indian dance. She told The Hindu, "I will dance until I cannot. Basically, until I die!"
Moorjani's family managed a Bollywood music band.
Career
Moorjani's early years as an actress saw her playing guest roles in several television shows including The Mindy Project (directed by Mindy Kaling), NCIS: Los Angeles and 9-1-1. She also voice-acted in Fallout 76, a 2018 online action role-playing video game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks.
Between 2020 and 2023, Moorjani portrayed one of the lead characters in Netflix original series Never Have I Ever, which was also co-written by Kaling. She auditioned for Never Have I Ever through an open casting call. Richa plays main character Devi's cousin, Kamala Nandiawadal, in the series. As of 2020, Kamala is a PhD student in biology at Caltech. Speaking on playing a woman of color in STEM, she tells The Hindu, "I learned about how much women of color in STEM go through. It's a real systemic problem where their names are taken off research papers. Granted we see what Kamala goes through in the lab via a comedic lens, but I was keen to show this storyline".
As of late-2021, Moorjani's next project Broken Drawer, directed by Rippin Sindher, has been in post-production. The film is loosely inspired by true events, following a young Sikh mother who was killed while working at her family-owned convenience store in rural California. "Rippin called me and told me how special this role was to her, being based on her mother, and that she couldn't see anyone playing it but me. It turned out to be such a lovely and fulfilling experience," Moorjani told The Hindu.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Love Fool | Sheela | Short |
| 2015 | For Here or to Go? | Journalist at Speed Date | |
| 2015 | X: Past Is Present | Sanjana | |
| 2019 | Wolf | Arti | Short |
| 2020 | Invisible Brown Man | Seema Desai | Short |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Mark at the Movies | Party girl | One episode on 28 May 2011 |
| 2012 | Big Time Rush | Palmwoods Girl #2 | Episode: "Big Time Surprise" |
| The Mindy Project | Geeta | Episode: "Thanksgiving" | |
| 2013 | Sullivan & Son | Girl #1 | Episode: "Ladies Night" |
| 2016 | The New Yorker: Shorts & Murmurs | Episode: "What I Imagine My Boyfriend's Ex-Girlfriends Are Doing Right Now" | |
| 2017 | NCIS: Los Angeles | Rayna | Episode: "Unleashed" |
| 2018 | 9-1-1 | Jenna | Episode: "Merry X-mas" |
| 2020–2023 | Never Have I Ever | Kamala Nandiwadal | Main role; 34 episodes |
| 2021 | Home Economics | Episode: "Bottle Service, $800 Plus Tip (25% Suggested)" | |
| Immoral Compass | Molly | Episode: "Part 8: Nostalgia" | |
| 2022 | True Story | Fenal | Episode: "Abishek's Story" |
| 2023–2024 | Fargo | Indira Olmstead | Season 5, main role |
Video games
- Fallout 76 (2018) as Abigayle Singh, Watoga, Natasha Hunt, and Nari Simir (voice role)
- Uncharted: The Lost Legacy as additional voices