Anita Devi Mahendru was born on November 5, 1985,[1] in Kabul, Afghanistan. Her mother, Olga, is Russian, and her father, Ghanshan "Ken" Mahendru, is a Punjabi Hindu[2][3] Indian educator and journalist[4] with roots from Delhi, who studied at Kabul University and later met her mother while working in Russia. The Mahendru family moved to Kabul where her grandfather had a sweets business. Mahendru's grandmother originally hailed from Nepal.[5][6][7][8]
Mahendru had what she calls a "gypsy" childhood, spending her first seven years of her childhood between Afghanistan and Saint Petersburg.[9] She then lived with her mother at Saint Petersburg and regularly travelled between there and Frankfurt, before moving with her father to East Meadow, New York, at age 13, after her parents separated.[10] Mahendru attended East Meadow High School, where she was active in competitive cheerleading and kick line teams; she graduated in 2004.[6][11] She went on to earn an English degree from St. John's University in New York City.[8]
Mahendru grew up speaking Persian, Russian, German, and English,[2][7] and also speaks conversational Hindi and French.[12][13] She also uses Dari to speak with her relatives.[8] She initially wanted to use what she has called her "ethnic ambiguity" to work for the United Nations.[14] She was enrolled at New York University for a master's degree in international relations as she wanted to work for the women in Afghanistan, but dropped out to pursue acting.[15] She then moved to Los Angeles and studied improv at The Groundlings.[10]
Career
Mahendru appeared in an episode of the sitcom Love Monkey, an episode of the drama Conviction, a Law & Order spinoff[which?], and the short film "The Art of Love". The following year, she appeared in an episode of the HBO comedy-drama Entourage. Her next significant roles came in 2011, in episodes of the sitcoms Big Time Rush and 2 Broke Girls. In 2012, she starred in an episode of the sitcom Mike & Molly.
In 2014, Mahendru was promoted to a series regular for the second season of The Americans.[18][19][20] She also starred in the comedy-drama film Bridge and Tunnel, had a voice role in the 2014 animated film Penguins of Madagascar, and guest-starred in the 2016 X-Files miniseries as Sveta, a possible UFO abductee. She played Nafisa Al-Qadi on the FX series Tyrant.
Mahendru has also performed at theatre works at LATW. In 2017, she performed in Seven as an Afghan refugee and women's rights activist Farida Azizi at the LA Theatre Works. The play was a collaboration between 7 playwrights and female activists each from around the globe that portrays inspiring stories of overcoming adversities to bring about real change and improve the lives of women.[23][24]
Mahendru stars in the seventh episode of the anthology series The Romanoffs, which began streaming on Amazon Video on November 16, 2018.[25]
Mahendru is married to Australian filmmaker Louie Gibson.[28] The couple have a son (born c. 2018).[29][30]
Despite both her parents' families not being from Afghanistan and having lived across the world since she was young, Mahendru maintains strong ties to her Indian and Russian roots as well as her connection to her birthplace, stating in 2022:
I feel my Afghan roots deeply in my temperament, as I do my Indian and Russian colours. I feel at home equally at an Afghan wedding as I do at Holi or Fourth of July.[8]
^"Multiple Identities". SBJCT Journal (Interview). Interviewed by de Croisset, Phoebe. December 16, 2016. Retrieved March 5, 2021. I am an Indian-Russian-Afghan-American
^ abc"Fast Chat: Annet Mahendru". Newsday (Interview). Interviewed by Lovece, Frank. May 4, 2014. p. 91. Retrieved May 5, 2014 – via Scribd. ...dad Ghanshan 'Ken' Mahendru.... Currently in Baltimore shooting the title role of the fact-based medical drama 'Sally Pacholok'..."
^"DP/30 Emmy Watch: Annet Mahendru on The Americans". DP/30: The Oral History Of Hollywood. June 11, 2014. Event occurs at 02:51. Retrieved March 1, 2021 – via YouTube. I spent my first seven years between Afghanistan and St. Petersburg
^"Annet Mahendru Interview". Annet Mahendru. March 2, 2019. Event occurs at 06:57. Retrieved March 1, 2021 – via YouTube. It's Russian, German and English and Hindi, Persian and French.
^Chen, Valerie (March 27, 2020). "Elegant Enigma". Venice: Fort Lauderdale's Magazine. Florida. Archived from the original on September 21, 2020. Retrieved November 19, 2020. ...and being a mom to her 2-year-old son.
