Nitya Vidyasagar is an American actress best known for her role as "Leela" on Sesame Street.
Early life and education Vidyasagar was born in Muscat, Oman to Telugu Indian parents and grew up in Kolkata, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad before moving to the United States in 1995 at the age of 12. She graduated from the St. Andrew's Episcopal School in 2001. She received a BFA with honors in drama and a minor in music from New York University.
Career Vidyasagar was the first Indian American cast member of Sesame Street. Leela runs a laundromat next to Mr. Hooper's Store. Sesame Street producers were not looking for an Indian American actress before they cast Vidyasagar,Southern Courier article but the show's writers plan to use parts of Vidyasagar's background in certain episodes. Leela is described as "a young Indian American who embraces her heritage and culture".
Vidyasagar is primarily a stage actress. She trained at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting. She received praise for her performance in the drama Selling Kabul, in which she plays a central female character anxious for her brother's safety.
Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 2009 Split Ends Mehar Manjri Feature film 2010 Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps Secretary 2017 Raksha Archana Short 2018 Mammoth Nitya Short 2019 Velvet Buzzsaw Gita
Television Year Title Role Notes 2008–2015 Sesame Street Leela Series Regular 2010 The Good Wife Frida Verma Season 1 Episode 20: "Mock" 2012 Smash Jill Abrams Season 1 Episode 5: "Lets Be Bad" 2015 The Player Medina Raqib Season 1 Episode 1: "Pilot" 2016 Major Crimes Amala Season 5 Episode 1: "Present Tense" 2017 Blue Bloods Dr. Nadia Khan Season 8 Episode 9: "Pain Killers" 2017 Suits Stephanie Patel Recurring 2018 SEAL Team Meera Nelson Season 1 Episode 12: "The Upside Down" 2019 Troopers Una Recurring 2019 S.W.A.T. Sergeant Wilson Season 2 Episode 21: "Day of Dread" 2019 NCIS: Los Angeles Natasha Season 11 Episode 10: "Mother" 2022 The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window Hillary Episode 4 2022 Station 19 Tabitha Salzman Season 5 Episode 12: "In My Tree" 2022 All Rise Zoya Hameed 2025All's FairDr. Samira RameshEpisode: "I Want Revenge"
Theatre Year Title Role Notes Modern Terrorism: Or They Who Want to Kill Us and How We Learn to Love Them Yalda Abbasi Second Stage Theater The Glorious Ones Armanda Lincoln Center Theater Serendib Anna Ensemble Studio Theatre Cecilia's Last Tea Party Cecilia Passage Theatre Company A Midsummer Night's Dream Puck Flux Theatre Ensemble NINJA: The Musical Janine Desipina & Co Monetizing Emma Emma Planet Connections Festival Coney Island Avenue Anna New York Theatre Workshop2022Selling KabulAfiyaEnsemble Theatre Company Santa Barbara
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