Rati Gupta (born February 9, 1984) is an American actor and storyteller known for her recurring role as Anu, the fiancée of Rajesh Ramayan Koothrappali in the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory, and for telling humorous stories about her experiences.
Early life Gupta was born in Valparaiso, Indiana, to parents who had moved to the United States from India. She grew up in Michigan City, Indiana. Her father, a physician, came from a small town north of New Delhi. Her mother came from Varanasi. While her parents were both born in North India, Gupta does not speak Hindi. She has a brother who also is a physician. Gupta was salutatorian of her class at Marquette Catholic High School, after which she graduated from Northwestern University as a psychology and dance double major, while fulfilling premed requirements at the same time. While at Northwestern, she was director of its drum, dance, and rhythm ensemble.
Career Rather than follow her father and brother into medicine, Gupta moved to Los Angeles and began dancing 16 hours a day, appearing in videos including for Lupe Fiasco and Flo Rida. Although her initial career interest was dancing, she kept hitting "wall after wall", leaving her feeling dejected. She eventually decided to try out acting and received her first acting lessons from an individual she describes as the "go-to sitcom comedy teacher".
She appeared in a recurring role in season 2 of the Hulu series Future Man and in a guest role on the Netflix series Unbelievable. Her acting credits also include MTV film Worst. Prom. Ever. and the FX comedy Better Things. She is known for her recurring role as Anu, the fiancée of Rajesh Ramayan Koothrappali in the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory.
While she wasn't presented roles "that represent her", she traveled around the country telling humorous stories about her experiences. She was champion three times at The Moth StorySLAM. Her one-woman storytelling presentation, Not Another Teen Solo Show, was nominated for Best Solo/Duo at the LA Comedy Festival, and was named one of the Top 3 Performances of the New York International Fringe Festival by Backstage. Some of the other venues where she has told her stories include the Hollywood Fringe Festival, the Chicago Fringe Festival, The Improv in Hollywood, the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater, and The Comedy Store.
Filmography
Television and internet Year Title Role Notes 2011 Worst.Prom.Ever Nikki TV movie 2014–2018 Does This Baby Make Me Look Fat? Story Editor Web series; 55 episodes 2016 Better Things Bank Teller 1 episode 2018–2019 The Big Bang Theory Anu 9 episodes 2019–2020 Future Man Rake 7 episodes 2019 Unbelievable Sally Green 1 episode 2020 Heart Baby Eggplant Rati Web series; 7 episodes; also writer and executive producer
Film Year Title Role Notes 2011 Where the Road Meets the Sun Yamini 2011 Second Best Shwerta Short film 2013 Mortified Nation Self Documentary / Comedy
Choreography Year Title Role Notes 2010 Maro Charitra Assistant Choreographer
References
External links