Parminder Nagra Height, Weight, Age, Body Statistics

Parminder Nagra is an actress known for portraying the role of Jesminder ‘Jess’ Bhamra in the 2002 film, Bend It Like Beckham and Dr. Neela Rasgotra in the medical drama, ER (2003-2009). She has won various awards for her acting skills like the Asian Excellence Award under the “Outstanding Television Actress” category for her role in ER in 2007 and Movieline Young Hollywood Award under the “Breakthrough Performance by a Female” category for her role in Bend It Like Beckham in 2004.

Born Name

Parminder Kaur Nagra

Nick Name

Mindi

Sun Sign

Libra

Born Place

Leicester, England, United Kingdom

Nationality

Education

Parminder studied at the Northfield House Primary School in Leicester. Later, she attended the comprehensive school, Soar Valley College where she played the viola in the youth orchestra.

Occupation

Actress

Family

• Father – Sukha Nagra (Bookkeeper)
• Mother – Nashuter Nagra (Factory Worker)
• Siblings – She has 2 younger brothers and a younger sister.

Manager

She is represented by the London-based Curtis Brown Group Ltd.

Build

Slim

Height

5 ft 3 in or 160 cm

Weight

52 kg or 114.5 lbs

Boyfriend / Spouse

Parminder Nagra has dated –

1. Kieran Creggan (1996-2002) – Nagra first met Irish actor Kieran Creggan while performing at the Cottlesloe Royal National Theatre while playing a small part in Fair Ladies at a Game of Poem Cards in 1996. She even moved to Kennington in South London to live with him. But things eventually went downhill and the couple went their separate ways after 5 years together in 2002.
2. James Stenson (2002-2013) – Parminder began dating photographer James Stenson in January 2002. They dated for about 7 years before tying the knot on January 17, 2009. Their wedding ceremony was officiated by friend Maura Tierney and her ER co-stars Scott Grimes and John Stamos performed at the ceremony. She gave birth to their first child, a boy named Kai David Singh Stenson, on May 19, 2009. However, on February 8, 2012, she filed for divorce which got finalized in July 2013. The estranged couple was embroiled in an ugly divorce battle pertaining to the division of finances and the properties they bought together as a couple.

Race / Ethnicity

Asian (Indian)

She has Punjabi ancestry.

Hair Color

Black

Eye Color

Dark Brown

Sexual Orientation

Straight

Distinctive Features

Square jawline

Brand Endorsements

Parminder has done endorsement work for Estee Lauder (2004).

Religion

Sikhism

Best Known For

• Playing the role of Jesminder ‘Jess’ Bhamra in the football-centric film Bend It Like Beckham in 2002.
• Her portrayal of Dr. Neela Rasgotra in the medical drama ER from 2003 to 2009.

First Film

In 1991, Parminder made her theatrical film debut in the Punjabi film Dushmani Jattan Di as Parminder Kaur.

She made her Hollywood debut in 2002 in the film Bend It Like Beckham.

First TV Show

She made her first TV show appearance as Ayisha in the medical drama series Casualty in 1996.

Personal Trainer

After giving birth in 2009, Parminder relied on her trainer, Thalia Thomas to get back in shape. She used to work out at Studio Soma in West Hollywood through SomaSculpt, which incorporates cardio and Pilates to help lose 400-600 calories per session. The program primarily uses a Bosu ball but can be done without it as well with slight modifications.

Parminder Nagra Favorite Things

• Indian Dish – Chicken curry

Source – BBC

Parminder Nagra Facts

1. She was among the few torchbearers at the 2004 Summer Olympics held at Athens as it passed through London.
2. Her parents are of Indian origin who emigrated from India and settled down in the UK in the 1960’s.
3. She speaks Punjabi fluently.
4. She has a scar on her leg which was added to the script of Bend It Like Beckham. As a young girl, once her pants caught fire and she was placed in a tub of water so the cloth stuck to her skin. A part of her skin got pulled as the burnt fabric was removed which led to the scarring.
5. London’s National Portrait Gallery has a portrait of Parminder which was created by Stuart Pearson Wright.
6. She was awarded an Honorary Degree of Doctors of Letters from her hometown Leicester on July 11, 2007.
7. When she was 18 years old, she was shown a picture of a suitable boy for marriage. Parminder, who is strictly against arranged marriage, told her mother that she wanted to live life on her own terms.
8. A little while after completing her A-levels, she was approached by her former drama instructor Jez Simons to participate in the Leicester-based theater company Haithizi Productions, where he worked as an artistic director.
9. Initially, she was cast as a chorus member in the 1994 musical Nimai which was presented at the Leicester Haymarket Theatre. But after 1 week of the rehearsals, she was upgraded to the lead role.
10. As Nagra did not have any prior football experience, in order to play her role convincingly in Bend It Like Beckham, she underwent a rigorous 10-week training course in the game Futebol De Salao under the tutelage of Simon Clifford. She used to train for 9 hours a day and also learned to bend or curve the ball in flight as made famous by David Beckham.
11. The first time she visited India was to shoot the final scenes of the Anglo-Indian television drama Second Generation in Calcutta. The series also marked the first time that she did bold love scenes, something she had vowed to never do early on in her career.

Featured Image by Gage Skidmore / Wikimedia / CC BY-SA 3.0