Lolita Chakrabarti

Lolita Chakrabarti (born 1 June 1969 in Kingston upon Hull) is an English actress and writer.

Career

Acting

Chakrabarti graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in 1990. As an actress, Chakrabarti has worked extensively on stage and screen. Her theatre credits include The Great Game: Afghanistan for the Tricycle Theatre (2009), Last Seen for the Almeida (2009) (which she also contributed to the writing of), Free Outgoing for the Royal Court (2008) and John Gabriel Borkman for the Donmar Warehouse (2007).

Her screen credits include Fortysomething, Bodies, Vera, Outnumbered, Hustle, Extras Christmas Special, William and Mary, Holby City, Silent Witness,and as WPC Jamila Blake in the long running ITV drama The Bill.

In 2015 she appeared in ITV TV series Jekyll and Hyde as Gurinder Najaran.

Writing

Chakrabarti's writing credits include The Goddess for Woman's Hour on BBC Radio 4, Faith, Hope and Blue Charity, on BBC Radio 4, and Last Seen for Slung Low and the Almeida. Her play, Red Velvet, about Ira Aldridge, an African-American actor at the centre of controversy in 1833 when he takes over from Edmund Kean in Othello at the Theatre Royal in Covent Garden, premiered in 2012 at the Tricycle Theatre, London.

The play won Chakrabarti the Charles Wintour Award for Most Promising Playwright at the 2012 Evening Standard Awards. That same year she was nominated for Best New Play and London Newcomer of the Year at the Whatsonstage Awards. She won the award for Most Promising Playwright at the Critics Circle Awards in January 2013 and was awarded the AWA Award for Arts and Culture that same year. Red Velvet was also nominated for an Olivier Award in 2013.

Presenting

From 1993 to 1996, Chakrabarti presented the BBC children's educational programme Numbertime.

Producing

Chakrabarti runs Lesata Productions with Rosa Maggiora. They produced Of Mary, a short film, in 2011 which won the Best Short Film Award at PAFF, Los Angeles 2012. Chakrabarti and Maggiora were nominated for the Best Producer Award at the Underwire Festival, London 2011.

Personal life

Chakrabarti was born in Kingston upon Hull to Bengali parents and grew up in Birmingham, where her father worked at Selly Oak Hospital. She is married to actor Adrian Lester. They have two children, both born in Southwark, London.