Maitreyi Ramakrishnan is a Canadian actress best known for her role as the lead character ‘Devi Vishwakumar’ in Netflix’s teen comedy series Never Have I Ever (2020).
Wiki/Biography and Career
Maitreyi Ramakrishnan was born in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada on Friday, December 28, 2001 (18 years old in 2019). Her star sign is Capricorn. She attended Trelawny Public School in Mississauga and Meadowvale Secondary School in Mississauga, Ontario. She made her acting debut as “Devi Vishwakumar” in the comedy series Never Have I Ever on Nelfix in 2020. She was selected by Mindy Kaling from 15,000 candidates who applied for the show’s open audition.
She deferred her admission to York University’s theatre program in Toronto because of her acting project (Never Have I Ever), and reportedly might have deferred her degree if she had the opportunity to star in another season of the show.
appearance
Height (approximate): 5′ 6″
Eye color: Black
Hair color: Black
Family and Race
She comes from a Sri Lankan Tamil family but identifies as Tamil and Canadian. She said:
“I made it clear to my agent and my publicist that being a Canadian Tamil was very, very important to me… My identity was not Sri Lankan,” she said. “That’s not my country. My country is Canada. But my culture is definitely Tamil.”
Her family came to Canada as refugees after the Sri Lankan Civil War (1983-2009). Her father, Ram Selvarajah, is an IT specialist. Her mother, Kiruthiha Kulendiren, works in marketing. She has an older brother named Vishwaa Ramakrishnan.
Maitreyi Ramakrishnan and her brothers
Favorite things
- Actor: Mindy Kalingnayanthara
- Singer: Rex Orange County, Childish Gambino, Doja Cat
- Band: Panic! At The Disco
- TV shows: The Office (2005-13), Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2013), Parks and Recreation (2009), When They See Us (2019), Black Mirror (2011)
- Movies: Chandramukhi (2005), Get Out (2017)
- Fictional character: Hermione Granger
- Basketball team: Toronto Raptors
- Video Games: Nintendo, New Horizons, Super Smash Bros.
Facts/Trivia
- She enjoys playing piano, painting, hiking, visiting art galleries, singing, riding her motorcycle, and playing video games.
- She grew up in a multicultural environment and became proficient in Bharatanatyam and ballet. She also learned to play the piano.
- In 10th grade, she began acting in school plays; her first role was “Urleen” in the play “Football”. In 12th grade, she began writing, directing and producing plays; this was an assignment for drama class.
- She is also a member of a jazz band, in which she plays piano.
- Initially, she wanted to be an animator because she loved Disney and Marvel comics, but in her final year, she decided to become an actor. Talking about it, she said,
In our after-school plays, after-school musicals, I started out doing it just for fun, and then I realized this is something I could dedicate my life to, and I would be very happy about it.”
- In 2019, she participated in a student walkout protesting Doug Ford’s proposed education cuts.
- In 2019, she recorded a videotape using her mom’s camera at a local library to audition for Never Have I Ever. Eventually, she was asked to send in four more videos, after which her audition took place in Los Angeles and she was chosen to star in Never Have I Ever. It was reportedly her best friend who asked her to audition for the show.
Maitreyi Ramakrishnan and her best friend
- Her audition for the show was an open casting call and she attracted media attention due to her Tamil Canadian identity.
- In 2019, the Today Show named her one of “18 Trailblazers,” a list of girls who are breaking barriers and changing the world.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education