Sakina Jaffrey

Sakina Jaffrey Biography

Sakina Jaffrey is an American actress of Indian origin. She is the daughter of very famous Bollywood actor and theatre personality, Saeed Jaffrey and world famous food and travel writer, and television personality since 1970s, Madhur Jaffrey, known for authoring many English books on Indian cuisine. Her parents got separated in 1966 and she has two sisters. Jaffrey appeared with her father in the Canadian film Masala (1991) and with her mother in Indian English film, The Perfect Murder (1988). Sanford Allen, the famous African-American classical violinist is her stepfather.

Sakina Jaffrey was born on February 14, 1962 in New York, US. Both her parents are celebrities and of Indian origin. Her parents divorced when she was three years old, and she grew up with her two elder sisters along with her mother in US. She graduated from Vassar College in 1984, and later continued her studies at Mandarin Chinese to become a translator. She pursued a career in acting only later. She frequently acted in English films of Merchant-Ivory production during her early days in cinema and also appeared in a few short films. She mostly played supporting roles.

The Perfect Murder in 1988 marked her acting debut. She shared screen space with her mother in her debut flick, an investigation thriller directed by Zafar Hai and produced by Merchant-Ivory. It was an English language Indian film. Later she continued acting and appeared in movies, mostly of Indian origin though in English. Slaves of New York, Masala, The Indian in the Cupboard, Daylight, Chutney Popcorn, Cotton Mary, Revolution No. 9, The Mystic Masseur, The Guru, The Truth About Charlie, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, Red Sparrow, The Meyerowitz Stories and many more. She also appeared in a few popular American television shows.

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Updated: June 10, 2018