Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Meera Syal MBE (born Feeroza Syal on 27 June 1961) is a British comedienne, writer, playwright, singer, journalist, producer and actress. She rose to prominence as one of the team that created Goodness Gracious Me and became one of the UK's best-known Indian personalities portraying Sanjeev's grandmother, Ummi, in The Kumars at No. 42. She was awarded the MBE in the New Year's Honours List of 1997 and in 2003 was listed in The Observer as one of the fifty...
Known For
Complete Filmography
Tinsel Town
2025
Egotistical A-lister Bradley Mack is blindsided when his iconic action franchise is abruptly canceled. His career in freefall and worried his Hollywoo...

A Tupperware of Ashes
2025
as Queenie
An ambitious Michelin-Star chef, Queenie is used to having the last word. But when her children notice gaps in her memory and her grip on reality loos...

Absolutely Fabulous: Inside Out
2024
as Self
A star-studded retrospective reunites the lead cast for the first time since 2016 to rampage down memory lane revealing how the show was made, pay tri...

The Canterville Ghost
2023
as Lucretia Otis (voice)
An American family moves in to the Canterville Chase, a London mansion that has been haunted by ghost Sir Simon De Canterville for 300 years.

The Smeds and the Smoos
2023
as Aunt Smed (voice)
In this animated intergalactic adventure, the red Smeds and the blue Smoos must learn to overcome their differences and work together to find young Ja...

The Almond and the Seahorse
2022
as Dr. Falmer
For Gwen, it's always 1999. The face in the mirror is unfamiliar and her partner isn't recognizable to her despite waking up together every day. Joe's...

Spin
2021
as Asha
Rhea lives with her tight-knit multigenerational family. After her mother’s death, she has been her father’s emotional rock, and her life revolves aro...

Dragon Rider
2020
as Subisha Gulab (voice)
An unlikely trio of heroes – a dragon, a boy and a forest brownie – embark on an epic adventure to find the “Rim of Heaven” - the mythological safe ha...

Yesterday
2019
as Sheila Malik
A struggling musician realizes he's the only person on Earth who can remember The Beatles after waking up in an alternate reality where the group was ...

Nativity Rocks!
2018
as Nina
The staff and students at St. Bernadette's Primary School audition for a coveted place in a spectacular rock musical competition.

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms
2018
as Cook
When Clara’s mother leaves her a mysterious gift, she embarks on a journey to four secret realms—where she discovers her greatest strength could chang...

Patrick
2018
as Miss Phillips
A woman's chaotic life becomes more complicated when she inherits her grandmother's dog.
To Provide All People
2018
as District Nurse
To mark the 70th anniversary of the birth of the NHS, acclaimed poet Owen Sheers takes us on a journey that weaves the extraordinary story of the birt...

The Homestay
2018
as Meera
A sheltered Indian couple visits their son in the U.S. for the first time and bungles their apartment rental, ending up in close quarters with their h...

Paddington 2
2017
as Prosecutor
Paddington, now happily settled with the Browns, picks up a series of odd jobs to buy the perfect present for his Aunt Lucy, but it is stolen.

Brexit Shorts: Just a T-shirt
2017
as Priri
Priti, a British-born Indian woman in the West Midlands, reports a violent incident in the street.

Brexit Shorts: Just a T-shirt
2017
Writer
Priti, a British-born Indian woman in the West Midlands, reports a violent incident in the street.

Doctor Strange
2016
as Dr. Patel
After his career is destroyed, a brilliant but arrogant surgeon gets a new lease on life when a sorcerer takes him under her wing and trains him to de...

A Midsummer Night's Dream - Live at Shakespeare's Globe
2016
as Presenter
A recording of the final night of Emma Rice's transgressive and flamboyant production of Shakespeare's comedy at the Globe in London. Four runaway lov...

Branagh Theatre Live: Romeo and Juliet
2016
as Nurse
Live theatre presentation of Shakespeare's classic play about two teenagers from warring families whose love affair ends in tragedy.

Alice Through the Looking Glass
2016
as Nobody (voice)
Alice Kingsleigh returns to Underland and faces a new adventure in saving the Mad Hatter.

Better Than the Original: The Joy of the Cover Version
2015
as Narrator
Through ten carefully chosen cover versions that whisk us from the British Invasion to a noughties X Factor final, this film journeys over five decade...

Amar Akbar & Tony
2015
as Honey
Amar, Akbar & Tony follows the lives and loves of three childhood friends through twists and turns as the characters face sudden and unforeseen ch...

Absolutely Anything
2015
as Fiona
Eccentric aliens give a man the power to do anything he wants to determine if Earth is worth saving.

National Theatre Live: Behind the Beautiful Forevers
2015
as Zehrunisa Husain
India is surging with global ambition. But beyond the luxury hotels surrounding Mumbai airport lies a makeshift slum, full of people with plans of the...

The Boy in the Dress
2014
as Jaspreet
Dennis feels different - an ordinary boy in an ordinary house in an ordinary street, playing football with his mates and living with his dad and broth...

Much Ado About Nothing
2012
as Beatrice
Iqbal Khan's vibrant and colourful production transposed Shakespeare's vivacious and sometimes unsettling comedy of love and deceit to an Indian setti...

All in Good Time
2012
as Lopa
East Is East writer Ayub Khan-Din returns with another funny, tender-hearted portrait of family strife. Based on his popular play Rafta, Rafta (itself...

You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger
2010
as Dia's Mother
Two married couples find only trouble and heartache as their complicated lives unfold. After 40 years of marriage, Alfie leaves his wife to pursue wha...

Desert Flower
2009
as Pushpa Patel
The autobiography of a Somalian nomad who was sold in marriage at 13, fled from Africa a while later to become finally an American supermodel and is n...

Mad Sad & Bad
2009
as Rashmi
HARDEEP, RASHMI and ATUL are brothers and sisters. Which means they can say anything they like to each other, no matter how honest. Mad, Sad and Bad i...

Jhoom Barabar Jhoom
2007
as Satvinder’s mother
London, an overcrowded cafe, one table to share. Two strangers tell each other “how I met my fiancé” stories to kill time. Rikki met his fiance Anaida...

Scoop
2006
as Joe's Co-Passenger
An American journalism student in London scoops a big story, and begins an affair with an aristocrat as the incident unfurls.

The Children's Party at the Palace
2006
as Mary (The BFG)
To celebrate her 80th birthday, the Queen is holding a children's party in the grounds of Buckingham Palace. She has invited many classic characters f...
The Secretary Who Stole £4 Million
2005
as Joyti De-Laurey
The true story of Joyti De-Laurey, a wife and mother whose job as a secretary at investment bankers Goldman Sachs eventually led her to spend millions...

Anita and Me
2002
as Auntie Shaila
Meena, a 12-year-old living in a mining village in the English Midlands in 1972, is the daughter of Indian parents who've come to England to give her ...

Anita and Me
2002
Writer, Producer
Meena, a 12-year-old living in a mining village in the English Midlands in 1972, is the daughter of Indian parents who've come to England to give her ...
Bitches & Beauty Queens: The Making of Miss India
2002
as Narrator
A British-made documentary about the highly competitive world of beauty pageants in India, culminating with the top prize: Miss India. Following the e...

Aladdin: The ITV Pantomime
2000
as High Priestess
A televised pantomime of Aladdin with characters played by well-known celebrities.

Forgive and Forget
2000
as Judith Adams
David O'Neil, a plasterer and mature student Theo have been best mates for fourteen years and are practically inseparable. However, their friendship h...
Girls' Night
1998
as Carmen
Two British best friends and in-laws Dawn and Jackie work together at a factory. When Dawn is diagnosed with a brain tumor Jackie shares $100,000 she'...

A Night in with the Girls
1997
Traces the role of women in British television, from 1946 to 1997.

Crossing the Floor
1996
as Reporter
Political satire closely mirroring real-life British politics of the time - a self-serving Conservative minister "crosses the floor" to join the oppos...

Beautiful Thing
1996
as Miss Chauhan
Set during a long, hot summer on the Thamesmead Estate in Southeast London, where three teenagers edge towards adulthood.

It's Not Unusual
1995
as Shushila
A taxi driver is driven to distraction by her love of Tom Jones.

A Nice Arrangement
1994
as Sita
Documents an Indian-English family's attempt to give their Briticized daughter a traditional Indian arranged marriage, with as much photography as pos...

O Mary This London
1994
as Ranting woman
Three young Dubliners go to London in search of fun, fortune and, in the case of 17-year-old Mary Kelly, an abortion. Homeless and jobless, their adve...

Memsahib Rita
1994
as Unumma
Using a blend of magic realism and realist drama, Memsahib Rita looks at the physical and emotional violence of racism. Shanti is haunted by both the ...

Bhaji on the Beach
1993
Writer
A group of South Asian women try but cannot escape their problems on a day trip to a British beach resort.
Gummed Labels
1992
Comedy thriller deals with an arranged marriage.

My Sister-Wife
1992
as Farah Khan
Farah is an independent young British woman who manages to reconcile her modern lifestyle with her Pakistani heritage. As a Muslim in love with a marr...

My Sister-Wife
1992
Writer
Farah is an independent young British woman who manages to reconcile her modern lifestyle with her Pakistani heritage. As a Muslim in love with a marr...

Sammy and Rosie Get Laid
1987
as Rani
Sammy and Rosie are an unconventional middle-class London married couple. They live in the midst of inner-city chaos, surround themselves with intelle...

Handsworth Songs
1986
as Voice Over
The Black Audio Film Collective’s acclaimed essay film, 'Handsworth Songs', examines the 1985 race riots in Handsworth and London. Interweaving archiv...

Majdhar
1984
Cultural identity, women’s independence and the pressure to conform to British norms are the subjects of this bold and acute feature, which explores b...
Flavia de Luce
N/A
The adventures of 11-year-old Flavia de Luce, who is both an amateur detective and a master poisoner. When she discovers a dead body in her family’s d...
All About TWO
N/A
as Self - Panellist
Quiz and celebration of 50 years of the BBC's second channel, hosted by Dara O Briain. With Richard Osman supplying extra facts and figures, celebrity...