Anjali Bhimani (born August 30, 1974 in Cleveland, Ohio[1][2]) is an American actress. She is best known for voicing Symmetra in the video game Overwatch and Rampart in the video game Apex Legends.

Anjali Bhimani
Bhimani in June 2017
Born (1974-08-30) August 30, 1974 (age 50)
OccupationActress
Years active1997–present
Websiteanjalibhimani.com

Early life

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Bhimani was born in Cleveland, Ohio,[3][4] the daughter of doctors Ela and Bharat Bhimani.[3] She is of Indian descent and grew up in Orange County, California.[3] She attended Northwestern University.[4]

Career

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Bhimani in August 2017

Bhimani's long time collaboration with Mary Zimmerman began in 1997 when she appeared as an Indian princess in Mirror of the Invisible World, adapted from the 12th century Persian epic Haft Peykar.[5][6] She played Greek mythological character Myrrha in Zimmerman-directed Metamorphoses's world premiere produced by Lookingglass Theatre Company in 1998 and its Off-Broadway opening at the Second Stage Theatre in 2001.[7] Drama critic Albert Williams, in his review for the Chicago Reader, called Bhimani a "stunning dancer".[8] She made her Broadway debut when Metamorphoses opened at Circle in the Square Theatre (2002).[9][10]

In 2004, Bhimani became an understudy for Ayesha Dharker and Madhur Jaffrey's characters in Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Bombay Dreams. During the play's The Broadway Theatre production Dharker left the play and Bhimani took over her role.[11][12] She appeared as The Sparrow in Czech opera Brundibár (2006).[13] Quake, a play Bhimani co-produced and co-directed opened at the Open Fist Theatre Company's First Look Festival of New Plays in 2011.[14] For The Jungle Book she re-teamed with Zimmerman and played the role of mother wolf in its 2013 Goodman Theatre production.[5]

Bhimani has appeared in TV series including All My Children, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, The Sopranos, Journeyman, Shark, Flight of the Conchords, and Modern Family. She voiced the character Symmetra in the first-person shooter video game Overwatch, and shared the 2016 Behind the Voice Actors Award for Best Vocal Ensemble in a Video Game with her co-voice actors for the game. In 2021, she guest starred on Exandria Unlimited, a spinoff of the web series Critical Role. In 2023, she played Queen Amangeaux Epicée du Peche in Dimension 20: The Ravening War.[15]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2001 The Medicine Show Food Swiling Wench
2009 Confessions of a Shopaholic Girl 1
2015 Miss India America Pinky Matthews
2015 Dark Intentions Dr. Maya
2017 Trafficked Sheela
2020 Evil Eye Radhika
2020 All My Life Mina White
2021 Seal Team Crabby Stabby, Female Great White shark, Seal (voice)

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2004, 2006, 2022 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Mrs. Chadoury, Dr. Faroup, Nisha Singh 4 episodes
2004, 2008, 2010–2011 All My Children Rape Victim, Nurse No. 1, Nurse No. 2, Nurse 8 episodes
2006 The Sopranos Dr. Budraja 2 episodes
2007 Shark Miranda Carlson 2 episodes
Journeyman Cynthia McNaughton Episode: "Keepers"
2009 Flight of the Conchords Potential Client No. 2 Episode: "A New Cup"
Lie to Me Young Woman Uncredited; Episode: "Life Is Priceless"
2010–2011 Outsourced Sari Vendor 2 episodes
2011–2015 Modern Family Nina Patel 3 episodes
2011 The Young and the Restless Medical Examiner, Coroner Episode: "Kevin & Chloe Are Accused of Murder"
Law & Order: LA Hallie Capshaw Episode: "Van Nuys"
I'm in the Band Tisha Bell Episode: "Trippnotized"
2012 Pretty Little Liars Miss Pervis Episode: "Let the Water Hold Me Down"
Ringer Dr. Rao Episode: "If You're Just an Evil Bitch Then Get Over It"
Common Law Veterinarian Episode: "Joint Custody"
Necessary Roughness Parveena Jeevan Episode: "Spell It Out"
Hollywood Heights Doctor 2 episodes
2013 Second Shot Bobbi Newton Episode: "You Can't Go Home Again. So Why Am I Here?"
Save Me Dr. Malikay Episode: "The Book of Beth"
2014 Bones Satima Najjar Episode: "The Turn in the Um"
Mighty Med Dr. Bridges Episode: "Are You Afraid of the Shark"
Criminal Minds Dr. Rasgotra Episode: "Boxed In"
2015 Dog with a Blog Receptionist Episode: "Stan Has Puppies: Part 1"
The Fosters Dr. Melvoy Episode: "It's My Party"
NCIS: Los Angeles Mira Yacoob Episode: "Defectors"
Adoptable Jasmine Bidhani 4 episodes
2016 Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders Hasina Episode: "Harvested"
Silicon Valley D.A. Episode: "To Build a Better Beta"
2017 Cassandra French's Finishing School Wendy 6 episodes
Doubt Maya Reyez Episode: "Finally"
Kevin (Probably) Saves the World Susan Alan Episode: "Dave"
Wisdom of the Crowd Mrs. Bakari Episode: "Alpha Test"
2017–2018 Suspense Doctor Brightfall, Sergeant Bhatti 2 episodes
2018 Young Sheldon Zero Episode: "Demons, Sunday School, and Prime Numbers"
Grace and Frankie Raha Episode: "The Home"
NCIS Sara Petrie Episode: "Family Ties"
A.P. Bio Sarika's Mom Episode: "Freakin' Enamored"
Alex, Inc. Joya 2 episodes
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Director Episode: "I'm Making Up for Lost Time"
The Resident Dr. Irena Simmons Episode: "The Dance"
2019 S.W.A.T. Agent Ellen Benson 2 episodes
Station 19 Dr. Mukerji Episode: "Crazy Train"
Arranged Seema Patel Episode: "Pilot"
Wizard School Dropout Andy's Mom 2 episodes
Runaways Mita Nansari 2 episodes
2020 The Casagrandes Padma (voice) Episode: "Fast Feud"
Blindspot Susan Shah 2 episodes
Little Voice Reema 2 episodes
2020–22 It's Pony Gerry's Mom, Nurse, Leanne Murray, additional voices
2020–present The Loud House Jesse Hiller (voice)
2021 Special Bina Laghari 3 episodes
The Neighborhood Suraya Episode: "Welcome to Your Match"
2022 The Legend of Vox Machina Head Cleric (voice) [16]
Ms. Marvel Aunt Ruby 4 episodes; Disney+ series
Dead to Me Dr. Ashman 3 episodes
2023 Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight Padma (voice) 4 episodes
9-1-1: Lone Star Hannah Episode: "Tommy Dearest"
The Blacklist Jemma Parikh Episode: "The Nowhere Bride (No. 192)"
Mech Cadets Patty Patel, Charlotte Tanaka-Park (voice) 4 episodes
All Rise Dr. Tanya Barkley Episode: "Guilt Is a Bully"
2024 X-Men '97 Daria, News Anchor (voice) Episode: "Tolerance Is Extinction Pt. 1"
Grown-ish Sonia Episode: "I Wish You Roses"
Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft Waitress, Guest #1 (voice) Episode: "A Single Step"

Video games

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Year Title Role Notes
2016 Fallout 4: Nuka-World Nisha DLC
2016 Overwatch Symmetra
2017 Uncharted: The Lost Legacy Additional Voices
2019 Indivisible Kala
2019 Apex Legends Rampart
2020 Final Fantasy VII Remake Additional Voices
2020 Fallout 76: Steel Dawn Yasmin Chowdhury DLC (Patch)
2022 Overwatch 2 Symmetra
2023 Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical Medusa
2023 Starfield Commander Natara
2023 The Lamplighters League Purnima, Mother Amina
2023 Marvel's Spider-Man 2 Kraven’s Hunters
2023 Diablo IV Izel, Additional voices
2025 Avowed Yatzli [17]

Web series

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Year Title Role Notes
2018–2019 We're Alive: Frontier Stingray Main role; actual play series by Geek & Sundry and Legendary Digital Networks[18][19]
2019 UnDeadwood Miriam Landisman Main role; actual play limited series by Critical Role Productions[20]
2020–2022 Critical Role (one-shots) The Pain Elemental Episode: "Doom Eternal One-Shot"; actual play special by Critical Role Productions[19]
Fy'ra Rai Episode: "Guest Battle Royale"; actual play special by Critical Role Productions[21]
2021 Exandria Unlimited Guest role; 3 episodes[22][23][24]
2022 Exandria Unlimited: Kymal Main role; 2 episodes[25][26]
2023 Dimension 20: The Ravening War Lady Amangeaux Epicée du Peche Main role; 6 episodes[27]
Candela Obscura Charlotte Eaves 3 episodes; actual play series by Critical Role Productions[28][29]
2023–present DesiQuest Sitara Main role[30]

References

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  1. ^ "Anjali Bhimani". IMDb. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  2. ^ Anjali Bhimani [@sweeetanj] (August 30, 2021). "I love birthdays. I'm so happy to know no matter how old I get, I'll always be this sassy pants (or sassy no-pants) on the inside. Thanks for all the birthday wishes, lovelies. You know how to make a girl feel special!" (Tweet). Retrieved November 10, 2022 – via Twitter.
  3. ^ a b c "About – Anjali Bhimani".
  4. ^ a b Davenport, James (February 9, 2017). "The voice behind Symmetra on working with Blizzard, Overwatch dream couples, and D&D". PC Gamer. Retrieved November 30, 2017.
  5. ^ a b "Anjali Bhimani in Zimmerman's 'Jungle Book'". India-West. May 18, 2013. Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved November 2, 2017.
  6. ^ Lefkowitz, David (March 31, 1997). "Goodman Studio Looks into Zimmerman's Mirror & Notebooks". Playbill. Retrieved November 2, 2017.
  7. ^ Zimmerman, Mary; Slavitt, David R. (2002). Metamorphoses: A Play. Northwestern University Press. p. xi. ISBN 978-0-8101-1980-2.
  8. ^ Williams, Albert (October 3, 2012). "Metamorphoses transformed". Chicago Reader. Retrieved November 2, 2017.
  9. ^ "Who's Who in the Cast". Playbill. Retrieved November 2, 2017.
  10. ^ Simonson, Robert (February 21, 2002). "Metamorphoses Transforms into a Broadway Show, Feb. 21". Playbill. Retrieved November 2, 2017.
  11. ^ Tsering, Lisa (October 17, 2017). "Indian American Actress Anjali Bhimani in 'Metamorphoses'". India-West. Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved November 2, 2017.
  12. ^ Dietz, Dan (2017). The Complete Book of 2000s Broadway Musicals. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 170. ISBN 978-1-4422-7801-1.
  13. ^ Isherwood, Charles (May 9, 2006). "Tony Kushner and Maurice Sendak Adapt 'Brundibar,' a Czech Children's Opera". The New York Times. Retrieved November 2, 2017.
  14. ^ "Open Fist Presents Works by Shoshana Bean et al. at First Look Festival of Plays this Summer". BroadwayWorld.com. July 13, 2011. Retrieved November 2, 2017.
  15. ^ "Dimension 20 and Critical Role's Matthew Mercer Unite in Ravening War". Gizmodo. April 19, 2023. Retrieved May 25, 2023.
  16. ^ Moreau, Jordan (January 20, 2022). "Critical Role's 'Legend of Vox Machina' Adds Stephanie Beatriz, David Tennant, Tony Hale and More as Guest Stars". Variety. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
  17. ^ Chalk, Andy (June 19, 2024). "The voice of Mass Effect's sexy bird man Garrus will be the voice of Avowed's sexy fish man Kai". PC Gamer. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
  18. ^ "I'm Actress Anjali Bhimani, and This Is How I Work". Lifehacker. December 19, 2018. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  19. ^ a b "Anjali Bhimani, Exandria Unlimited's Fy'ra Rai, talks D&D, roleplaying versus acting roles, and joining the Critical Role series". Dicebreaker. July 16, 2021. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
  20. ^ "Critical Role Announces New Limited-Series Game". ComicBook.com. September 26, 2019. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
  21. ^ Binette, Arianne (June 17, 2022). "'Ms. Marvel': Here's Where You Know Anjali Bhimani From". Collider. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
  22. ^ "HYPE: Welcome Anjali Bhimani to Exandria Unlimited! | Critical Role". July 19, 2021. Retrieved July 22, 2021.
  23. ^ "Critical Role: Anjali Bhimani Discusses New Character on Exandria Unlimited". ComicBook.com. July 16, 2021. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
  24. ^ Sheehan, Gavin (July 16, 2021). "Anjali Bhimani Talks Appearing On Critical Role's Exandria Unlimited". Bleeding Cool News And Rumors. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
  25. ^ Sheehan, Gavin (March 14, 2022). "Critical Role Announces Two New Shows In Latest Video". Bleeding Cool News And Rumors. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  26. ^ Radulovic, Petrana (March 14, 2022). "Critical Role announces two new series to celebrate its 7th anniversary". Polygon. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  27. ^ "Dimension 20 and Critical Role's Matthew Mercer Unite in Ravening War". Gizmodo. April 19, 2023. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
  28. ^ Codega, Linda (May 9, 2023). "Critical Role Teases a Spooky New Game—and a New System, Too". Gizmodo. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
  29. ^ "Hype! Candela Obscura – Our New Horror Ttrpg Show Premieres May 25th!". Critical Role (Press release). May 9, 2023. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
  30. ^ "DesiQuest". desiquest.com. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
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