Janina Gavankar is a well-known actress in the United States. She is best known for voicing ‘FERO,’ one of the lead characters in the ‘Halo 5: Guardians’ promotional event dubbed ‘Hunt the Truth. Additionally, she has acted in a variety of films, web series, television shows, and theatrical productions. Shiva on ‘The League’, Papi in ‘The L Word’, Luna Garza on ‘True Blood’, Meredith Bose on ‘The Mysteries of Laura’, McKenna Hall on ‘The CW’s Arrow’, and Diana Thomas on ‘Sleepy Hollow’ are among her notable television roles. Gavankar has also appeared on the television series ‘Dash 4 Cash,’ ‘My Boys,’ ‘Grey’s Anatomy,’ ‘NCIS,’ and ‘Three Rivers. Concerning her web work, she has appeared in the web series ‘Just Face It,’ ‘The N&N Files,’ ‘Husbands,’ ‘Do’s and Don’ts,’ ‘The Q Side,’ and ‘Squad 85.’ Additionally, the actress appears on ‘Funny or Die’ shorts on a regular basis. The American actress is also a trained musician, having studied vocals, piano, and orchestral percussion. Previously signed to Universal Records’ Cash Money Records, she released a cover of Kanye West’s ‘Love Lockdown’. Apart from this, Gavankar has sung and played marimba for a number of film and television score compositions. She once performed a percussion duet at a charity benefit for ‘Best Buddies.’ Gavankar, a graduate of the University of Illinois, has also made significant contributions to technology. She is best known for creating a free template to assist Hollywood artists in managing their online presence.
Childhood & Adolescence
Janina Gavankar was born Janina Zione Gavankar in Joliet, Illinois, USA on November 29, 1980. Her father, Peter Ganesh, was a Pune, Maharashtra, engineer. Mohra Gavankar, her mother, is half-Dutch and half-Indian. Sonya Gavankar, her sister, is a world-renowned journalist and the former Miss District of Columbia (1997).
She is the great granddaughter of music composer/director Vasant Desai and the granddaughter of documentary editor Sadanand Desai and sound recordist Mangesh Desai.
Career of Janina
Janina Gavankar began her career as an actress in 2001. She made her film debut in ‘Why Is God’, followed by an appearance in MGM’s ‘Barbershop’.
She joined the cast of ‘Ms. Dewey’ in 2006. A year later, she was offered the role of Papi on the television series ‘The L Word.’
Following that, she starred in a variety of television shows until 2009. ‘Shattered’, ‘Factory’, ‘My Boys’, ‘Stargate Atlantis’, ‘Grey’s Anatomy’, and ‘NCIS’ were among the actress’s credits.
Gavankar was then cast in the 2009 television series ‘Dollhouse,’ ‘The Cleaner,’ ‘Three Rivers,’ and ‘The League.’ Additionally, she voiced Nikki in the animated film ‘Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey’ and appeared in the independent film ‘Indian Gangster’ that year.
Soon afterwards, she was cast as Shivakamini Somakandarkram in the 2009–15 television series ‘The League.’
Gavankar began acting in 2011 and has since been involved in a number of projects.
She directed the indie films ‘The Custom Mary,’ ‘Victory or Death,’ and ‘Satellite of Love.’
She has appeared in television series such as ‘Traffic Light’, ‘The Exes’, ‘Attack of the Show’, and ‘True Blood’. Additionally, the American actress began working on ‘Funny or Die shorts’ that year.
The following year, she joined the cast of the television series ‘Arrow’ as Mckenna Hall. Gavankar made her television debut in 2013 as Qetsiyah/Tessa on ‘The Vampire Diaries’ and as Hannah on ‘The Goodwin Games’. She also starred in a few web series that year, including ‘Just Face It,’ ‘The N&N Files,’ and ‘Husbands.’
A year later, the American multi-talented star was cast as Dr. Sharma in the television series ‘Garfunkel and Oates.’ She also began portraying Meredith Bose on the series ‘The Mysteries of Laura’ in that year and continued until 2016.
Gavankar was cast as Diana Thomas in the television series ‘Sleepy Hollow’ and as Gina in the film ‘Sidney Hall’ in 2017.
Significant Works Janina
Janina Gavankar contributed to Kanye West’s ‘Love Lockdown’ cover. Apart from this, she has contributed marimba and vocals to a number of film scores. Additionally, she appeared in the music videos for Ella Leya and the San Francisco-based band Recliner.
In 2011, she created a free template for Hollywood celebrities to help them manage their social media presence. Janina Gavankar provided the voice for several characters in the web series ‘Do’s and Don’t’ in 2012.
That year, she also appeared in the web series ‘The Q Side’ and ‘Squad 85’. During that time period, she also released the lead single from her EP, ‘Waiting for Godot.’
In 2015, she lent her voice to ‘FERO,’ one of the lead characters in the ‘Halo 5: Guardians’ promotional event dubbed ‘Hunt the Truth.’
She also performed a percussion duet at Carnegie Hall that year for the ‘Best Buddies’ charity benefit. During the same year, her music video ‘Don’t Look Down-#JustAddDrumCorps Edition’ was also released.
Awards and Accomplishments
In 2008, Janina Gavankar was nominated for a ‘Asian Excellence Award.’ In 2012, she won the ‘Gravity Summit Award’ for excellence in social media.
Private Life of Janina
Janina Gavankar’s portrayal of a lesbian character in the television series ‘The L Word’ sparked speculation that the actress is lesbian.
She, however, denied the rumors, stating that she is a straight woman who is only romantically interested in men.
Estimated Net Worth
Janina Gavankar is one of the wealthiest television actresses and is ranked among the most popular television actresses. Janina Gavankar’s net worth is estimated to be around $500 Thousand, based on our analysis of Wikipedia, Forbes, and Business Insider.
Trivia
Gavankar was the first actor in 2006 to use Twitter. She was raised on piano and percussion.Her father was close friends with Shomu Mukherjee, the father of Bollywood actress Kajol.
In 1987, her father and aunt released Bollywood composer Rahul Dev Burman’s sole international album, ‘Pantera.’
Janina Gavankar traveled to India with her father in the early 2000s to film the Bollywood film ‘Naam Mera Maria’.
The film, however, was never released. The actress describes her experience with the film as unusual due to her inability to comprehend or speak Hindi.
The American actress is perpetually busy. She is, however, extremely active on a variety of social media platforms, including Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
She is fascinated by supernatural phenomena. ‘Battlestar Galactica’ is her favorite supernatural show. She is obsessed with beautiful designs, from fashion to home furnishings.
During her time in college in Chicago, Gavankar worked on numerous advertisements, which she described as her “bread and butter.”