Ayesha Dharker, an Indian actress, was born on March 16, 1977. She is known for portraying Queen Jamillia in the film Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones.
Bombay, India is the birthplace of Dharker. Her father, Anil Dharker, works as a columnist in India. Her mother, Imtiaz Dharker, is a poet, artist, and documentary filmmaker of British-Pakistani descent.
Manika: Une vie plus tard, directed by François Villiers, marked her debut on screen. Following that, Dharker acted in a variety of films from America, France, and India. She also had roles in multiple British television shows, including Doctors, Cutting It, Waking the Dead, Coronation Street, and The Indian Doctor. She is well-recognized by fans for her role as Solana Mercurio in the Doctor Who episode "Planet of the Ood".
In The Terrorist, she also played Malli, the main character, and received the Best Artistic Contribution award at the Cairo International Film Festival in 1998. This particular role brought Dharker to the attention of Robin Gurland, who was the casting director for Attack of the Clones.
Dharker's theatrical performances include Scheherazade in the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of Arabian Nights and Mephastophilis in the Bristol Old Vic's rendition of Doctor Faustus.
Dharker acted alongside Hugh Quarshie (Captain Quarsh Panaka) in the 2000 two-part TV miniseries Arabian Nights. She also appeared in a 2008 episode of Doctor Who with David Tennant (the voice of Huyang in The Clone Wars).
- Ayesha Dharker on StarWars.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
- The Dharker Side: An Audience with Queen Jamillia on StarWars.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
- " Appearing Knightley (and the Women of Star Wars) " — Star Wars Insider 75