Archana “Archie” Panjabi is a British actress, best known for her role as Kalinda Sharma on The Good Wife. Her portrayal has earned her a Primetime Emmy Award in 2010 and an NAACP Image Award in 2012, as well as two further Emmy nominations, one Golden Globe nomination, and three Screen Actors Guild Award nominations shared with the cast. Her other notable roles include Yasmin Husseini in Yasmin (2005), Pinky Bhamra in Bend It Like Beckham (2002) and Asra Nomani in A Mighty Heart (2007).
Panjabi was appointed the first Pratham USA Ambassador representing the largest educational movement in India. She is a celebrity participant in the Rotary International’s “This Close” public service campaign to end polio. In support of women’s rights, she has partnered with Amnesty International to head their Stop Violence Against Women campaign to change the “no recourse to public funds” rule that traps women in a cycle of violence. On 9 February 2011, Panjabi walked in The Heart Truth’s Red Dress Collection Fashion Show to increase awareness of the danger of heart disease, the number one killer of women
In 1998, Panjabi married tailor Rajesh Nihalani. She moved to New York from England when she was working on the show The Good Wife.