Aneesh Sheth

Aneesh Sheth (born January 5, 1982) is an Indian-American actress and transgender activist.

Aneesh Sheth
Born (1982-01-05) January 5, 1982
Pune, India
Alma materNew York University Tisch School of the Arts
Occupation(s)Actor, filmmaker, activist
Years active2011–present

Biography

Aneesh Sheth was born in India, but moved to the United States when she was little. Her parents were "very supportive" of theatrical arts and Sheth chose to pursue a career resulting in acting on stage starting at the age of 7. In 2008, Sheth went through her transition after she chose to help LGBTQ kids by joining The Trevor Project and The Stigma Project. After hearing transgender people speak, Sheth realized that she too was trans and decided to begin the process. On coming out to her family, she faced both support and opposition. "Nearly everyone said that they weren’t surprised. I did experience some loss in certain relationships, but it strengthened some others. You learn that life is short and you don't have time to waste on people who aren't going to fully accept you for who you are."[1][2]

Her first major acting role was as Kami Sutra in the short lived NBC sitcom Outsourced. She only appeared in 2 episodes, but considered it a turning point in her career stating, "I should not limit myself because of who I am".[3] Sheth was cast as Gillian in the third and final season of Jessica Jones, which is part of the highly successful Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise. She liked that her character being trans was not a major issue and was treated like a regular thing adding, "there’s no mention of [Gillian] being trans within the show, nor a narrative around her identity. Which I think is wonderful because trans people exist in the world and it’s not always about their [trans] narrative."[4]

Filmography
Year Title Role Notes
2011 Outsourced Kami Sutra 2 episodes
2011 My Inner Turmoil Priya Short film
2012 Arbore Cypress Short film
2015 Crave Maggie TV Pilot; Also writer, producer and director
2015 Semi-Secret Valerie Derasport
2017 Difficult People Wendy Episode: "Sweet Tea"
2018 A Kid Like Jake Dr. Laurel Hendricks
2018 High Maintenance Ardhi Episode: "Fagin"
2018–2019 New Amsterdam Lila 3 episodes
2019 Jessica Jones Gillian 8 episodes
2019 Insomnia Kat Miniseries; 2 episodes
2020 First One In Preeti
2022 The Walking Dead Jan Episode: "Rogue Element"
2023 Red, White and Royal Blue Amy

References
  1. "Interview with Aneesh Sheth". The Heroines of My Life. blogspot. March 24, 2014. Retrieved June 13, 2019.
  2. Leeds, Ryan (June 6, 2016). "The Force of Sheth: An Interview with Multimedia Star Aneesh Sheth". The Manhattan Digest. Retrieved June 13, 2019.
  3. Wong, Curtis M. (May 1, 2017). "How This Trans Actress Was Happily Proven Wrong About Show Business". Huff Post. Retrieved June 13, 2019.
  4. Scott, Darren (June 13, 2019). "Aneesh Sheth, star of Marvel's Jessica Jones: 'It's not all about the trans narrative'". Inews. Retrieved June 13, 2019.
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