Karen Johal[1] (born 13 March 1991) is a British actress of Indian descent. She is best known for playing Nicole Shelley[2] on season 3 of the Apple TV+ television series Ted Lasso (2020).[3] [4] She gained further recognition for her portrayal of Noreen Khan in the BBC television series Phoenix Rise (2023).[5] She is a graduate of The American Academy of Dramatic Arts[6] in Manhattan, New York where she starred on stage for The Public Theater[7] and performed live at Carnegie Hall.[8] In June 2023, she was featured in a national ad campaign for global messaging platform WhatsApp alongside British broadcaster Alex Scott.[9]
Karen Johal was born on 13 March 1991 in Birmingham, England, to British parents.[10] She is of Indian descent and has two younger brothers. Johal grew up in Aston and comes from a working class background.[11] She attended St. Clare's Primary School in Handsworth[12] and Perry Beeches Secondary School[13] in Perry Barr.[14]
At age 16 she enrolled at Birmingham Metropolitan College at the Sutton Coldfield campus, where she received A Levels in English Literature, Psychology, Fine Art and Drama. After finishing college, she began working full time as a retail assistant in Birmingham City Centre and part time at the Birmingham Hippodrome. Whilst working, she auditioned unsuccessfully for several UK drama schools with hopes of studying acting professionally.[15]
In 2014, after a successful audition in London, she was accepted into The American Academy of Dramatic Arts and relocated to Manhattan, New York.[16] After graduating in 2016 she was offered a place in the third year program,[17] performing in theater productions of Moira Buffini's Welcome to Thebes, Megan Cohen's Truest[18] and Qui Nguyen's She Kills Monsters.[19] Johal also starred opposite Scottish actor Alan Cumming in original musical Me and the Girls directed by Douglas Carter Beane.[20] The musical was choreographed by Lorin Latarro and featured original music by Noël Coward.[21]
In 2017, Johal starred in the off-Broadway production of Julius Caesar[22] directed by Oskar Eustis[23] at Shakespeare in the Park for The Public Theater.[24] Later that year she performed on stage at Carnegie Hall in the premiere of The Journey to America for Orchestra Moderne.[25] The performance was directed by Amy Andersson and composed by Emmy award winning American composer Lolita Ritmanis.[26]
Johal was well received by critics and the performance garnered positive reviews in The Huffington Post[27] and The New York Classical Review.[28]
The following year, Johal starred in a number of off-Broadway theater productions including As You Like It[29] [30] and The 7th Inning Stretch for Miles Square Theater in New Jersey.[31] She played a series of leading roles in the short films, Frank's Plan (2018) for Amazon Prime, Man on the Phone (2019) and the YouTube web series Everyone Else Has (2017).
In 2020, Johal relocated to the UK, due to the global pandemic.[32] [33] [34] The following year she played the lead role as Una in David Harrower's Blackbird[35] and the role of doctor/therapist in Duncan MacMillan's People, Places and Things. Both productions were regional premieres performed in the city of Lichfield, Staffordshire.[36]
In late 2021, Johal starred in a national Christmas commercial for global retailer TK Maxx.[37] The commercial, called "Christmas to the Maxx",[38] was directed by Raine Allen-Miller and aired in the UK/ Europe.[39] In Spring 2022, Johal performed at the Sky Comedy Rep festival at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre.[40] Sky Comedy Rep is an annual comedy festival, featuring original one-act plays from new playwrights.[41] Writers are paired with mentors throughout the research and development stage. Past mentors have included Meera Syal, Guz Khan and Sanjeev Bhaskar.[42] During the festival Johal was cast in the new play Mismatch written by Ashfaq Gorsi and directed by The Rep's Artistic Director Iqbal Khan.[43] The production was performed across two nights in March 2022 and was hosted by Birmingham Comedian, Daren Elliott.[44]
Later in the year, Johal was cast in the newly commissioned BBC television series Phoenix Rise.[45] The show was written and created by Matt Evans and Perrie Balthazar. Phoenix Rise follows a diverse group of teenagers who have been excluded from a West Midlands school as they begin their first steps back into education.[46] Johal played a recurring role on the series as Noreen Khan.[47] Production took place in Coventry and lasted over six months, filming up until the end of 2022.[48] Season one launched on BBC iPlayer on 21 March 2023[49] and on 12 April 2023 it was confirmed a second series would be aired later in the year.[50] A third and fourth series has also been commissioned by the BBC.[51] [52] In 2024 it was announced that Johal would not be returning for the third season citing scheduling conflicts.
Whilst working on production for Phoenix Rise,[53] Johal auditioned for the role of Nicole Shelley on the hit Apple TV+ series Ted Lasso.[54] [55] The award winning television series starring Jason Sudeikis, Hannah Waddingham and Nick Mohammed, began production on its rumoured final season on 7 March 2022.[56] [57] [58] [59]
After an initial audition for executive producer Sudeikis and the casting team at Theo Park,[60] Johal won the role. Season 3, aired on Apple TV+ on 15 March 2023[61] [62] and the character of Nicole Shelley was introduced in episode 7 "The Strings That Bind Us".[63] Johal played Nicole Shelley, the younger sister of Nathan Shelley, played by Nick Mohammed until the series ended on 31 May 2023.[64]
In June 2023, it was announced that season 3 of Ted Lasso had been nominated for 21 Emmy awards including Best Comedy Series.[65] [66]
In January 2024, Johal received a nomination for Outstanding Ensemble in a Comedy Series by the Screen Actors Guild Awards for Ted Lasso.[67] [68] The awards ceremony took place in February 2024 as it was delayed due to the SAG AFTRA strike, which ended in November 2023.
Johal was cast in a short film for MTV Entertainment titled The Waves (2023) for The Corner Shop in aid of Women's History Month in March 2023.[69] The short film was directed by Bafta award winning director Sindha Agha[70] and aired on Comedy Central, Paramount, VH1 and all channels owned by the MTV Entertainment Group.The short film was developed in concept, based on a poem by Virginia Woolf.[71] "For pain words are lacking", the focal point of the piece centered around the female body and relation to pain.[72]
In Spring 2023, Johal relocated to Hamburg, Germany, to play Zarina in Ayad Akhtar's The Who and the What.[73] The production ran for six weeks at The English Theatre of Hamburg with an all British cast.[74]
The Who and the What directed by Clifford Dean was met with overall positive reviews from the German press.[75] Several media outlets made mention of Germany's previous productions of the play, for its controversial decision to cast white actors as Pakistani American characters.[76] Akhtar's play has been produced all over the world with notable productions in Vienna, Austria, Denmark and New York.[77]
In June 2023, Johal was approached to star in WhatsApp's global campaign, A Private Message alongside British Broadcaster Alex Scott MBE.[78] The campaign was launched to help promote WhatsApp's new chat encryption services for safe messaging and mental health awareness.[79]
Johal will next appear in global campaigns for F1 sponsor Aramco Global[80] and Northwell Health.[81]
Johal currently resides in the UK.[82]
| 2018 | Frank's Plan | Kathy | Short film | |
| 2019 | Man on the Phone | Felicity | Short film | |
| 2023 | The Waves | Woman in Labour | Short film |
| 2022 | Ted Lasso | Nicole Shelley | Nominated for Outstanding Ensemble in a Comedy Series[83] | |
| 2022 | Phoenix Rise | Noreen Khan |
| 2007 | 4.48 Psychosis | Lead | Sally Humphreys | Sarah Kane | Sutton Coldfield College | |
| 2016 | Measure for Measure | Duke Vincentio | Sheila Bandyopadhyay | William Shakespeare | The American Academy of Dramatic Arts | |
| 2016 | Welcome to Thebes | Eurydice | Barbara Rubin | Moira Buffini | The American Academy of Dramatic Arts | |
| 2016 | Me and the Girls | Nasim | Douglas Carter Beane | Douglas Carter Beane | The American Academy of Dramatic Arts | |
| 2016 | Truest | Jen | Jessica Holt | Megan Cohen | The American Academy of Dramatic Arts | |
| 2017 | She Kills Monsters | Farrah | George Heslin | Qui Nyuen | The American Academy of Dramatic Arts | |
| 2017 | Camel | Ezme | Michael Bradshaw Flynn | Charly Clive | Under St. Marks | |
| 2017 | Julius Caesar | Lead Ensemble | Oskar Eustis | William Shakespeare | Delacourte Central Park | |
| 2017 | The Journey to America | MC | Amy Andersson | Amy Andersson | Carnegie Hall | |
| 2017 | Satisfaction | Sammie | Adam Fitzgerald | Nandita Shenoy | The American Academy of Dramatic Arts | |
| 2018 | Good Fit | Asma | Anna Loyd Bradshaw | Nkenna Akunna | Wow Cafe | |
| 2018 | American As... | Anita | Peter J Kuo | Nandita Shenoy | Miles Square | |
| 2018 | Rise/Fall | God | Sheila Bandyopadhyay | Sheila Bandyopadhyay | Leviathan Lab | |
| 2019 | As you like it | Phebe | Alexis Confer | William Shakespeare | Teatro Latea | |
| 2019 | This is Me | Claire | Yudelka Heyer | Barbara Bernardi | The American Academy of Dramatic Arts | |
| 2020 | The Tempest | Caliban | Ryan Cupello | William Shakespeare | SoHo Shakes | |
| 2020 | Lysistrata | Lysistrata | Alexis Confer | Aristophanes | Teatro Latea | |
| 2021 | Blackbird | Una | Christopher Buckle | David Harrower | Sandfields Pumping Station | |
| 2021 | People, Places & Things | Doctor/Therapist | Christopher Buckle | Duncan Macmillan | Sandfields Pumping Station | |
| 2022 | Mismatch | Zainab | Iqbal Khan | Ashfaq Gorsi | The Birmingham Rep | |
| 2023 | The Who and the What | Zarina | Clifford Dean | Ayad Akhtar | The English Theatre of Hamburg |
| 2021 | Midlands Masala with Gagan Grewal | Guest | BBC Sounds | |
| 2023 | National NDR Radio Hamburg | Guest | NDR |