Actress and Activist
Sheetal Sheth is an actress who is known for her wide range of roles in an impressive body of work in film, television, and theater. She has starred in many feature films, perhaps best known for starring opposite Albert Brooks in LOOKING FOR COMEDY IN THE MUSLIM WORLD.
Feature Films
Sheetal Sheth burst onto the scene with raves in her debut film, playing the lead in “ABCD”- a risky, memorable, and controversial role as a promiscuous young girl struggling with the ties of family and tradition. Since then, Sheetal has developed a reputation as a consummate professional with an unmatched work ethic and critical eye when choosing projects. She has starred in over 17 feature films and has earned a loyal following. Highlights include WINGS OF HOPE for which she won the Best Actress Award at the Cinevue Film Festival, and AMERICAN CHAI which won the Audience Award at the Siamdance Film Festival. She played opposite Kal Penn and Mimi Rogers in DANCING WITH TWILIGHT and broke out in Brooks’ LOOKING FOR COMEDY IN THE MUSLIM WORLD. She was the female lead in Shangri-La Entertainment’s film- starring, written and directed by Albert Brooks, released by Warner Independent. Sheetal won the role after an extensive international casting search. Sheetal was part of a stellar ensemble in THE TROUBLE WITH ROMANCE, starred in cult favorite, I CAN’T THINK STRAIGHT, the thriller FIRST FEAR with Sean Patrick Flanery, and THE WORLD UNSEEN, based on the novel dealing with 50s apartheid South Africa. The latter premiered at The Toronto Film Festival and went on to win 11 SAFTA’s (South African equivalent to the Oscars) and many international awards including 3 Best Actress awards for Sheetal at film festivals. Her latest films include THREE VEILS and REIGN which teamed her with Oscar nominated DP, Jack Green and director Kimberly Jentzen.
Television
Sheetal’s career is not limited to feature film-she loves theater and has also had a career in voice-overs, music videos, TV pilots and many guest spots, her latest stints on NCIS: LA, ROYAL PAINS, and NIP/TUCK.
Affiliations
Due in part to her unique ability to appeal to a broad audience in terms of age, gender, and culture, Sheetal has represented such brands as REEBOK and CHI Hair care. Sheetal was also the first Indian American to appear in Maxim.
Community Service
Sheetal was raised with a strong ethic of community service and while at Tisch, was selected as a part of Americorps, President Clinton’s National Service program. With Americorps, she worked at an inner-city high school, developing progressive lesson plans, tutoring, and dealing with conflict resolution. At NYU, Sheetal had the distinctive honor of being a Tisch scholar and graduated with honors. Sheetal continues to speak at panels and conferences and is known as much as an actress as she is as someone who is heavily involved in community outreach and causes that are important to her.
