Biography
Karen Johal (Born March 13th 1991) is a British Actor of south Asian descent. She is best known for her role as Nicole Shelley in the television series Ted Lasso, Noreen Khan in the BBC series Phoenix Rise and for the films Man on the Phone and Frank's Plan on Amazon Prime. Raised in Birmingham, England she is a graduate of The American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Manhattan, New York, alongside actors Paul Rudd, Robert Redford, Grace Kelly and Danny Devito.
Johal grew up in Aston, Birmingham, the eldest of three children. She attended Canterbury Cross Nursery and St Clares RC Primary School where she began acting at the age of 8 after being cast in the school's annual Christmas Nativity play. Whilst attending Perry Beeches Secondary School she studied Drama, Art and Music GCSE and starred in a musical production of "Grease" where she was awarded a Certificate of Appreciation. Johal went on to study A Levels in Drama, English Literature, Psychology and Fine Art at The Birmingham Metropolitan College in Sutton Coldfield where she starred as the lead role in a production of Sarah Kane's 4.48 Psychosis and was awarded a Philip Larkin Performance in Poetry Award in 2008.
Working part time as a retail assistant and for The Birmingham Hippodrome Theatre she began auditioning for Drama schools. In 2014 after auditioning in London, she was accepted into The American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Manhattan, New York. She joined the likes of Paul Rudd, Robert Redford, Grace Kelly, Danny Devito and Jessica Chastain. Graduating in 2016 as the only student of Indian descent she was awarded a place in The Academy Company where she starred in theatre productions of Welcome to Thebes, She Kills Monsters, Truest and the original musical Me and the Girls opposite Scottish Actor Alan Cumming OBE. The musical was directed by Broadway playwright Douglas Carter Beane. Johal also wrote and starred in the short film Gods of New York playing Athena, the film was directed by Jason Kaufman. Johal would collaborate with Kaufman once again in the Award nominated short film Cartwright, playing the lead role as Karen Kraft.
In her career Johal has worked extensively in Theater in both the US and UK. In 2017 she performed in a critical role in Oskar Eustis's production of Julius Caesar. The production also starred Actors Corey Stoll, John Douglas Thompson and Elizabeth Marvel. Julius Caesar ran for four weeks at the world famous Delacorte Theater in Central Park, New York City. Later that same year Johal starred in the production of The Journey to America as the lead role, Mistress of Ceremony. Performing to over 2,800 people, she occupied the world famous stage at Carnegie Hall in Orchestra Moderne's debut performance directed by Grammy Award Winning Composer Amy Andersson. Johal was also cast in a starring role in the original play, Camel written by Actor and Playwright Charly Clive. She also starred as the lead role in productions of As you like it, Good Fit, Lysistrata and Satisfaction by Tony Award winning Playwright Nandita Shenoy.
It was announced in 2017 that Johal would be starring in the short film The Somasundarams by Amrita Singh. Playing the lead role of Shanti, the short was produced by NYU Film School and was selected by Chicago South Asian Film Festival and NYWIFT as part of their Immigrant Stories Series. Johal went on to star as the lead role in Singh's follow up production of Teething. A coming of age story set against the backdrop of south Asian culture in the modern world.
Johal would later star in the successful Youtube series, Everyone Else Has. Playing the starring role of Mellie, the British character on a show that garnered a high level of acclaim through its social recognition with views of over 6,500 in its first season.
In 2018 she starred as the lead role in the Amazon Prime Short film Frank's Plan directed by Juhui Kwon. The film was screened at the 12th Annual Kaffny Film festival and was produced by Default Films. It was later announced that she would be playing the starring role in Man on Phone as Felicity in the Award Winning psychological thriller. Man on the phone was awarded best short at The Canada Shorts Film Festival and Audience Choice at The Grove Film Festival. Director Nick Aquilino received an Award of Achievement for Best Picture from Pace University in association with The Golden Globes.
In 2021 Johal returned to the UK to perform in the regional premiere of the Award winning play Blackbird. Playing the well known lead character of Una, previously played by Academy Award winning Actor Michelle Williams. Johal received critical acclaim for her performance with major UK publications calling her " A rising star". Later she would perform in another premiere of Duncan MacMillian's People, Places and Things. The performances were heralded for playing a key role in the production venue, Sandfields Pumping Station becoming a historical landmark. Johal starred in the national commercial for UK retailer TK Maxx. In the annual Christmas advert called Christmas to the Maxx, Johal would play a key role in securing a huge increase in revenue for the retailer that resulted in a website launch the following year.
In 2022 Johal announced she would be performing in her hometown at The Birmingham Repertory theatre in the original play Mismatch by Ashfaq Gorsi as part of Sky Comedy Rep. The production was directed by Iqbal Khan known for his work as the director for the Commonwealth Games 2022 held in Birmingham. Following this success Johal was cast in the short film The High Performer produced by Tilt Films and directed by filmmaker Harry Osbourne.
In June 2022 it was announced that Johal would be starring in the upcoming BBC television series Phoenix Rise starring Paul Nicholls, Zita Sattar and Tyler Fayose. The twenty episode will air in March 2023.
Johal is represented by Shack Artists UK.
