Meera Syal

Meera Syal MBE (born June 27 1961 in Essington, near Wolverhampton) is a British Indian comedian, writer, playwright, singer, journalist and actress. She was born in Wolverhampton and grew up in Essington, a mining village a few miles to the north. Her Punjabi-born parents came to Britain from New Delhi.

Career

Syal won the National Student Drama Award for writing One of Us while studying English and Drama at Manchester University. She spend seven years working for the Royal Court Theatre and won the Betty Trask Award for her first book Anita and Me and the Media Personality of the Year award at the Commission for Racial Equality's annual Race in the Media awards in 2000. She was awarded the MBE in 1997. In 2003, she was listed in The Observer as one of the fifty funniest acts in British comedy.

Related Topics:
National Student Drama Award - One of Us - Manchester University - Royal Court Theatre - Betty Trask Award - Book - Anita and Me - Commission for Racial Equality - 2000 - MBE - 1997 - 2003 - The Observer - Fifty funniest

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As a journalist she writes occasionally for The Guardian. She scored a number one record with Gareth Gates and her co-stars from The Kumars at No. 42 with "Spirit In The Sky", the Comic Relief single.

Related Topics:
The Guardian - Gareth Gates - The Kumars at No. 42 - Spirit In The Sky - Comic Relief

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In June 2003 she appeared as a guest on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs programme with a selection of music by Nitin Sawhney, Madan Bala Sindhu, Joni Mitchell, Pizzicato Five, Sukhwinder Singh, Louis Armstrong and others. The luxury which she chose to ease her life as a castaway was a piano!

Related Topics:
Desert Island Discs - Nitin Sawhney - Madan Bala Sindhu - Joni Mitchell - Pizzicato Five - Sukhwinder Singh - Louis Armstrong

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/factual/desertislanddiscs_20030601.shtml

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