Amara Karan (born Amara Karunakaran; 1 January 1984) is a British actress.
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Biography
Karan was born to Sri Lankan Tamil parents who had emigrated from Zambia to the United Kingdom two years before she was born. She was born in Wimbledon and attended Wimbledon High School.
Karan went on to study at St Catherine's College, Oxford and while there began acting in amateur plays including Sunday Morning at the Centre of the World at the Burton Taylor Theatre for which she received rave reviews and was also singled out for her performance in When We Are Married at the Old Fire Station theatre. During her time at Oxford, Karan wrote, directed, produced, and acted in a short film, By Myself, which came in second place in the 2002 Shoestring Shorts Competition.
Karan began her career as an investment banker (at Hawkpoint and CIBC World Markets) specialising in mergers and acquisitions, before studying for an MA degree in acting at The Arts Educational Schools London.
In 2007, Karan made her film debut as Rita in Wes Anderson's The Darjeeling Limited (2007), which premiered at the Venice Film Festival, and as Peaches in St Trinian's (2007).
In 2008, Karan made her stage debut as Jessica in an RSC production of The Merchant of Venice and as Bianca in an RSC production of The Taming of the Shrew. With the latter, she made her West End debut at the Novello Theatre.
