Paige Sandhu

Paige Sandhu (born 17 July 1995) is an English actress. She began her career with appearances in Doctors and Endeavour, before being cast as Meena Jutla in the ITV soap opera Emmerdale (2020–2022). For her portrayal, she received critical acclaim, won Best Villain at the Inside Soap Awards two years in a row and won Best Leading Performer at the 2022 British Soap Awards.

Early life
Sandhu was born in 1995 in the United Kingdom to an Indian father and English mother. After attending the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Sandhu suffered from social anxiety, fear of judgement and fears about her future career. She moved back in with her parents and "became quite reclusive". She felt unsafe around people she did not know which led her to not leave the house much, as well as developing insomnia and various food intolerances.

Career
Sandhu made her debut in television appearances in the BBC soap opera Doctors and the ITV drama series Endeavour.

In September 2020, it was announced that Sandhu had been cast in the ITV soap opera Emmerdale as Meena Jutla, the sister of established character Manpreet Sharma (Rebecca Sarker). In June 2021, it was confirmed that Meena would become a serial killer on the soap. Sandhu received critical acclaim for her performances as Meena, and in 2021, she won the award for Best Villain at the Inside Soap Awards, and was nominated for Best Newcomer. In 2022, she was nominated for an award in the Soap Actor category at the TRIC Awards. Sandhu has confirmed that after the conclusion of Meena's serial killer arc, she will be leaving the soap. Her final scenes aired on 18 April 2022 when her character was sentenced to life in prison. In 2023, Sandhu was announced to be starring in the upcoming film Lioness. She will portray Princess Sophia, who was one of the key leaders of the suffragette movement in the UK.