Maitreyi Ramakrishnan

Maitreyi Ramakrishnan is a versatile Canadian actress known for her leading role in the Netflix teen comedy series "Never Have I Ever" as well as for lending her voice to the Pixar film "Turning Red" and for the character Zipp Storm in the "My Little Pony" series and TV specials.

Ramakrishnan portrays Devi Vishwakumar, the lead role, in the Netflix series "Never Have I Ever." In 2019, she was chosen by Mindy Kaling out of 15,000 candidates who applied for an open casting call for the show. Ramakrishnan created her audition tape at a local library, using her mother's camera, eventually being asked to send four more videos, before having a screen test in Los Angeles and being offered the role. Ramakrishnan was 17 at the time of her casting and had not yet held a job or acted professionally. Her casting received significant media attention, especially in Canada, both due to the nature of the open casting call and for her Tamil Canadian identity.

In 2019, "Today" named her one of eighteen "Groundbreakers," a list of young women who were breaking down barriers and changing the world. Her performance in the show received positive reviews, with Variety saying it was a "breakout performance". Ramakrishnan's acting prowess also earned her nominations for an Independent Spirit Award, a Canadian Screen Award, an MTV Movie & TV Award, and two People's Choice Awards in 2021. She also received a special honor at the 2021 Unforgettable Awards Gala and won the People's Choice Awards in 2022.

In 2020, she also narrated the Children's Programming portion of the 8th Canadian Screen Awards and was named a brand ambassador for the American Eagle's "Members Always: Future Together" campaign in 2022.

In 2021, she was named as a Breakout Actor in Time 100's Most Influential People. The same year, she received the honorary Radius Award from the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television. Ramakrishnan is set to star in the upcoming Netflix rom-com "The Netherfield Girls," a contemporary adaptation of Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice."