Sofia Hayat is a British Asian actress, and singer. She has worked on both British and Indian projects.
Hayat first came to public attention on
Satellite Channel, Zee TV, where she hosted her own TV show for 3 years
starting in 2003.
The show became a cult favourite amongst young British Asians. .She
holds a BA (Hons) in Music and Performing Arts, and has studied acting
for 7 years in total, including the Meisner Technique, which she is a
huge fan of. She has been instructed under David Schwimmer, famously
from the American TV show Friends.
Sofia plays the piano to grade 7. She can also
play the recorder, is a keen sword fighter, and has practised the
martial art, Krav Maga.
In July 2012, Sofia was named the new "Curvy Icon" by VOGUE ITALIA.
Career
Sofia has appeared in numerous TV Advertising
campaigns for big international brands like Walkers Crisps, McDonalds,
and was the first model/actor who featured in the campaign for Timotei
hair shampoo, a brand well known for hair products for blondes. This was
the first time they shot with a brunette from Indian origin.
She started acting professionally at 16, where
she landed her first role with the BBC on the hit show, "Absolute
Power", where she starred alongside Stephen Fry. (V for Vendetta)
She then went on to star in the BAFTA award
winning show Fur TV, where she played a Latino with a Brazilian accent.
The show was an international success and has been translated in over 5
different languages.
Sofia is also a singer, and released her album
Dishonoured, in 2011. She has also sang at the Royal Albert Hall, and
has sung Jazz with India's legend, Louiz Banks, who has performed with
Herbie Hancock.
For her first Bollywood film, Sofia had to learn
Hindi, as she did not speak it, however she did understand some, and
took on classes and watched films to perfect the language. It was
initially decided that her voice would be dubbed in her first film, but
after spending 3 months in India, the producer and Director agreed that
Sofia should dub her own voice.
Sofia also hosted and judged India's most watched TV show on Disney UTV Bindass, called "Superdude."
She has achieved a number of awards in India for acting and singing, and currently splits her time between the UK and India.
