Saeed Jaffrey Biography: Age, Wife, Education, Career & Net Worth

Written by Rayden Sam Posted on 2024-02-11

British-Indian actor Saeed Jaffrey OBE lived from 8 January 1929 until 15 November 2015. Over six decades and more than 150 British, American, and Indian films.

Saeed Jaffrey Family History: The oldest of Hamid Hussain Jaffrey and his wife Hamida Begum’s four children, Saeed Jaffrey, was born into an Indian Muslim family. He has a sister named Shagufta, two brothers named Waheed and Hameed, and two brothers named Hameed.

His family frequently traveled with his government-employed father; a doctor assigned to numerous rural communities throughout the United Provinces.

Saeed Jaffrey Career

Actor Saeed Jaffrey played roles in films, radio plays, stage productions, and television. Due to his prominent appearances in the films My Beautiful Laundrette (1985) Tandoori Nights (1985–1987), and Little Napoleons (1985–1987), he was regarded as Britain’s most well-known Asian actor during the 1980s and 1990s (1994).

He was crucial in bringing together directors James Ivory and Ismail Merchant. He appeared in several of their Merchant Ivory Productions movies, including The Guru (1969), Hullabaloo Over Georgie and Bonnie’s Pictures (1978), The Courtesans of Bombay (1983), and The Deceivers (1988).

Saeed Jaffrey Personal Life

Jaffrey got hitched twice. His first wife, Mehrunima Madhur Jaffrey, was a Kayastha businesswoman from an established and prosperous Hindu family in Old Delhi. She is a renowned character actor who has acted in several British and Indian movies, including Cotton Mary, Heat and Dust, and Saagar.

Mehrunima Madhur Jaffrey is a multi-published author and a food enthusiast who has written several books on the culinary arts.

Saeed Jaffrey Education

Actor Saeed Jaffrey pursued his post-graduate studies in history at the University of Allahabad. Additionally, he studied at All India Radio’s Staff Training Institute. He began his acting career between 1951 and 1956 in New Delhi as the creator of his own English theatre company, the Unity Theatre.

Saeed Jaffrey Work experience and advanced studies

Throughout this time, Saeed Jaffrey was also the Radio Director for All India Radio. He was equally at ease and enthusiastic in a wide range of comedic and dramatic roles. Plays by Tennessee Williams, Fry, Priestly, Wilde, and Shakespeare were among his earliest theatrical performances.

He completed his education at London’s prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 1956. He obtained a second post-graduate degree in drama from the Catholic University of America while studying there on a Fulbright grant in the United States.

Saeed Jaffrey Awards

Saeed Jaffrey was the first Asian to be nominated for an acting Academy Award in the United Kingdom and Canada. He was also the first person ever to earn the Order of the British Empire for his contributions to play.