Janina Gavankar

Janina Gavankar is an American actress and musician of mixed Indian and Dutch descent. While majoring in Theatre Performance at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Gavankar worked in theatre, commercials, and independent films. Musically, she was part of the pop group Endera, signed to a subsidiary of Universal Records.

Outside of her current solo project, she collaborated with Pratichee of Viva, Deep, and Navraaz.

In addition to her ventures in popular music, Janina is a virtuoso percussionist specializing in Marimba. Combined with her sense of humor, she also is an alleged cowbell player.

After moving to Los Angeles, Gavankar appeared in the hit television series Girlfriends, Strong Medicine, and the indie film Bull Run. She is currently playing “Papi” on Showtime’s THE L WORD.

Gavankar also played “Ms.Dewey” in the now defunct interactive search engine MsDewey.com.

Most recently, Gavankar, an avid videogamer has co-hosted a series of gaming review shows called GGL 'Up All Night-Rock Band' and GGL 'Up All Night-Burnout Paradise'