Poonam Basu

Poonam Basu is an actress and writer from New York, currently based in Los Angeles. She's the classic Renaissance woman and creative multi-hyphenate: actor/dancer/singer/producer/writer/director. Her first love was dance, beginning at the age of 2. Her study of dance was intermittent due to moving around a lot with her family growing up, but consequently, she was able to explore a large variety of styles. Her first formal acting class was in 6th grade. In high school, she traveled with a theater troupe to Regensberg, Germany to perform. While studying at Harvard during the summer before her senior year, Poonam did a theater internship with the LOEB experimental theater in Cambridge. While completing her bachelors in Spanish Literature at NYU, Poonam studied in Madrid for a semester and had the opportunity to perform an original piece in Spanish for the public. She returned to NYU for a Master's in Educational Children's Television, an interdisciplinary degree from the Gallatin School of Individualized Study, combining coursework in the Film school (Tisch School of the Arts) as well as the Education school (Steinhardt School of Ed). Her thesis, "Using Neuroscience to Enhance the Efficacy of Children's Programming," included a pilot episode of an original animated children's show. Poonam has been nominated for Best Actress twice. Once for her work on stage as Darla in Riot Grrrrl Saves the World, which premiered to much acclaim at the Hollywood Fringe Festival in 2014, and once at the Austin After Dark Film Festival 2019 for her work as Rani in the short neo-noir film, RESOLVE. Poonam believes fiercely in the role of artists to mold the future of human society. She aspires to create work that inspires, uplifts, and engenders love.