Kunal Nayyar Biography • British Indian Actor

Kunal Nayyar is a British-Indian comic actor and writer. He is best known for his role as Rajesh Koothrappali on the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory.

Early Life

Kunal Nayyar was born on April 30, 1981, in Hammersmith, London. He was born into a Punjabi family and brought up in New Delhi, India. He moved from India to the US in 1999. He first moved to Portland, Oregon, to study business. He attended St Columba’s School in New Delhi, where he played badminton for the school team.

Nayyar’s agent heard about a role for a scientist in an upcoming CBS pilot and encouraged him to audition for the part. This led to his casting in the sitcom The Big Bang Theory, on which he plays astrophysicist Raj Koothrappali. His co-stars in this series are Johnny Galecki, Jim Parsons, Kaley Cuoco, Simon Helberg, Mayim Bialik, and Melissa Rauch,

Offscreen, Kunal has a close friendship with Simon Helberg, who plays Howard onscreen.

Kunal is one of the highest-paid TV actors in the world. He is ranked third behind co-stars Jim Parsons and Johnny Galecki in the 2015 list of Forbes highest-paid TV Actors. He married Miss India 2006 winner Neha Kapur in December 2011.