Sonal Shah (actress)
Encyclopedia
Sonal Shah is an Indian-American actress who is best known for playing Dr. Sonja "Sunny" Dey on TV's Scrubs
.
. Her parents, Bhadresh and Mrudula Shah, moved from Mumbai
, Maharashtra
, India
to the United States
in 1970.
Shah graduated from Wheaton Warrenville South High School
. She was named the 1998 DuPage County
Fair Queen in July 1998.
Shah graduated cum laude from Loyola University
in Chicago
with a major in theatre, minors in psychology
, biology
and chemistry
, and a concentration in pre-medicine. While a student at Loyola, Shah joined the Alpha Sigma Alpha
sorority. "I sincerely planned to go to medical school," Shah told a Wheaton, Illinois newspaper in March 2009. "I love studying science, but I realized that my passion for performing outweighed my passion for wanting to be a doctor."
After graduation, Shah became a staple in the Chicago Theatre Community and performed with The Tony Award Winning Goodman Theatre among others. She is a founding member of Rasaka Theatre Company, which explores South Asian plays and playwrights, and supplemented her acting education at The Moscow Art Theatre School at Harvard University.
in 2006 and began appearing in commercials and sketch comedy. She also has acted with Second City
theatres in Chicago and Los Angeles.
In 2009, Shah began appearing on Scrubs
as Dr. Sonja "Sunny" Dey, who is one of the young interns newly cast in the show's eighth season. In addition, Shah appeared in the show's webisode
series Scrubs: Interns
. Shah returns as a guest star on the ninth season of Scrubs, in the fifth episode.
Shah also has a role in the 2009 teen comedy film Ratko: The Dictator's Son
, a National Lampoon
production.
Scrubs (TV series)
Scrubs is an American medical comedy-drama television series created in 2001 by Bill Lawrence and produced by ABC Studios. The show follows the lives of several employees of the fictional Sacred Heart, a teaching hospital. It features fast-paced screenplay, slapstick, and surreal vignettes...
.
Early life and education
Shah was raised in Wheaton, IllinoisWheaton, Illinois
Wheaton is an affluent community located in DuPage County, Illinois, approximately west of Chicago and Lake Michigan. Wheaton is the county seat of DuPage County...
. Her parents, Bhadresh and Mrudula Shah, moved from Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
, Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1970.
Shah graduated from Wheaton Warrenville South High School
Wheaton Warrenville South High School
Wheaton Warrenville South High School, or WWSHS, is a public four-year high school located at the corner of Butterfield Road and Wiesbrook Road in the southwest corner of the Wheaton, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States...
. She was named the 1998 DuPage County
DuPage County, Illinois
As of the 2010 Census, the population of the county was 916,924, White Americans made up 77.9% of Dupage County's population; non-Hispanic whites represented 70.5% of the population. Black Americans made up 4.6% of the population. Native Americans made up 0.3% of Dupage County's population...
Fair Queen in July 1998.
Shah graduated cum laude from Loyola University
Loyola University Chicago
Loyola University Chicago is a private Jesuit research university located in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1870 under the title St...
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
with a major in theatre, minors in psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
, biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
and chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
, and a concentration in pre-medicine. While a student at Loyola, Shah joined the Alpha Sigma Alpha
Alpha Sigma Alpha
Alpha Sigma Alpha is a US national sorority founded on November 15, 1901 at the Virginia State Female Normal School in Farmville, Virginia...
sorority. "I sincerely planned to go to medical school," Shah told a Wheaton, Illinois newspaper in March 2009. "I love studying science, but I realized that my passion for performing outweighed my passion for wanting to be a doctor."
After graduation, Shah became a staple in the Chicago Theatre Community and performed with The Tony Award Winning Goodman Theatre among others. She is a founding member of Rasaka Theatre Company, which explores South Asian plays and playwrights, and supplemented her acting education at The Moscow Art Theatre School at Harvard University.
Acting career
Shah moved to Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
in 2006 and began appearing in commercials and sketch comedy. She also has acted with Second City
The Second City
The Second City is a improvisational comedy enterprise which originated in Chicago's Old Town neighborhood.The Second City Theatre opened on December 16, 1959 and has since expanded its presence to several other cities, including Toronto and Los Angeles...
theatres in Chicago and Los Angeles.
In 2009, Shah began appearing on Scrubs
Scrubs (TV series)
Scrubs is an American medical comedy-drama television series created in 2001 by Bill Lawrence and produced by ABC Studios. The show follows the lives of several employees of the fictional Sacred Heart, a teaching hospital. It features fast-paced screenplay, slapstick, and surreal vignettes...
as Dr. Sonja "Sunny" Dey, who is one of the young interns newly cast in the show's eighth season. In addition, Shah appeared in the show's webisode
Webisode
A webisode is a short episode which airs initially as Internet television, either download or stream as opposed to first airing on broadcast or cable television. The format can be used as a preview, a promotion, as part of a collection of shorts, or a commercial.A webisode can be an episode...
series Scrubs: Interns
Scrubs: Interns
Scrubs: Interns is a webisode series from ABC based on the comedy-drama series Scrubs in its eighth season, which originally aired premiered on ABC.com, the day of a new Scrubs episode aired...
. Shah returns as a guest star on the ninth season of Scrubs, in the fifth episode.
Shah also has a role in the 2009 teen comedy film Ratko: The Dictator's Son
Ratko: The Dictator's Son
Ratko: The Dictator's Son also known as National Lampoon's Ratko: The Dictator's Son is a 2009 teen comedy directed by Savage Steve Holland. The film was produced by Intermedia Films and Cinetel Films and was distributed by National Lampoon Inc...
, a National Lampoon
National Lampoon
National Lampoon was both a ground-breaking American humor magazine and also a wide range of productions directly associated with that magazine. The magazine ran from 1970 to 1998, and was originally a spinoff of the Harvard Lampoon....
production.
Selected filmography
- ScrubsScrubs (TV series)Scrubs is an American medical comedy-drama television series created in 2001 by Bill Lawrence and produced by ABC Studios. The show follows the lives of several employees of the fictional Sacred Heart, a teaching hospital. It features fast-paced screenplay, slapstick, and surreal vignettes...
(2009–2010) - Dr. Sonja "Sunny" Dey - Ratko: The Dictator's SonRatko: The Dictator's SonRatko: The Dictator's Son also known as National Lampoon's Ratko: The Dictator's Son is a 2009 teen comedy directed by Savage Steve Holland. The film was produced by Intermedia Films and Cinetel Films and was distributed by National Lampoon Inc...
(2009 film) - Layla