What is Ambreen Razia Doing today? Her Age, Career, Height, Bio

Ambreen Razia

Born in 1992 in South London, England, writer and actress Ambreen Razia was raised in a one-parent household by a Pakistani single mother, and alongside an older sister. Her birth name is unknown, as Ambreen adopted her grandmother’s name as her surname sometime in the 2000s; according to the writer, she grew up in a household of ‘strong, resilient women’ and never knew her father, which is a main reason why women are always at the forefront of her stories.

In 2013, Ambreen graduated from the University of West London with a bachelor’s degree, and began training at the Identity School of Acting (IDSA). Her previous schooling includes matriculating from Ricards Lodge School and studying a Business and Technology Business Council (BTEC) in performing arts at Kingston College. (For those who aren’t in the loop, a BTEC is the equivalent of three A-levels and a route into university or higher education).

Just two years after graduating, Ambreen starred in and wrote the one-woman show “The Diary of a Hounslow Girl”, going on tour the next year and performing around the country. However, After winning the Best Newcomer award at the 2016 Asian Media Awards, Ambreen appeared to fade out of the public eye, leaving many fans wondering what she’s up to these days.

Career

As it happens, Ambreen has continued to work steadily following the success of “Hounslow Girl”. However, her latter projects have failed to reach the same level of public recognition.

In 2016, the South Londoner played Rafia in the compelling TV film “Murdered by My Father”. The following year, she made a non-speaking cameo appearance in the BBC movie “Carnage: Swallowing the Past”, which was set 50 years into the future, and imagined a world in which everyone is vegan. Also in 2017, Ambreen played Hafsah in “Finding Fatimah”.

Miniseries, short films and TV movies were next on the list for Ambreen, as she portrayed Sundus in “Shortflix”, Reema in “Cur:few”, and PC Kuddoruth in “Killed by My Debt”. In 2018, her hit drama was picked up by BBC and Ambreen went on a press tour to drum up publicity for the series, which received mostly positive reviews for the sensitive manner in which it tackled the topic of London gang culture as seen through a female lens.

The self-described British Asian Londoner opened up like never before during an interview with The Guardian, discussing the hostility she faced while touring her first play in small towns. ‘I won’t name the place it happened, but the posters of the play, which had a picture of me wearing a hijab, were torn down,’ she remarked. ‘In these small towns, I felt like an outsider.’

However, the writer refused to change her writing style or themes, just to make anyone comfortable. The female lead of Ambreen’s second play, “POT”, is a member of a girl gang who uses South London slang, whereas the play itself explored the links between the foster care system, poverty, abuse, and criminality.

The main inspiration behind “POT” was Ambreen’s facilitation work with youngsters. While working at a theatre with schools and prisons, she met girls aged 12 to 16 who were experiencing gang life, female genital mutilation (FGM), and domestic violence. The harrowing experiences these girls lived – from carrying their boyfriends’ guns to selling cocaine on the streets – were a fundamental part of Ambreen’s sophomore play.

Apart from her facilitation work with teen girls, Ambreen was also part in the government’s counter-terrorist Prevention strategy, which involved taking a deradicalization course and working with vulnerable schoolgirls. ‘Whether it’s a terrorist organization or a street gang, they are driven by a feeling of wanting to belong,’ she sagely said. Three of the schoolgirls at Bethnal Green Academy, where Ambreen worked, later traveled to Syria to join Isis.

Shandy Fine (played by the amazing Ambreen Razia) is sweet, seductive, and most of all, hilarious addition to the #TedLasso ensemble: https://t.co/msqfKcoR1U pic.twitter.com/j56CkJEcj9

— Decider (@decider) April 2, 2023

Despite not initially being convinced by BBC’s proposal to turn “Hounslow Girl” into a TV series, Ambreen knew the importance of being part of the project and ensuring fairer representation for Asian women in media. After guest-starring in an episode of the show, the actress made brief appearances in “Jerk”, “Black Mirror”, and “Plebs” while also working on her third play, “Keeper”, which is about a Muslim brother and sister who struggle with mental health issues and gaslighting.

Towards the end of 2019, Ambreen landed one of her first recurring roles as Emma in “This Way Up”. She also appeared in six episodes of “The Emily Atack Show” and portrayed Naima in the miniseries “Trigonometry”. 2022 was an especially busy year for the talented playwright as she began playing Detective Thread in “The Curse” and wowed fans with her depiction of Shivani in “Starstruck” – however, 2023 would be even more rewarding.

Mere months after joining the cast of “Ted Lasso” in March 2023, it was announced that Ambreen would be developing a comedy-drama with Expectation Entertainment. The original series, which for now is entitled “Wasted”, follows a Muslim junior doctor, and as always, tackles sensitive topics (in this case, addiction and postpartum depression) head-on.

Speaking to Variety, Ambreen shared that the show would ‘lift the lid on the Muslim women that society refuses to acknowledge’, adding: ‘As a British Pakistani girl growing up in London, my experience bears little resemblance to what I’ve seen depicted on British television.’

Personal Life

Ambreen is notoriously private regarding her dating life – so much so that she’s never been publicly spotted with a possible partner. Similarly, the award-winning actress doesn’t have an Instagram account, and refuses to reveal her real age due to the entertainment industry’s sexist nature.

The only social media platform Ambreen appears to be active on is Twitter; however, she keeps all her Tweets strictly work-related, apart from the occasional selfie with friends. For now, the playwright is believed to be single and totally dedicated to taking her career to the next level.

Ambreen is 5ft 4ins (162cm) tall, with a net worth around $1.25 million, thanks to her TV deals, acting roles, and other ventures.