Chillin’ With Devika Parikh

Throughout her career, Devika Parikh has distinguished herself through several roles in both comedy and drama films.

Currently, Parikh can be seen on the new OWN series Kings of Napa, where she stars as Melanie Pierce, who brings the drama to the King family. Some of her recent roles include playing Nancy Klein, Meredith’s job saving attorney on Grey’s Anatomy, and supporting role in the feature film Aquaman. 

Devika was raised in Gaithersburg, Maryland by her “Blindian,” family, which is the title she lovingly refers to them as. With an East Indian father from Mumbai, India and an African American mother from Virginia, Parikh’s diverse heritage is the root of her pride. It has heavily influenced her portrayals of black, East Indian, and mixed ethnicity characters throughout her career. 

Prior to her acting journey, Parikh fancied journalism, graduating with a degree in broadcast journalism from Syracuse University. After a life-altering trip to the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia, she decided to abandon her first path to pursue her lifelong passion. So, she began training and appearing in Los Angeles theater productions. 

Her early career kicked off with bit comedy roles on In Living Color, Martin, and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Her first big recurring role came when she landed the role of Sheri on Showtime’s series Resurrection Blvd which was followed by the role of Maureen Kingsley on the iconic Fox smash hit series 24. Not long afterwards, she booked the recurring role of Bonnie on the critically hailed NBC hit drama The West Wing, which lasted for five seasons. Additional credits include projects such as Shameless, No Good Nick, Prime Suspect and Criminal Minds, to name a few. 

Parikh has also distinguished herself as a highly in-demand voice-over actress, including providing voice work for the animated films, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, Madagascar, Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse, and voicing characters in numerous major video games, TV shows and movies. 

Chilled got the chance to chat with Devika to learn about her favorite places to go out, love of red wine, and service industry past.

 

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With your busy schedule, what do you like to do with your downtime?  

Go outside and breath! I like to hike, take walks, ride my bike, go to the beach/park, and play tennis.  

 

When you go out to eat, where do you like to dine? 

I love great champagne brunches. For dinner, I like Granville, Maestros, LaLa’s, Nobu, The Ivy,  and Crustacean. Any place with great ambience, food, and drinks.   

 

What types of dishes do you typically order?  

I don’t eat meat or chicken, so It’s usually grilled fish or a vegetarian dish with some veggies. My diet is simple.  I also love dessert, especially a great chocolate lava cake!  

 

Any favorite bars?  

I don’t typically go to bars unless it’s a sports bar like Rocco’s or a restaurant with a great bar like Granville.  

 

What drinks do you order when out?  

I really like smooth red wines like a good blend or smooth cabernet.  For mixed drinks I like a Kir Royale, raspberry lemonade, or a Cosmopolitan. 

 

Do you prepare drinks at home?

I don’t prepare mixed drinks at home unless I’m having a party or gathering, but I will drink wine at home.   

 

Tell us about your home bar. What is it stocked with?

Red wine, more red wine, champagne, and Baileys. There may be some vodka and rum somewhere in there as well!  

 

Have you ever been a bartender?

Never tended bar but I did waitress.  I wasn’t good at waitressing, so I figured I better make it as actress.  

 

If you could share a drink with anyone, who would it be?

Any of my close friends/family. Also, if Oprah or Kevin Costner are available, without a doubt I would be in!