Anita Devi "Annet" Mahendru (born November 5, 1985) is an American actress. She is known for playing Nina Sergeevna Krilova on the FX period drama series The Americans (2013–2016), which earned her a Critics' Choice Award nomination in 2014; and as Jennifer "Huck" Mallick in the AMC series The Walking Dead: World Beyond in 2020.

Early life and education Annet Mahendru was born on November 5, 1985, in Kabul, Afghanistan. Her mother, Olga, is Russian, and her father, Ghanshan "Ken" Mahendru, is a Punjabi Hindu Indian educator and journalist, who studied at Kabul University and later met her mother while working in Russia. The Mahendru family moved to Kabul where her grandfather had a sweets business. Mahendru's grandmother originally hailed from Nepal.

Mahendru had what she calls a "gypsy" childhood, spending her first seven years of her childhood between Afghanistan and Saint Petersburg. She then lived with her mother in St. Petersburg and regularly travelled between there and Frankfurt, before moving with her father to East Meadow, New York, at age 13, after her parents separated. Mahendru attended East Meadow High School, where she was active in competitive cheerleading and kick line teams; she graduated in 2004. She went on to earn an English degree from St. John's University in New York City.

Mahendru grew up speaking Persian, Russian, German and English, and also speaks conversational Hindi and French. She also uses Dari to speak with her relatives. She initially wanted to use what she has called her "ethnic ambiguity" to work for the United Nations. She was enrolled at New York University for a master's degree in international relations as she wanted to work for the women in Afghanistan, but dropped out to pursue acting. She then moved to Los Angeles and studied improv at The Groundlings.

Career In 2007, Mahendru appeared in an episode of the HBO comedy-drama Entourage. Her next significant roles came in 2011, in episodes of the sitcoms Big Time Rush and 2 Broke Girls. In 2012, she starred in an episode of the sitcom Mike & Molly.

In 2013, Mahendru played Nina Sergeevna Krilova in the FX drama The Americans, appeared in an episode of the crime series White Collar, and played Agent Rosen in two episodes of the crime drama The Blacklist. She starred in the unapproved Disney film Escape from Tomorrow, which is set in Walt Disney World.

In 2014, Mahendru was promoted to a series regular for the second season of The Americans. She also starred in the comedy-drama film Bridge and Tunnel, had a voice role in the 2014 animated film Penguins of Madagascar, and guest-starred in the 2016 X-Files miniseries as Sveta, a possible UFO abductee. She played Nafisa Al-Qadi on the FX series Tyrant.

Mahendru stars in the title role of the independent feature film Sally Pacholok (2015), which premiered at and won Best Feature at the DC Independent Film Festival, in Washington, DC.

Mahendru has also performed at theatre works at LATW. In 2017, she performed in Seven as an Afghan refugee and women's rights activist Farida Azizi at the LA Theatre Works. The play was a collaboration between 7 playwrights and female activists each from around the globe that portrays inspiring stories of overcoming adversities to bring about real change and improve the lives of women.

Mahendru stars in the seventh episode of the anthology series The Romanoffs, which began streaming on Amazon Video on November 16, 2018.

She plays a lead role as Jennifer "Huck" Mallick in the AMC series The Walking Dead: World Beyond, which premiered in 2020.

In 2025, Mahendru played her first Indian role as Reena Trivedi in Leverage: Redemption.

Personal life Mahendru is married to Australian filmmaker Louie Gibson. The couple have a son (born ).

Despite both her parents' families not being from Afghanistan and having lived across the world since she was young, Mahendru maintains strong ties to her Indian and Russian roots as well as her connection to her birthplace, stating in 2022:

Filmography +Key Denotes productions that have not yet been released

Film Year Title Role Notes2009Erza: Fear of a Faceless GodErzaDebut2010Duel of the OvermenAuslerShort film2011El Padrino II: Border IntrusionSerge's Wife2011Love, GloriaKatie2011AlmazNatashaShort film2012Got Rights?Afghan WomanShort film2012Captain Planet 3Script GirlShort filmCaptain Planet 4Script GirlShort film2013Escape from TomorrowIsabelle2013Metropolitan StoriesEsmeraldaShort film2014Bridge and TunnelKelly Jones2014Smokey EyesBarbaraShort film2014Penguins of MadagascarEva Voice2015Sally PacholokSally Pacholok2015The FollowingEliza2021GrowKitty / Locasta2022Father StuVirgin Mary2022Manifest WestAlice Hayes2023Jack London’s Martin EdenLizzie Connolly 2026Return from Tomorrow FloraThe Fix Sophie

Television Year Title Role Notes2007EntourageFrench GirlfriendUncredited; Episode: "The Cannes Kids"2011Big Time RushPrincess SvetlanaEpisode: "Big Time Wedding"20112 Broke GirlsRobinEpisode: "And the Pop-Up Sale"2012 Mike & MollyFlight AttendantEpisode: "The Honeymoon is Over"2013–2016The AmericansNina Sergeevna Krilova35 episodesNominated—Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series 2013The BlacklistAgent Rosen2 episodes2013White CollarKatyaEpisode: "Ice Breaker"2014Grey's AnatomyAnaEpisode: "Only Mama Knows"2015The FollowingEliza4 episodes2016The X-FilesSvetaEpisode: "My Struggle: Part 1"2016TyrantNafisa Al-Qadi8 episodes2017Pickle & PeanutMia1 episode2017Neo YokioMila Malevich2 episodes2018Lethal WeaponLayla KhudariEpisode: "Get the Picture"2018The RomanoffsElena EvanovichEpisode: "End of the Line"2020–2021The Walking Dead: World BeyondJennifer "Huck" MallickMain role; 18 episodes2020Prodigal SonFionaEpisode: "Scheherazade"2023True LiesYelenaEpisode: "Waking Dreams"2025Leverage: RedemptionReena TrivediSeason 3 Episode 6 : "The Swipe Right Job"

Theatre Year Title Role Notes2017SevenFarida AziziLATW

Awards and nominations Year Award Category Work Result Ref2014 Critics' Choice Television Award Best Supporting Actress in a DramaThe Americans Gold Derby TV Award Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Laugh or Die Comedy Festival Best Supporting ActressBridge and Tunnel Long Beach International Film Festival Best Supporting Actress Northeast Film Festival Best Supporting Actress Showbiz India's Trailblazer award 'Emerging Leader' as a rising South Asian Female Actor in Hollywood Herself 2015 Television, Internet and Video Association of DC (TIVA-DC) Peer Awards Acting on Camera - Fiction, Female - Gold Sally Pacholok

References

External links