Karan was born to
Sri Lankan Tamil parents who had emigrated from
Zambia to Britain two years before she was born. She was brought up in
Wimbledon and attended
Wimbledon High School. Karan went on to study at
St Catherine's College, Oxford and while there began acting in amateur plays including
Sunday Morning at the Centre of the World at the
Burton Taylor Theatre for which she received rave reviews and was also singled out for her performance in
When We Are Married at the Old Fire Station theatre. During her time at Oxford, Karan wrote, directed, produced, and acted in a short film,
By Myself, which came in second place in the 2002 Shoestring Shorts Competition. Karan began her career as an investment banker (at Hawkpoint and CIBC World Markets) specialising in mergers and acquisitions, before studying for an
MA degree in acting at
The Arts Educational Schools London. In 2007, Karan made her film debut as Rita in
Wes Anderson's
The Darjeeling Limited (2007), which premiered at the Venice Film Festival, and as Peaches in ''
St Trinian's'' (2007). In 2008, Karan made her stage debut as Jessica in an
RSC production of
The Merchant of Venice and as Bianca in an
RSC production of
The Taming of the Shrew. With the latter, she made her West End debut at the Novello Theatre. In 2008, Karan carried the
Olympic Torch during its time in London. In 2016, Karan co-starred on the
HBO crime drama mini-series,
The Night Of. In 2012, she co-starred in the film
A Fantastic Fear of Everything. Since 2016, Karan has been in a relationship with the actor
Jamie de Courcey. == Filmography ==