I really identified with Jess, because my own dream was acting, which isn't the most conventional profession.

[citation needed] Not long after the meeting Nagra signed a one-year contract that included an option for three additional years. Only a week into rehearsals Parminder Nagra was switched from the chorus to replace the lead actress who had dropped out. In 1998 Nagra was part of Dancing Girls of Lahore a radio play co-written by her future Bend It Like Beckham co-star Shaheen Khan.

Parminder Nagra (born Parminder Kaur Nagra; 5 October 1975) is an English film and television actress of Indian descent. She was married to photographer James Stenson with whom Parminder Nagra has a son Kai David Singh Stenson who was born on 19 May 2009. She starred as Dr Neela Rasgotra in the American medical drama series ER for six years until the series ended on 2 April 2009.