Born Navlata Rawat in Malibu, CA, on June 5, 1977, Rawat’s initial love was writing – a field which she intended to pursue at New York University. But drama soon found a place in her heart, and she eventually graduated as a double major with a degree in drama (from the Tisch School of the Arts) and English and American literature).
Following graduation, she relocated to Los Angeles to pursue acting full-time, where she quickly landed a manager. Almost immediately, Rawat scored several high profile jobs, including a recurring role on the first season of “24” (2001- ) and as Ben Kingsley and Shoreh Agdashloo’s daughter in the critically acclaimed theatrical feature “House of Sand and Fog” (2003). That same year, she also landed her first starring role in the little-seen science-fiction thriller, “Thoughtcrimes.” Interestingly enough, in almost every project, Rawat managed to escape the typecasting that many performers with an exotic background endured; while Rawat played Latinas, Iranians, and Indians, more often than not, she also played characters with simply no specific ethnic identity.
In 2004, she made an indelible impression as Dana, a homicidal vampire slayer who tortures James Marsters’ Spike, in an episode of “Angel.” That same year, she provided more conflict for a major character on the popular series, “The O.C.” As Theresa Diaz, Rawat caused considerable headaches for her former boyfriend Ryan (Benjamin McKenzie), including the possibility that he was the father of her child.
2005 proved to be the highest profile year in Rawat’s career. Not only did she join the cast of “Numb3rs,” but she also logged time as the heroine (named, amusingly enough, Heroine) of “Feast,” the oddball horror movie produced under the auspices of Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s pet project, “Project Greenlight” (HBO/Bravo, 2001-2005). Though a difficult shoot (especially for her, as director John Gulager openly stated his desire to not cast her in her role), Rawat showed some impressive action moves as a grieving yet feisty mother determined to defeat a horde of man-eating monsters in order to get back to her daughter.
Meanwhile, on “Numb3rs,” Rawat displayed both cool intelligence and vulnerability as Amita Ramanujan, a brilliant mathematics and astrophysics professor who assisted Charlie Eppes (David Krumholtz) in pursuing criminals for the FBI. Amita also carried a torch for Charlie, but his awkwardness with personal relationships – to say nothing of her desire to further her career – led to several bumps on their rocky road to romance.