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Janina Gavankar

Gavankar was born to parents Pete and Mohra Gavankar. Her maternal grandmother was Dutch, and her mother, Mohra, is Indian-Dutch.

Musically, she used to be in Endera, a group signed to Universal Records. She also collaborated on a project for a song called "Tell Me What" in India with Pratichee Mohapatra of Viva, Deep, and Navraaz. She also has had songs licensed to movies and television, and has played marimba on film scores.

Gavankar has appeared in theatre, commercials, short films, independent films, as well as Barbershop and its sequel, Barbershop 2: Back in Business. Gavankar was featured in the San Francisco band Recliner's music video for their single "Float Away", as well as the music video for Manu Narayan's band Darunam.

Gavankar's most notable roles are that of Papi, a promiscuous lesbian in The L Word, and Ms. Dewey, the personification of a Microsoft branded search engine who comments about the user's searches.

As of 2004, she is in a relationship with DeviantArt CEO Angelo Sotira.

Gavankar has appeared on Epileptic Gaming's Up All Night, where she helped review Rock Band (video game) and Burnout Paradise, and Army of Two.

In 2008, Gavankar was nominated for an Asian Excellence Award.