Mira Sethi

Mira Sethi is a Pakistani actress and writer born on January 12, 1987. She maintains residences in San Francisco, Karachi, and Lahore.

Early life and education

Sethi is the daughter of journalists Najam Sethi and Jugnu Mohsin. She attended Lahore Grammar School before moving to Cheltenham Ladies' College. After her schooling, she enrolled at Wellesley College where she studied South Asian studies and English. She spent her junior year at the University of Oxford during her undergraduate studies.

Sethi graduated from Wellesley College in 2010. She served as the student speaker at her commencement ceremony—a distinction that made her the first Pakistani to hold that role.

Career

Writing and Journalism

Before returning to Pakistan, Sethi worked in the United States for approximately two years. She served as a Robert L. Bartley fellow and held a position as an assistant book editor at The Wall Street Journal. During this time, she contributed political commentary to the newspaper regarding Pakistan.

In 2021, she published her first collection of literary fiction titled Are You Enjoying? through Knopf in the United States and Bloomsbury in the United Kingdom. This work contains short stories that explore themes of religion, power, identity, and desire within contemporary Pakistan. Publishers Weekly described the debut as striking and provocative.

Sethi also uses her platform to advocate for women's rights in South Asia. She frequently participates in the Aurat March to demand accountability for violence against women. In a 2023 op-ed for The New Yorker, she addressed the cultural assumptions surrounding sexual assault and modesty in Pakistan.

Acting

Sethi returned to Pakistan in 2011 to begin her acting career. She appeared in the ARY Digital serial drama Silvatein as the character Natasha. This role was followed by a supporting performance in the Hum TV production Mohabat Subh Ka Sitara Hai in 2013.

She received critical praise for playing a young painter in the 2016 series Dil Banjaara. Her film debut occurred in 2018 when she played a British-Pakistani returnee in the movie 7 Din Mohabbat In. Later, she portrayed a cunning elder family member in the 2021 Ramadan special Chupke Chupke.

In 2022, she played a Punjabi househelp in the Hum TV series Paristan. She also starred as Samiya in the 2023 television series Kuch Ankahi, which was directed by Nadeem Baig. Critics noted her sensitive portrayal of the character, who is described as an obedient but logical woman.

Personal life

Sethi married Bilal Siddiqui in California during November 2019. Siddiqui works for the World Bank Group. In a podcast interview conducted in September 2025, Sethi confirmed that she and Siddiqui had been divorced since March 2023.

Awards and recognition

The short story collection Are You Enjoying? was longlisted for The Story Prize. It was also included on the 2021 'Best Books to Read' list by Vogue. DAWN characterized her literary voice as fresh and formidable.