Sameeksha Laveaux Katyal
Model and Actress
Sameeksha Laveaux Katyal was born in India and raised globally. She has been involved as a writer, theatre director and actor in India and moved to the US in 2016 on a scholarship to study at Drexel University. Sameeksha is now a New York-based filmmaker, actor and writer. She has been actively involved with the Chelsea Repertory Lab at the Acting Studio where she trained in Meisner Technique and has been a part of numerous off Broadway theatre festivals.
In 2019, she wrote her first short film "U& Me" which was produced by her as the lead actor and also opened opportunities for fellow artists. The film was well received in film festivals, with 7 nominations and a finalist award at the "Lift Off First Time Filmmaker Festival '' and was screened in the US.
She is a published model who has walked for numerous upcoming designers and has done a couple of NYFW campaigns.
Her second major short film is a psychological thriller, "Scary Mirage" which she co-wrote and produced with an indian writer. The film is a success and accepted in over ten Film Festivals and counting.
In 2020, she acted and produced her third major short film, "The Interview from Hell" an office comedy which gained over a dozen selections at Film Festivals and numerous awards like the Best Director and the winner of the Best Audience Choice Award in August 2020 at the Direct Monthly Office Film Festival. The films are still competing in multiple festivals.
With her experience she has been invited to judge numerous talent hunts, and been invited on board of the Phoenix Productions and ZachEpey Productions.
Sam has been actively working on her first feature film under the guidance of the Director of the Playwriting Program at the Chelsea Rep Lab, and is training in Voice, Speech and Accents under the Director of the Voice Program at the Acting Studio.
She believes in leading by example and uses her social media and other platforms to empower girls and young women. She being a female and a person of color believes it to be her mission to give a platform and to encourage more girls and people of color to take on those challenging roles in industries dominated by one group. She is a Women in Business mentor at her alma- mater. She has been a youth volunteer with the United Nations Women. She also runs a free Tennis Boot Camp in summer to teach the sport to girls of all ages.
Follow her on Instagram @sameeksha.lav for more information and links to her short films.