Have a look at the bio, family, religion and net worth of Mira Nair
Mira Nair is a groundbreaking Indian-American filmmaker who is renowned for her bold storytelling and human-centric cinema, find out more about her below.
Nair is currently in the news after her politician son, Zohran Mamdani, recently won the Democratic party’s NYC mayoral nomination.
Who is filmmaker Mira Nair, mother of Zohran Mamdani, biography, age, parents, husband, religion, movies and net worth
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Several of Nair’s films like Monsoon Wedding, The Namesake, and Salaam Bombay!, have earned global praise and top awards in the past.
Zohran Mamdani wins Democratic party’s nomination for NYC Mayoral elections
Zohran Mamdani is the son of celebrated filmmaker Mira Nair and academic Mahmood Mamdani, who recently won the Democratic primary for New York City Mayor in 2025. He is sitting State Assemblyman for Astoria, Queens, and he is widely viewed as a progressive voice in American politics. Zohran’s victory marks a generational shift and the impact of an immigrant family’s across industries.
Mira Nair biography and age
Mira Nair is an Indian-American filmmaker who was born on October 15, 1957, in Rourkela, Odisha, India. She is currently 67 years old, and she grew up in Bhubaneswar. Nair is now presently based in New York City, but still has strong Indian roots dating back to her Punjabi family background. Her exposure to Indian social dynamics have also deeply shaped her work.
Mira Nair was raised in a Hindu family and her father was in the Indian Administrative Service, and her mother was a social worker. While her family is of Punjabi origin with roots in Delhi, she was born in Rourkela, Odisha.
Education
Mira Nair obtained her early education from Loreto Convent, Tara Hall in Shimla, and later then pursued sociology at Miranda House, Delhi University. At the age of 19, she transferred to Harvard University on a scholarship, and majored in Visual and Environmental Studies with a focus on documentary filmmaking, eventually graduating in 1979.
She began as an actress before segueing into documentary filmmaking and her narrative feature debut, Salaam Bombay! (1988), won the Caméra d’Or.
Mira Nair on how Zohran Mamdani is responsible for Kal Penn being cast in The Namesake because he forced her to watch Harold and Kumar pic.twitter.com/7gnBgjz5RD
— Brandon Streussnig (@BrndnStrssng) June 24, 2025
Career and works
Throughout her career, Mira Nair has worked on various documentaries like Jama Masjid Street Journal and India Cabaret, which explore Indian society. She made her 1988 feature debut with the film Salaam Bombay!, which earned her an Oscar nomination and global acclaim. She then followed up with other notable films like Mississippi Masala, Monsoon Wedding (winner of Venice’s Golden Lion), The Namesake, Amelia, and Queen of Katwe.
She has directed both independent and studio films throughout her career, tackling various themes like migration, identity, and class. Aside from her successful filmmaking career, Nair also founded the Maisha Film Lab in Uganda and the Salaam Baalak Trust for street children in India.
A long time activist, in 1998, Nair used the profits from Salaam Bombay! to create Salaam Baalak Trust, which works with street children in India and in 2005, she established Maisha Film Lab in Kampala, Uganda, a nonprofit training initiative for emerging East African filmmakers. She is now building a school with architect Raul Pantaleo, winner of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture, and his company Studio Tamassociati.
Awards
Over the years, Mira Nair has won dozens of international awards and nominations, including at the Oscars and BAFTAs. She most notably won the Caméra d’Or at Cannes in 1988, and the Golden Lion at Venice in 2001. She also won the prestigious Padma Bhushan award in India, in 2012.
Marriage
This guy won!
Indian origin Zohran Mamdani, son of filmmaker Mira Nair, wins Democratic race for New York Mayor polls
The 33 yr old ex-rapper, born in Uganda, ran on a progressive pitch- free buses, rent freeze, higher taxes on the rich
He beats Ex-Governor Andrew Cuomo with… pic.twitter.com/nb8jfKaddu
— Nabila Jamal (@nabilajamal_) June 25, 2025
Mira Nair has been married twice. She first married photographer Mitch Epstein while at Harvard, but the pair eventually divorced in 1987. She later married Mahmood Mamdani, a Muslim Ugandan-born academic and political scientist in 1991. The couple met while Nair was doing her research for Mississippi Masala.
Children
Mira Nair has just one son named Zohran Mamdani, who was born in 1991 in Kampala, Uganda, from her marriage to Mahmood. Mahmood is a politician who won a seat in the New York State Assembly in 2020 and just recently became the Democratic party’s nomination for New York City Mayor.
Net worth
Mira Nair has an estimated net worth of between $5–10 million. Most of her earnings come from her long career as a filmmaker, producer, professor, and speaker. Nair also earns rights and royalties from her many acclaimed films and projects. Her son Zohran meanwhile is worth between $150,000-$300,000.
Mira Nair has an Instagram account with the handle @pagliji, where she has over 82.3K followers and about 295 posts.