Priya Malik (प्रिया मलिक) is an Indian poet, actress, teacher, stand-up comedian, and television host born on 9 January 1989 in Neshvilla Road, Dehradun, Uttarakhand. Her father is Muktesh Handa and her mother is Shubhra Handa. She attended Carman School and Convent of Jesus & Mary High School, Dehradun, and earned a B.A. (Hons.) in English from Sri Venkateswara College, Delhi University. In 2008, she moved to Australia on a student visa, where she completed a Master's in Applied Linguistics, a Master's in Teaching (Middle and Secondary), and a Master's in Education from the University of South Australia, Adelaide. She married Bhushan Malik (an Australian citizen) in 2008; they later divorced. In Adelaide, she taught at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart College and performed stand-up comedy at Adelaide Comedy Festival venues including Cranker Comedy, SA Comedy, and A Mic in Hand Comedy Club. In September 2013, she was a finalist for the Australian Poetry Slam (South Australia State). In 2014, she participated in Big Brother Australia Season 11 — the first contestant of Indian heritage on the Australian show — and became a popular housemate. She then moved back to India, settling in Mumbai. On Indian television she appeared in Savitri Devi College & Hospital and Nazar, hosted Gangster ki Girlfriend on ABP News and Uncensored News with Priya Malik on TV9 Bharatvarsh, and featured in commercials for OLX and Imperial Blue. Her poetry — on topics including female pleasure, toxic relationships, and social justice — has been viewed tens of millions of times on YouTube platforms like Kommune India, UnErase Poetry, Spill Poetry, and Tape A Tale. She appeared in the short film Sheer Qorma (2021, dir. Faraz Arif Ansari, with Shabana Azmi and Divya Dutta), which won the Audience Award at the Frame Line 45 San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival. She appeared in Netflix's Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein (Season 1, 2022). In December 2015, she entered Bigg Boss 9 as the fourth wildcard contestant (Week 7), bringing a distinct NRI and activist identity to the house. During the season she accused fellow contestant Rishabh Sinha of sexual molestation during a task. She was evicted in Week 14, finishing sixth overall.

Participating in Big Brother Australia Season 11 (2014) — the first person of Indian heritage on Australian Big Brother; South Australia State Finalist at the Australian Poetry Slam (2013); viral spoken word poems 'Right to Pleasure', 'Dear Mr. Player', and '2019 Mein 1999'; film Sheer Qorma (2021, LGBTQ+ film, with Shabana Azmi, winner of Audience Award at Frame Line 45 LGBTQ+ Film Festival San Francisco); Netflix series Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein (2022); entering Bigg Boss 9 as the fourth wildcard contestant (2015); finishing sixth overall.

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