Anjali Ameer is an Indian actress, model, and transgender rights activist born on 4 November 1995 in Thamarassery, Kozhikode, Kerala, into a conservative Muslim family. Born as Jamsheer, she lost her mother in a car accident when she was just eight months old and was raised by her maternal aunt. During her 10th grade she recognised her gender identity and eventually left home, moving to Chennai where she was adopted and supported by a trans family. She built a career in modelling before being cast by director Ram in the path-breaking Tamil film Peranbu (2018), in which she played Meera - the trans woman love interest of Mammootty's character - becoming the first transgender woman to play a lead role in an Indian feature film. Her performance earned her a Special Momentum Award at the Asianet Film Awards 2019. She also appeared in the Malayalam film Suvarna Purushan (2018), the Tamil web series Suzhal: The Vortex (2022) on Amazon Prime Video, and received the Best Actress in Trans Community award for The Spoils (2024). She is an outspoken advocate for transgender rights. In late July 2018, she entered Bigg Boss Malayalam Season 1 as a wildcard contestant. Her entry was particularly significant as, on the episode she joined, her personal request to host Mohanlal led to the cancellation of a scheduled eviction in order to spare fellow contestant Aditi Rai. After 10 days in the house, she left due to illness (Day 44/45), finishing twelfth. Her Bigg Boss stint raised awareness about transgender representation in mainstream Indian media.
Her landmark role as Meera in director Ram's Tamil film Peranbu (2018) alongside Mammootty, making her the first transgender woman to play a lead role in an Indian feature film; her Special Momentum award at the Asianet Film Awards 2019 for the role; her appearance in the Tamil series Suzhal: The Vortex (2022); walking out of Bigg Boss Malayalam Season 1 in 2018 after 10 days due to health issues.
