In 2018, Kumail Nanjiani was one of Time’s most influential people in the world. Best known for his role as Dinesh in the comedy series Silicon Valley, Nanjiani is a Pakistani-American actor and podcaster. He is also a highly talented screenwriter
Nanjiani’s net worth is estimated to be $10 million. In addition for the income derived from movies, he has earnings from social media platforms and endorsement deals. In the past, he has made commercials for enterprises such as Apple, Animalz, Stuber, and many others.
Here is a story about how this remarkable comedian met his wife and produced an award-winning screenplay about their love story.
Walk Through the Article
Who is Kumail Nanjiani’s Wife?
Emily V. Gordon met her husband in 2006 at a comedy show in Chicago. Eight months later, she fell seriously ill and ended up in a medically induced coma. During that time, Nanjiani got acquainted with her parents, and also took the opportunity to inform his parents about the relationship.
Three months after Gordon was released from hospital, they got married. Although his parents would have preferred to follow tradition and arrange a marriage for Nanjiani, they came to accept his wife and to love her.
Emily V. Gordon the Screen Writer
Born in 1979, Gordon was raised in North Carolina. She holds a BA in psychology and practiced as a therapist between 2004 and 2009. In 2010, she ventured into the world of comedy and freelance writing. She wrote the episode ‘New Neighbors’ for ‘The Carmichael Show’ on NBC. She is also the brain behind ‘Power Up’ and ExploreD’. These are two web series designed for teenagers on Disney.com. Gordon is the producer and booker of ‘The Meltdown with Jonah and Kumail’ a weekly live show. In 2020, she and Nanjiani co-hosted ‘Staying In with Emily and Kumail’, a podcast about life in quarantine.
The Movie ‘The Big Sick’
In 2017, Nanjiani and his wife co-wrote the screenplay for the highly acclaimed movie ‘The Big Sick’ and he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay.
Nanjiani and his wife Emily tell the story about their relationship in the movie ‘The Big Sick’. This all began when Nanjiani shared some ideas that he had with the filmmaker Jude Apatow. Apatow went on to co-produce the film that shared their romance with the world.
The Story About a Romance
Nanjiani starred as himself, and actress Zoe Kazan played the part of Emily. The movie relates the challenges they faced when they were dating due to the difference in cultures. It also relates the pressure that Nanjiani was subjected to by his parents. They wanted him to have an arranged marriage. When discussing the making of the movie, Gordon admits that they sometimes remember things differently. They also had differing emotional experiences. However, she was happy with Zoe Kazan’s portrayal of herself.
In an interview with Jen Yamato of the Los Angeles Times Gordon had this to say:
We literally had different emotional experiences of the same events in our lives. Sometimes he would remember more details and sometimes I would remember more because they were more salient to me. But it was always the emotional radius of events that we’d agree or disagree about.”
Kumail Nanjiani’s Wife’s Illness
Emily Gordon suffers from the rare disease known as Adult-onset Still’s Disease (AOSD). It is a form of arthritis that causes the organs to get inflamed. If it goes unchecked, the vital organs can shut down, leading to death. The symptoms of the disease are high fever, sore throats, muscle and joint pain among others. Gordon says that Nanjiani’s devotion and support has helped her to keep the illness at bay. This is because he makes sure that she sticks to a healthy diet and gets enough rest and adequate sleep.
Kumail Nanjiani and Marvel’s Eternals
Nanjiani was cast as Kingo in ‘The Eternals’, a superhero film from the Marvel studios. Kingo is a Bollywood star who is in actual fact a cosmic being living on the earth. Nanjiani had to transform himself for the role. This is because the first South Asian superhero had to be beefy in order to look the part.
In an interview with Tom Power of IGN Africa, he explained that the director of the movie Chloe Zhao selected the cast based on the individual characters of the stars. They had to be compatible with the Eternal characters. Nanjiani asked the director why he was selected and this is how the conversation went:
“I was like ‘Okay, so how do you want to see Kingo?'” Nanjiani said. “She was like ‘He’s you. I picked you because I wanted him to be you.’ That’s how she picked the entire cast. She wanted everybody to put pieces of themselves into each character.”
The Diet that transformed Nanjiani’s body
Nanjiani worked with nutritionists and trainers for a full year to achieve the body that he was aiming for. Part of his weight loss regime included days on the ‘Intermittent Fasting’ diet. He would fast for 18 hours, during which period he could only take in water and black coffee. Thereafter, he had a 6 hour eating window. On this diet, he had to forgo breakfast.
However, on days when he was shooting, he had breakfast consisting of eggs and gluten-free bread. For his main meals he ate chicken breasts and other lean meats. The emphasis was on protein. Nanjiani stopped eating refined sugars altogether and tried to maintain a very low-carb diet on weekdays. Over the weekends, he was allowed a ‘cheat meal’ full of carbs such as rice and naan bread.
The Exercises
Nanjiani worked out with Grant Roberts the celebrity trainer. He admits experiencing physical pain when he first started out. He worked out in the gym 5 days a week, sometimes, twice a day. Each session lasted for a little over an hour. Nanjiani’s workout consisted of a combination of cardio, weight and strength training. The training was highly effective and he quickly developed an impressive physique. He attributes his success to his combining the workouts with good eating plans. In addition, he was patient and he learned to understand and trust the process.
The Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V Gordon ‘Staying in’ Podcast
In 2020, Nanjiani and Gordon launched a weekly podcast entitled ‘Staying In with Emily and Kumail’. It was their way of coping with the COVID-19 crises and remaining grounded during the quarantines imposed due to the pandemic. On the podcast, they offer tips on dealing with anxiety and stress.
Gordon’s background in therapy has come in handy in addressing mental health issues. The podcast discusses numerous challenges that people face, such as getting haircuts at home, keeping a daily routine, and it also offers cooking tips. Best of all, it provides guidance on how to find the silver lining during difficult situations. All revenue generated from the podcast will go towards charities connected to coronavirus relief programs.
Kumail Nanjiani’s Early Life
Nanjiani was born in 1978 in Karachi, Pakistan. He went to school there, and attended the Karachi Grammar School. When he was 18, he moved to the United States to further his education at Grinnell College in Iowa. It was whilst he was in college that he discovered that he had a talent for making people laugh. During his final year, he performed at an ‘open mike’ for 35 minutes and received a great response.
Encouraged, he moved to Chicago after graduation to pursue a career in comedy. He put up a one-man show ‘Unpronounceable’ in mid-2007 which was highly successful. Thereafter, he began to land roles in memorable shows and launched his career.
