Nitya Vidyasagar

Vidyasagar was born in Muscat, Oman to Indian Telugu parents and grew up in India at Kolkata, Hyderabad and Bangalore, before moving to the United States in 1995 at the age of 12. She attended the St. Andrew's Episcopal School in Maryland graduating in 2001. She received a BFA with Honors in Drama Tisch School of the Arts and a Minor in Music from the College of Arts and Sciences, New York University.Vidyasagar is the first Indian American cast member of Sesame Street. Leela runs a laundromat next to Mr. Hooper's Store. Sesame Street producers were not looking for an Indian American actress before they cast Vidyasagar, but the show's writers plan to use parts of Vidyasagar's background in certain episodes. Leela is described as "a young Indian American who embraces her heritage and culture".

Vidyasagar is primarily a stage actress. She trained at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting. She received praise for her performance in the drama Selling Kabul, in which she plays a central female character anxious for her brother's safety.