Daya Vaidya

It's funny that casting agents told actress Daya Vaidya that her performing opportunities would suffer after having her baby: Following the birth of Leela Grace, Vaidya experienced the highest point of her career to date with her role as the tough-as-nails cop Nina Inara in the 2011 CBS series "Unforgettable." Born in Kathmandu, Nepal, she grew up in Oakland and trained as an actress and dancer from the age of 11 until graduation from UCLA with a BFA in Theater Arts. Vaidya made her television debut in the 1998 comedy series "One World," and landed a recurring role in the WB drama "Hyperion Bay" the following year. Her small-screen roles were more significant than her film work in the early and mid-2000s--supporting roles in the direct-to-DVD sequel "Leprechaun in the Hood" and the forgettable 2007 thriller "Motives 2" are examples--as she added TV shows "Lincoln Heights" and "Dexter" to her resume. But Vaidya's years of acting in the background paid off in the late 2000s when she was cast in three consecutive leading roles in the films "April Fools," thriller "The Hit," and "Blue," which was named Best Film at the American Black Film Festival. After a year-long break from acting to take care of her newborn baby, she was cast in "Unforgettable," a crime drama about a detective with a photographic memory.