Indian-origin actress Archie Panjabi wins her first Emmy

Indian-origin British actress Archie Panjabi has won her first Emmy award, a Best Supporting Actress trophy for her portrayal of Kalinda Sharma, a bisexual private investigator in the The Good Wife.

Dressed in a black off-shoulder gown by Tadashi Shoji, the 38-year-old actress described the win as a 'dream come true', at the 62nd Emmy Awards here.

"When I started in the business, in England, just getting a job was a dream; working on The Good Wife for me is like a dream come true and receiving an Emmy now is just beyond my wildest dreams," she said.

Panjabi beat off competition from Mad Men's Christina Hendricks and Elisabeth Moss, Rose Byrne of Damages and Sharon Gless of Burn Notice to win the top award in the category.

The actress, who was born to Sikh parents in West London, began her career with the Om Puri-starrer East is East and went on to star in films like Bend It Like Beckham and the Academy Award-nominated The Constant Gardener.

Panjabi is one of the few performers of Asian descent to have won an Emmy, and is the first visible minority actress to win the category since Mary Alice won for I'll Fly Away in 1993.

The actress, who is married to fellow British actor Raj Nihlipandi, had appeared alongside Angelina Jolie in A Mighty Heart where she played the role of former Wall Street Journal reporter Asra Nomani.

Her performance earned her The Chopard Trophy for a Breakout Performance at the Cannes Film Festival in 2007.