• Born December 27, 1981 in Elora, Ontario, Canada
• Canadian nationality and of Pakistani and Welsh descent
• Actress and model known for her portrayal of Helen Wallace in The Young and the Restless
• Also appeared in Bollywood/Hollywood, Bolly Double, and Emma Fielding Mysteries
• Also a model, dancer, wrestler, and businesswoman; married to Jessie Pavelka from 2008-2016 and has one son
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Who is Sitara Hewitt?
Sitara ‘Tara’ Hewitt was born in Elora, Ontario, Canada, on 27 December 1981 – her zodiac sign is Capricorn, she holds Canadian nationality, and is of Pakistani and Welsh descent. She’s an actress and a model, who’s probably known best for her portrayal of Helen Wallace in a couple of episodes of the long-running romantic drama series “The Young and the Restless”, created by Lee Phillip Bell and William J. Bell, and which today stars Doug Davidson, Eric Braeden and Peter Bergman. It follows the lives of the families Abbott and Newman, and has been airing since 1973, numbering over 12,200 episodes, and winning 293 awards of the 1,005 it has been nominated for.
Early life and education
Sitara was raised an only child in Elora by her Welsh father Dr. Kenneth Hewitt who’s a professor at Wilfried Laurier University, at which her Pakistani mother Dr. Farida Hewitt is also teaching. Sitara also spent some time living in the Himalayan Mountains, as her parents were conducting academic research in the villages and on the glaciers.
Sitara grew up being interested in acting, as she occasionally watched movies and TV series on TV with her parents. She attended a local high school, at which she played lead characters in several school plays but having academically educated parents, Sitara was expected to obtain a degree as well. She matriculated in 1999, and although she hasn’t spoken about her further education, it’s widely believed that she enrolled at college and obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree in 2002.
Roles in movies
Sitara made her debut film appearance in 2002, with her portrayal of a dancer in the romantic comedy drama “Bollywood/Hollywood”, which received mixed reviews, and the following years saw her star in several short movies, such as the 2003 thriller “Code”, the drama “Sohni Sapna” and the drama “Fragile” both in 2005.
Sitara gained recognition in 2006, when cast to portray Cham-Cham, one of the lead characters in the comedy “Bolly Double” written and directed by Petrichor Bharali, and which also starred Koel Purie and Charles Singh. The film follows Kavita who’s working at a video store as a clerk, while dreaming about becoming a Bollywood star as her idol Kohinoor -d it won two awards.
The year 2013 saw her play Deputy in the horror thriller “Torment”, and in 2019 Sitara was cast to play the main character Teejay Sahota, in the comedy “The Fusion Generation”, written and directed by R. Paul Dhillon, and which also starred Gulshan Grover and Nimet Kanji. The movie’s about a mother who’s looking for a woman fit to marry her son.
Sitara’s most recent role in a movie has been her portrayal of Eve Zarifa in the 2019 biographical musical drama “The Michael Jackson Magical Moon-Tour”, written and directed by Richard Bruhn, and which starred Sitara and Michael Knight. The film’s set in 2023, and in an alternate reality in which Michael Jackson’s still alive, and it follows Eve as she’s interviewing him. It won five awards.
Roles in TV series
One of Sitara’s first roles in TV series was her portrayal of Lita in the 2011 episode “Can’t See the Fae-Rest” of the action fantasy drama “Lost Girl”. She gained recognition after portraying Rayyan Hamoudi, one of the lead characters in the comedy “Little Mosque on the Prairie”, created by Zarqa Nawaz and in which she starred alongside Zaib Shaikh and Debra McGrath. The series follows a Muslim community in Mercy, Saskatchewan, Canada and won four of the 22 awards it was nominated for.
The following years saw her make guest appearances in an episode or two of various series, such as the mystery crime drama “Cracked” in 2013, the reality comedy “My Crazy Sex”, and the fantasy adventure “Escape the Night” both in 2017.
The same year saw Sitara play Billie Williams in the episode “Lucky Strikes” of the mystery crime drama “Criminal Minds”, and in 2018, she played one of the lead characters, Adelle Fisher in the mystery mini-series “Emma Fielding Mysteries”, which starred Courtney Thorne-Smith, James Tupper and Adam DiMarco, and which follows Emma who’s an archaeologist and a detective, and who’s solving murders together with her friend Jim, who’s an FBI agent.
Three of Sitara’s other roles in TV series have been her portrayal of Casey in the 2018 episode “Red Flags and Parades” of the crime drama “Dirty John”, her portrayal of Priya Chavan in the 2019 episode “A View from the Bus” of the drama “All Rise”, and her performance as Vanessa Maddox in the 2020 episode “Old Dog, New Tricks” of the mystery crime drama “Hudson & Rex”.
Other credits
She appeared in the 2011 short biographical documentary movie “Breastfeeding Mothers”.
Sitara voiced various characters in the 2014 video game “Far Cry 4”.
She has made a guest appearance in various talk-shows, such as “You Bet Your Ass”, “Katie Chats” and “Too Much Information”.
Awards and nominations
Sitara has been nominated for two awards winning one, the 2011 Canadian Comedy Award for Best Performance by a Female – Television for her performance in five separate movies and TV series, and which she shares with four other people. In 2012, she was nominated for a Monte-Carlo TV Festival Golden Nymph Award for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series, for her performance in the series “Little Mosque on the Prairie”.
Other business ventures
Sitara’s also a model, and could’ve been seen featured on the cover page of various Canadian magazines.
She’s a skilled dancer, as she began taking lessons at a quite an early age, and can today dance modern, hip-hop and jazz, among other types.
Sitara once practiced wrestling, and was a member of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).
She’s a businesswoman too, having founded her company Meditation sometime in the 2010s.
Husband and children
Sitara prefers to keep the details of her personal life to herself, but some things related to her former marriage with the actor Jessie Pavelka are still known.
The two haven’t disclosed how and where they met, but it’s rumored that it was at a mutual friend’s party sometime in the mid-2000s. They dated for around two years before marrying on 18 September 2008, in a large ceremony attended by their wide circle of friends and family members. In January 2010, Sitara gave birth to their son Rowan Pavelka, but on 27 May 2016, she and Jessie divorced for unknown reasons.
Jessie has only five acting credits, three of which were in 2009 when he guest starred in the episode “It’s My Party” of the comedy series “Rita Rocks”, played Henry Diepeveen in the romantic comedy movie “12 Men of Christmas”, and portrayed Peter Porker in the comedy series “Rise and Fall of Tuck Johnson”. Jessie has also been credited with producing the 2012 short mystery drama “The Charon Incident”.
Sitara hasn’t spoken about any other men she has perhaps been with. and as of March 2021, she’s single, was once married to Jessie Pavelka, and has a son.
Hobbies and other interests
Sitara’s physically very active as she has five to six training sessions at the gym each week, and she’s also taking good care of her mental health, as she does yoga and meditates on a daily basis. She often shares tips concerning working out and dieting on her Instagram account.
Some of the best days of your life lie ahead. Have faith, stay hopeful. pic.twitter.com/ZHHBmM8H4i
— Sitara Hewitt (@SitaraHewitt) May 8, 2020
She’s also interested in sports, and Sitara plays soccer, tennis and basketball, among others. She’s also an avid hiker, thanks partly to the time she spent in the Himalayan Mountains.
Sitara’s favorite season is summer, mostly because she’s an avid surfer. She also likes winter as she both snowboards and skis.
In her spare time which is usually late at night, Sitara enjoys watching movies starring her favorite actors and actresses Jim Carrey, the late Robin Williams and Sigourney Weaver, some of her favorite movies include “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective – When Nature Calls”, “Good Morning, Vietnam” and “Avatar”.
Age, height and net worth
Sitara’s age is 39. She has long brown hair and brown eyes, her height is 5ft 6ins (1.68m) and she weighs around 130lbs (59kgs).
As of March 2021, her net worth has been estimated at over $250,00,0 while her ex-husband’s net worth is reputedly over $400,000.
