卡尔·潘原名卡尔潘·莫迪，身为美籍印度裔的卡尔·潘自幼出生在美国新泽西州，如今已经移居洛杉矶好莱坞。刚刚过而立之年的他在高中时代就主动参加各种表演活动，并在之后学习了表演和舞蹈等学科。成年后，逐渐走入影视圈，在参加了一些影视剧的拍摄之后渐渐积累了一些表演实战经验。此后频繁出现在一些电视系列剧和肥皂剧中，让众多的观众见识了他独特的搞笑才能。2002年的一部校园喜剧片《留级之王》在好莱坞取得了不大不小的轰动。也令卡尔·潘的喜剧表演风格得到了更多影迷和业内人士的肯定。此后，卡尔开始主攻大银幕事业，短短的三年内，连续参加了十余部电影的拍摄。虽大多为戏份不多的配角角色，却也为年轻的卡尔赢得了逐渐递增的知名度。2005年的《变相怪杰2》以及爱情喜剧片《相见恨早》中我们都能看到卡尔出色的表演。

She was brought up in Thailand and Malaysia by a Burmese-Indian mother and an English father. She is a graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Los Angeles.

CareerIn 2006, she played a Bengali character called Moushumi Mazumdar in Mira Nair's acclaimed film The Namesake, based on the book of the same name. Robinson had a supporting role in the HBO series Rome, and played Eva Marquez, a NYPD detective, in the television drama on Fox, New Amsterdam.

Robinson joined the cast of Lost in 2009 during its fifth season, as recurring character Ilana, and was promoted to series regular for the sixth season. She was cast in the second season of Homeland in a recurring role as journalist and secret al-Qaeda operative Roya Hammad.