Sangita Patel, entertainment reporter at ET Canada, is a modern woman who does it all.

Words by Melina Morry

Sangita Patel has had a cup of coffee with George Clooney—and even better, he made it for her. She’s describing to me her most memorable celebrity experience. They talked for a bit, then sat down for their interview. Of course, she says it was “pretty awesome.”

Another celebrity she admires is Helen Mirren. “We were at the same event, and I walked into the room where she was standing and she was cursing like a sailor! I fell in love.”

But that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

For someone who works as hard and as devotedly as Sangita does, celebrity encounters are only half of the fun. As a reporter for Entertainment Tonight Canada, she also gets to travel the world, meet dozens of new people and use her voice to make a difference in the industry. Interviewing the biggest stars along the way is the cherry on top.

“I have the coolest job!” she gushes. “I get my hair and makeup done every time I’m in the ET Canada studio, I get to wear incredible designer dresses, and most of all, do what I love which is talk to someone new every day.”

It’s hard to imagine someone as bubbly and charismatic as Sangita ever getting nervous about meeting anyone famous. (This is the woman who once took spontaneous photos on a rooftop in Paris with Tom Cruise.) She assures me, however, that she feels more excited than anything when going into an interview. Although, she still has a strategy that she puts into play.

“I walk into an interview with the mindset that I’m sitting down with my best friend, and for four minutes we are going to chat about their exciting project,” she says. “That usually does the trick to shake off the nerves.”

Sangita is truly the definition of beauty and brains, proving that a woman can embody them both—flawlessly. She started out her career in engineering before making the move into journalism. For some, this may seem totally out of the blue. But for Sangita, it all came down to following her deepest desires and what she feels like she was meant to do with her life.

“I really loved math and science, but after getting my professional designation as an engineer, I just went for it and lived my true passion,” she tells me. “Which is in media and television—chatting with people!”

If you happen to follow Sangita on social media, you’ll know that she’s undeniably relatable and completely herself—even in the way she goes from super glamorous TV host in one photo to hanging out with her two daughters and her husband in the next. She posts makeup-free selfies, she drinks bone broth from unicorn mugs and she’s obsessed with fitness. Which, out of all the obsessions to have, is a pretty healthy one.

“Fitness changed my life physically and mentally after my second child,” she explains. “Now it’s a family event. We all go to Crossfit on the weekend. But it’s routine, and it’s part of my schedule. It’s important because if you are happy, then everyone around you will be too.”

From all of the comments, likes and love shown on Sangita’s social media posts, it’s easy to tell that she has influence. People respect her, admire her and enjoy keeping up with her daily musings.

Which is also why she feels the need to be a voice for women in the entertainment industry. (Or when it really comes down to it, any industry.) She’s in a position where people will listen to her—and not only when she’s on-set, speaking to millions of viewers across the country.

Being a South Asian woman on television isn’t something that you see very often. But Sangita is helping break away from the norm. She’s had her share of struggles, but it’s her passion for the entertainment business that keeps pushing her forward.

“It’s been a journey, and I know I get held back for opportunities because of the colour of my skin unfortunately,” she says. “Just recently you are seeing more Asians in the entertainment world. We are not used to seeing women of colour in certain marketing, but thankfully that is changing, and change is good.”

However, diversity in television doesn’t stop there. It’s not only about being a South Asian woman, or a woman of colour, for Sangita—it’s also about just being a woman. Full stop. “I still feel like I’m still trying to belong in this world of media. It’s up to me to have the confidence to use my voice and platform to encourage others.”

And this is something that she takes very seriously. She tells me that she believes social media can sometimes shine a negative light on the support that women give each other, but that doesn’t mean women aren’t helping one another in real life, off of social platforms.

“I know some incredible women in the business, and we support each other,” she explains. “If we can all help each other, we should, because it would help women overall just do better in whatever industry they are in.”

Sangita lives her life by a single word: passion. (“It has so much meaning!” she says, full of, you guessed it, passion.) She always strives to be genuinely herself in whatever she’s doing. After all, that was a tip given to her at the beginning of her television career, and it’s stuck with her ever since.

“The best advice I got was on my third day in a newsroom as a weather personality. The anchor said to me, “Patel you don’t give a f*ck about the way you look on-camera. You are just you… keep it that way!”

She has kept it that way, and that’s what we love about her.

This interview with Sangita Patel was written by Melina Morry and appeared in the fall/winter 2018 issue of Chloe Magazine. Read more articles by Melina Morry here.