---
name: "Ma Anand Sheela"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/ma-anand-sheela"
roles: []
born: "28 December 1949"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
average_over: 1
updated: "2026-09-17T19:23:44.250089+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Ma Anand Sheela

Actor. Born 28 December 1949 in Baroda, India.

## Details

- **Born:** 28 December 1949, Baroda, India
- **Also known as:** Sheela Ambalal Patel, Sheela Birnstiel
- **Elsewhere:** https://www.themoviedb.org/person/2041714

## Streaming the US now

- **Netflix:** [*Wild Wild Country*](https://film.one/tv/wild-wild-country.md) (78)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

Ma Anand Sheela, also credited as Sheela Ambalal Patel and Sheela Birnstiel, is an Indian-born former spokesperson and personal secretary of the Rajneesh movement. Born Sheela Ambalal Patel on 28 December 1949 in Baroda, India, she moved to the United States at age 18 and later managed the Rajneeshpuram commune in Oregon from 1981 to 1985.

She appeared as herself in the 2018 Netflix documentary series *Wild Wild Country*. In 1986 she pleaded guilty to charges including attempted murder and assault related to events at the commune, serving part of a prison sentence before moving to Switzerland, where she has operated nursing homes.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, elle.com, nytimes.com.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *Wild Wild Country* (2018), Fi1m 78, as Self — [page](https://film.one/tv/wild-wild-country.md)

## Complete filmography (1)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Searching for Sheela* (2021), Acting

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/ma-anand-sheela