Background

Ethnicity: Kapoor is of Punjabi descent on her father's side, and on her mother's side she is of Sindhi and British descent.

Kareena Kapoor was born on September 21, 1980, in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. She is the younger daughter of Randhir Kapoor and Babita (née Shivdasani); her elder sister Karisma is also an actress. She is the paternal granddaughter of actor and filmmaker Raj Kapoor, maternal granddaughter of actor Hari Shivdasani, and niece of actor Rishi Kapoor. Her birth name, Siddhima, was given by her grandfather Raj. According to Kapoor, the name "Kareena" was derived from the book Anna Karenina, which her mother read while she was pregnant with her.

Despite her family background, her father disapproved of women entering films because he believed it conflicted with the traditional maternal duties and responsibility of women in the family. This led to a conflict between her parents, and they separated. She was then raised by her mother, who worked several jobs to support her daughters until Karisma debuted as an actress in 1991. After living separately for several years, her parents reconciled in October 2007. Kapoor remarked: "My father is also an important factor in my life. Although we did not see him often in our initial years, we are a family now."

Education

Kapoor attended Jamnabai Narsee School in Mumbai, followed by Welham Girls' School in Dehradun. She attended the institution primarily to satisfy her mother, though later admitted to liking the experience. According to Kapoor, she wasn't inclined towards academics though received good grades in all her classes except mathematics.

After graduating from Welham she studied commerce for two years at Mithibai College in Vile Parle (Mumbai). Kapoor then registered for a three-month summer course in microcomputers at Harvard Summer School in the United States. She later developed an interest in law, and enrolled at the Government Law College, Mumbai; during this period, she developed a long-lasting passion for reading. However, after completing her first year, Kapoor decided to pursue her interest to become an actress.

She began training at an acting institute in Mumbai mentored by Kishore Namit Kapoor, a member of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII).

Career

While training at the institute, Kapoor was cast as the female lead in Rakesh Roshan's Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai (2000) opposite his son, Hrithik Roshan. Several days into the filming, however, she abandoned the project; Kapoor later explained that she had benefited by not doing the film since more prominence was given to the director's son. She debuted later that year alongside Abhishek Bachchan in J. P. Dutta's war drama Refugee. Set during the Indo-Pakistani war of 1971, the film centers on a man who illegally transports civilians back and forth across the border. Kapoor portrayed Naaz, a Bangladeshi girl who falls in love with Bachchan's character while illegally migrating to Pakistan with her family. Her performance was acclaimed by critics.

For her second release, Kapoor was paired opposite Tusshar Kapoor in Satish Kaushik's box-office hit Mujhe Kucch Kehna Hai (2001). She next starred alongside Jackie Shroff and Hrithik Roshan in Subhash Ghai's flop Yaadein, followed by Abbas-Mustan's moderately successful thriller Ajnabee, co-starring Akshay Kumar, Bobby Deol, and Bipasha Basu. Later that year, she appeared in Santosh Sivan's period epic Aśoka, a partly fictionalized account of the life of the Indian emperor of the same name. Featured opposite Shah Rukh Khan, Kapoor found herself challenged playing the complex personality of her character Kaurwaki (a Kalingan princess) with whom Ashoka falls in love. Ashoka was screened at the Venice and 2001 Toronto International Film Festivals, and received generally positive reviews internationally but failed to do well in India, which was attributed by critics to the way Ashoka was portrayed.

A key point in Kapoor's career came when she was cast by Karan Johar as Pooja in the 2001 melodrama Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham alongside an ensemble cast. The film was an immensely popular release, finishing as India's second highest-grossing film of the year and Kapoor's highest-grossing film to that point. Box Office India reported that the success of Mujhe Kucch Kehna Hai and Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham established Kapoor as a leading actress of Hindi cinema. During 2002 and 2003, Kapoor continued to work in a number of projects but experienced a setback. All six films in which she starred - Mujhse Dosti Karoge!, Jeena Sirf Merre Liye, Talaash: The Hunt Begins, Khushi, Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon, and the four-hour war epic LOC Kargil - were critically and commercially unsuccessful.

By 2004, Kapoor was keen on broadening her range as an actress and thus decided to portray more challenging roles. Under the direction of Sudhir Mishra, Kapoor played the role of a golden-hearted prostitute in Chameli, a film relating the story of a young prostitute who meets with a widowed investment banker. When Kapoor was initially offered the film she refused it, explaining that she would be uncomfortable in the role. She relented when Mishra approached her for the second time, and in preparation for the role, visited several of Mumbai's red-light districts at night to study the mannerisms of sex workers and the way they dressed. Chameli was well received by critics and the film marked a significant turning point in her career.

Kapoor next co-starred in Mani Ratnam's bilingual project Yuva alongside Ajay Devgn, Abhishek Bachchan, Vivek Oberoi, Rani Mukerji, and Esha Deol. The film, consisting of three chapters, tells the story of six individuals linked by a car accident. Kapoor is featured in the third chapter as Oberoi's love interest. She then appeared alongside Amitabh Bachchan and Fardeen Khan in Govind Nihalani's critically acclaimed film Dev, which revolved around the 2002 Hindu-Muslim riots in the Indian state of Gujarat. Kapoor's role was that of a Muslim victim named Aaliya, modelled after Zaheera Sheikh (a key witness in Vadodara's Best Bakery case).

Shortly afterwards, Kapoor was cast for the first time as a villain in the thriller Fida. Set against the backdrop of the Mumbai underworld, the film follows the story of an online heist in which her character, Neha Mehra, becomes involved. Although the film was unsuccessful at the box office, Kapoor received positive reviews for her performance, and some critics noted a distinct progression from her earlier roles. Her subsequent releases that year included Abbas-Mustan's thriller Aitraaz and Priyadarshan's comedy Hulchul, both of which were successful at the Indian box office. Following the success of her last two releases, she was cast as the protagonist of the 2005 drama Bewafaa. The feature received mostly negative reviews, and Kapoor's portrayal of Anjali Sahai (an unfaithful woman) was not well-received. That same year, she starred in the romantic dramas Kyon Ki and Dosti: Friends Forever, both of which underperformed at the box office; however, Kapoor's performance in Kyon Ki was generally well received by critics.

In 2006, Kapoor appeared in three films. She first starred in the thriller 36 China Town, followed by the comedy Chup Chup Ke; both were moderately successful. She next portrayed the character of Desdemona in Omkara - the Hindi adaptation of William Shakespeare's Othello. The film is a tragedy of sexual jealousy set against the backdrop of the political system in Uttar Pradesh. Describing Bhardwaj as a "world-class director with a unique style," Kapoor was cast in the project after the director had seen her performance in Yuva, and was subsequently required to attend script-reading sessions along with the entire cast. The feature premiered at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival and was screened at the Cairo International Film Festival. Following Omkara, Kapoor took a short break from acting, as she felt that "nothing was challenging enough for me to say yes." Later that year, she appeared briefly in one of the year's biggest hits, the Farhan Akhtar action-thriller Don (a remake of the 1978 film of the same name).

Kapoor returned to film as the female protagonist Geet Dhillon, a vivacious Sikh girl with a zest for life, in the romantic comedy Jab We Met (2007). Director Imtiaz Ali was not a well-known figure before its production, with only one feature credit to his name, but Kapoor agreed to the film after being impressed with his "mind-blowing" script. Featured opposite Shahid Kapoor, the film relates the story of two people with contrasting personalities who meet on a train and eventually fall in love. While shooting for Jab We Met, Kapoor and Shahid ended their four-year relationship. The following year, Kapoor co-starred in Vijay Krishna Acharya's action-thriller Tashan, where she met her future husband in actor Saif Ali Khan. After providing her voice for the character of Laila, the love interest of a street dog named Romeo, in the Yash Raj Films and Walt Disney Pictures animated film Roadside Romeo, Kapoor played a mistrustful wife who believed her husband was unfaithful in Rohit Shetty's comedy Golmaal Returns. A sequel to the 2006 film Golmaal: Fun Unlimited, the film had an ambivalent reception from critics, and Kapoor received mixed reviews.

In 2009, Kapoor was cast as Simrita Rai (a surgeon who moonlights as a model) in Sabbir Khan's battle-of-the-sexes comedy Kambakkht Ishq, opposite Akshay Kumar. Set in Los Angeles, it was the first Indian film to be shot at Universal Studios and featured cameo appearances by Hollywood actors. The box-office flop Main Aurr Mrs. Khanna came next, following which she played the leading lady in the dramatic thriller Kurbaan, alongside Saif Ali Khan and Vivek Oberoi. The film (which marked the directorial debut of Rensil D'Silva) featured Kapoor as Avantika Ahuja, a woman who is confined to house arrest after discovering that her husband is a terrorist. Kapoor's second Filmfare nomination that year came for Rajkumar Hirani's National Film Award-winning 3 Idiots, a film loosely based on the novel Five Point Someone by Chetan Bhagat. Co-starring alongside Aamir Khan, R. Madhavan and Sharman Joshi, Kapoor played Pia (a medical student and Khan's love interest). Several actresses were considered for the role, though Kapoor was eventually cast under the recommendation of Khan.

In 2010, Kapoor appeared in the romantic comedy Milenge Milenge, a production delayed since 2005. The feature garnered negative reviews and poor box-office returns. Kapoor's role was small, and not well received. She next starred alongside Kajol and Arjun Rampal in We Are Family, an official adaptation of the Hollywood tearjerker Stepmom (1998) from director Siddharth Malhotra. Kapoor played the role of the career-oriented Shreya Arora (a character originally played by Julia Roberts) and refrained from watching the film again so she could bring her own interpretation to it. Kapoor had further success in 2011 as the love interest of Salman Khan's character in the romantic drama Bodyguard, a remake of the 2010 Malayalam film of the same name.

Kapoor followed her success in Bodyguard and Ra.One with a role in Shakun Batra's directorial debut Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu (2012) opposite Imran Khan. Set in Las Vegas, the romantic comedy follows the story of two strangers who get married one night after getting drunk. She played Riana Braganza, a carefree young woman. She next appeared in Agent Vinod, an espionage thriller directed by Sriram Raghavan. Kapoor was enthusiastic about the project, but it met with a tepid response and she was described as miscast. When asked why she had taken the role, Kapoor described it as an opportunity to attempt something she had never done before. For her next feature, Kapoor was cast as the protagonist of Madhur Bhandarkar's Heroine, a drama revolving around the Bollywood film industry. Originally the first choice for the role, Kapoor was hesitant to take on the project when Bhandarkar approached her with the film's initial concept. With reservations about the criticism her character might evoke, she was replaced by Aishwarya Rai. Days after production began, Rai left the film (due to her pregnancy) and Bhandarkar re-approached Kapoor with the film. When the director reinforced his faith in her, she agreed to do the film after having read the completed script. At the end of 2012, she co-starred alongside Aamir Khan and Rani Mukerji as the "tantalisingly seductive prostitute" Rosie, in Reema Kagti's crime mystery Talaash: The Answer Lies Within. Set against the backdrop of Mumbai's red-light districts, it follows the travails of its personnel and principal, Inspector Surjan Singh Shekhawat (Khan) who is assigned the duty of solving a mysterious car accident.

In 2013, Kapoor collaborated with Ajay Devgn for the fourth time (alongside Amitabh Bachchan, Arjun Rampal, Manoj Bajpayee and Amrita Rao) in Prakash Jha's Satyagraha, an ensemble socio-political drama loosely inspired by social activist Anna Hazare's fight against corruption in 2011. Following an appearance in the poorly received romantic comedy Gori Tere Pyaar Mein (2013), Kapoor decreased her workload for the next two years to focus on her marriage and family. She took on smaller parts where she played the love-interest of Ajay Devgn and Salman Khan in the dramas Singham Returns (2014) and Bajrangi Bhaijaan (2015) respectively. Singham Returns served as a sequel to the 2011 film Singham and Kapoor's role was written specifically for her by Rohit Shetty - the third time the pair collaborated. In 2016, Kapoor took on a starring role opposite Arjun Kapoor in Ki & Ka, a romantic comedy about gender stereotypes from the writer-director R. Balki. She was cast as the ambitious and career-oriented Kia Bansal, and was particularly drawn to the project for its relevance and novel concept.

Kapoor next played the role of Dr. Preet Sahni in Abhishek Chaubey's critically acclaimed Udta Punjab (2016), a crime drama that documents the substance abuse endemic in the Indian state of Punjab. Co-starring alongside Shahid Kapoor, Alia Bhatt and Diljit Dosanjh, Kapoor was initially reluctant to do the film due to the length of her role, but agreed after having read the completed script and partially waived her fees to star in it. Udta Punjab generated controversy when the Central Board of Film Certification deemed that the film represented Punjab in a negative light and demanded extensive censorship before its theatrical release. The Bombay High Court later cleared the film for exhibition with one scene cut.

After a two-year absence from the screen, Kapoor starred in Shashanka Ghosh's Veere Di Wedding (2018), a female buddy film co-starring Sonam Kapoor, Swara Bhaskar and Shikha Talsania. Initially approached for the project in 2016, the makers rewrote Kapoor's role to accommodate her pregnancy, but due to the lack of maternity insurance in India, filming was pushed back to after she gave birth. Kapoor will next appear alongside Akshay Kumar, Diljit Dosanjh and Kiara Advani in Good Newwz, a comedy-drama about a couple trying to get pregnant. She has also committed to star in Angrezi Medium, a sequel to the 2017 film, by Homi Adajania, and will portray Mughal princess Jahanara Begum in Karan Johar's directorial venture, Takht, a historical drama featuring an ensemble cast, including Ranveer Singh, Vicky Kaushal, Alia Bhatt, and Anil Kapoor. In addition, Kapoor will team with Aamir Khan for the third time in Laal Singh Chaddha, a remake of the American comedy-drama Forrest Gump (1994).

Alongside her acting work, Kapoor has established a career as a designer. During her five-year association with the retail chain Globus, Kapoor became the first Indian actress to launch her own line of clothing for women; she described the collaboration as being "special" and "reflective of my personal sense of style." Her collection made its debut several months later in stores across India, and was well received. Following the end of her contract with Globus, she expressed a desire to work with a design house to release her clothing line internationally, but later explained that those plans were on hold. In August 2018, Kapoor collaborated with Lakmé Cosmetics to launch her own line of cosmetics.

In 2009, Kapoor worked with nutritionist Rujuta Diwekar on Don't Lose Your Mind, Lose Your Weight, a book which focused on the principles of healthy eating habits. Published by Random House Publications, the book was well-received by critics, and sold 10,000 copies within its first twenty days. A follow-up titled, Women and The Weight Loss Tamasha, was released two years later. It addressed the weight loss concerns and eating habits of women in various parts of their life and featured Kapoor in a voice-over for the audiobook. In February 2013, Kapoor released her autobiographical memoir: The Style Diary of a Bollywood Diva. Co-written alongside Rochelle Pinto, it became the first book to be launched under the Shobhaa De imprint of Penguin Books - a set of series that included celebrity memoirs, guides, and biographies. Later that year, she collaborated with Diwekar for the third time on The Indian Food Wisdom and The Art of Eating Right, a documentary film about nutrition.

Achievements

• 

  Kareena Kapoor established herself as one of the most successful actresses in Hindi cinema. Her highest-grossing releases came with the dramas 3 Idiots (2009) and Bajrangi Bhaijaan (2015), and she continued to draw praise for her performances in the 2009 thriller Kurbaan, the 2012 drama Heroine, the 2012 thriller Talaash: The Answer Lies Within, and the 2016 crime film Udta Punjab.
  
  For her acting debut in J. P. Dutta's 2000 film Refugee, Kapoor received the Best Female Debut award at the 46th Filmfare Awards. In addition to her Filmfare Award, she received three additional Best Debut awards - at the Bollywood Movie, International Indian Film Academy Awards and Sansui ceremonies - and the Lux Face of the Year award at the Zee Cine Awards. Her portrayal of a sex worker in Chameli won her jury recognition at several award ceremonies, including Stardust and Filmfare. In 2007, the actress received several awards for her performance in the romantic comedy Jab We Met (including her first Best Actress Filmfare Award). For her work in Kurbaan and 3 Idiots, Kapoor won the Screen Award for Best Actress and received an IIFA Award for Best Actress for her performance in 3 Idiots.
  
  The actress has also been recognized at major Indian film and fashion award functions, including a Zee Cine Award Queen of Hearts in 2002 and an IIFA Award for Style Diva of the Year in 2004. That year she was also recognized for Celebrity Style at the Bollywood Fashion Awards, and two years later received the Most Glamorous Actress of the Year award at the Tuscan Verve Zoom Glam Awards. In 2009, Kapoor was among five actresses nominated for Star of the Decade at the tenth annual IIFA Awards. Khan has also received achievement awards from a number of organizations; in 2009 she received Rotary International's Vocational Excellence Award for her film achievements at a young age, and the India Today Woman Award for her contributions to art and cinema.
  
  She is the first Indian actress to launch her line of clothing for women, and she worked with the retail chain as a designer for five years.
  
  On March 28, 2012, Kapoor inaugurated the Bollywood Walk of the Stars where she received a hand-print of her own.

Works

More photos

• book

  • The Style Diary of A Bollywood Diva

    (Dress like a star, get that supermodel body and learn to ...)

    2013

• movie

  • Dev

    (Joint Commissioner of Police Dev Pratap Singh, a duty-bou...)

    2004
  • Kambakkht Ishq

    (When Hollywood stuntman Viraj Shergill and medical studen...)

    2009
  • Bodyguard

    (Lovely Singh is assigned as Divya's bodyguard to protect ...)

    2011
  • Kyon Ki

    (The film tells the story of a young man named Anand, who ...)

    2005
  • Kurbaan

    (A dark thriller about the lives of radical Muslims living...)

    2009
  • Milenge Milenge

    (Priya Malhotra is an orphan who hopes to have a family of...)

    2010
  • Talaash

    (Late at night on a deserted road, well-known actor Armaan...)

    2012
  • Heroine

    (The film is a daring, shocking, glamorous, scandalous beh...)

    2012
  • Ki & Ka

    (Ki & Ka is a humorous love story between two people with ...)

    2016
  • We Are Family

    (A divorced mother of three children runs a happy househol...)

    2010
  • Happy Ending

    (A confused writer goes on the search for inspiration for ...)

    2014
  • Satyagraha

    (Retired teacher and ex-principal Dwarka Anand is an ideal...)

    2013
  • Dosti: Friends Forever

    (Karan Thapar lives a wealthy yet very lonesome lifestyle ...)

    2005
  • Agent Vinod

    (After his colleague is murdered, Agent Vinod embarks on a...)

    2012
  • Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu

    (Rahul Kapoor, an architect, has always been on the road t...)

    2012
  • Luck by Chance

    (A starlet and a struggler meet while trying to navigate t...)

    2009
  • Singham Returns

    (India's favourite supercop returns to wipe out crime and ...)

    2014
  • Golmaal 3

    (Pritam meets his old flame Geeta again after many years, ...)

  • Ra.One

    (A video game developer's world spirals out of control whe...)

    2011
  • Brothers

    (Fate makes two estranged brothers, David and Monty, clash...)

    2015
  • Bajrangi Bhaijaan

    (In Sultanpur, a picturesque village in Pakistan, villager...)

    2015
  • Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham

    (Yashvardhan Raichand is a snobbish man, he breaks ties wi...)

    2001
  • Talaash

    (Babu works for a gang that specializes in drug traffickin...)

    2003
  • 3 Idiots

    (Farhan Qureshi and Raju Rastogi begin their college year ...)

    2009
  • Chup Chup Ke

    (Jeetu, a small town hustler, who is constantly in debt, d...)

    2006
  • Billu

    (The movie revolves around a small time barber in a villag...)

    2009
  • Kya Love Story Hai

    (Kya Love Story Hai is a 2007 Indian romantic comedy film ...)

    2007
  • Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon

    (Sanjana's family mistakes Prem Kishen for Prem Kumar and ...)

    2003
  • The Shaukeens

    (Bored of their mundane lifestyles, three sexagenarian fri...)

    2014
  • Refugee

    (Bihar-based Manzur Ahmad and his family had migrated to E...)

    2000
  • Bewafaa

    (Anjali is the younger daughter of her Canadian-born mothe...)

    2005
  • Golmaal Returns

    (Obsessed with day-time TV soaps, Ekta Santoshi starts sus...)

    2008
  • Khushi

    (Khushi tells the story of a boy and girl, who are in love...)

    2003
  • Bombay Talkies

    (One hundred years of Hindi cinema is celebrated in four s...)

    2013
  • Gabbar is Back

    (The police get information that 10 tehsildars across Maha...)

    2015
  • Jab We Met

    (The adversities of Aditya's business and love life bring ...)

    2007
  • Hulchul

    (A man and woman from feuding families each pretend to fal...)

    2004
  • Dabangg 2

    (Chulbul battles an evil goon, now a politician, as he tri...)

    2012
  • Ajnabee

    (Bobby Deol and Kareena Kapoor play a new couple who get m...)

    2001
  • Mujhe Kucch Kehna Hai

    (Karan is instantly smitten when he sees a beautiful girl,...)

    2001
  • Aitraaz

    (Successful Raj Malhotra has everything going for him, inc...)

    2004
  • 36 China Town

    (The only child of Goa's China Town multimillionaire Sonia...)

    2006
  • Halla Bol

    (Ashfaque, a street play actor becomes a superstar after r...)

    2008
  • Omkara

    (Omkara Shukla or Omi is a bahubali, a sort of political e...)

    2006
  • Asoka

    (The film chronicles the early part of the life of Emperor...)

    2001
  • Tashan

    (Jimmy Cliff is a call center executive who also teaches E...)

    2008
  • Fida

    (An underworld don's bank account is robbed via internet t...)

    2004
  • Roadside Romeo

    (Romeo is a dog who once lived in luxurious surroundings. ...)

    2008
  • Gori Tere Pyaar Mein!

    (Sriram Venkat lives with his family in Bangalore. Sriram ...)

    2013
  • Yuva

    (Youth leader Michael is shot by hit man Inba. Arjun, a st...)

    2004
  • Jeena Sirf Merre Liye

    (Pooja and Karan are close childhood friends. Then, Pooja ...)

    2002
  • Mujhse Dosti Karoge

    (Raj, Tina, and Pooja are childhood friends. Raj then goes...)

    2002
  • Yaadein

    (Raj Singh Puri is best friends with L.K. Malhotra, who is...)

    2001
  • Chameli

    (Two strangers. One stormy night.)

    2004

Religion

Kapoor is affiliated with Hinduism, but she also has always maintained that she follows all religions, and has been visiting church ever since she was a child since her mother Babita's mom was Catholic. There were rumors that she converted to Islam after the marriage, but her husband Saif Ali Khan stated that nobody changed their religion views in order to get married.

Politics

Kapoor said that making movies are and will always be her priority, and she has no plans to join politics. There were reports claiming that she would contest for Lok Sabha elections for Congress from Bhopal. "There is no truth to these reports. I have not been approached for this whatsoever. My focus is and only will be movies," she said in a statement.

Views

During the years in the film industry, Kapoor has been actively involved in promoting children's education and the safety of women. In June 2010, she took part in the international campaign 1GOAL Education for All, and was appointed ambassador for the Shakti Campaign - a project launched by NDTV to combat violence against women - in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day. Two years later, Kapoor launched Channel V's anti-rape mobile app "VithU"; she stated that with an increasing amount of violence against women in India, "it was important for actors to stand up for issues because they can reach out to a lot of people."

Kapoor works with UNICEF to advocate the education of girls and increase quality based education in India. Speaking of her association, she expressed hope in creating places "where children feel safe and secure, and where interactive and creative tools are used to ensure that children are happy and learning." During the first year, Kapoor visited schools in the states of Rajasthan and Maharashtra where she interacted with students and participated in fundraising events hosted by the Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya organisation in the Jalna district. Along with UNICEF India's Goodwill Ambassador Sharmila Tagore, Kapoor hosted a charity dinner to help raise awareness for the development of underprivileged kids, and launched the "Child-Friendly School and Systems" (CFSS) package. She later donated an equivalent amount of the funds raised during a joint initiative by UNICEF and Groupon for a higher-quality learning environment in Indian schools.

The following year, she awarded 31 students and 5 teachers for their contribution towards the field of education in Chhattisgarh at the concluding ceremony of Child Rights Protection week. In June 2016, she spoke at an event organized by UNICEF in Lucknow to promote menstrual hygiene management. Following the birth of her son, Kapoor wrote an article published in The Times of India titled "Let's save our newborn babies," discussing infant mortality, and launched the "Every Child Alive" campaign to promote affordable and quality health care for mothers and their newborn. In May 2018, she was invited as a keynote speaker for a Mother's Day event in New Delhi organized by UNICEF.

Additionally, Kapoor has made public appearances to support other charitable organizations. She performed at a fundraiser for the World Youth Peace Summit in November 2003, and participated in a concert to raise money for victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. She visited Indian jawans (troops) in Rajasthan, for a special Holi weekend episode of NDTV's reality show Jai Jawaan. In 2010, Kapoor adopted the village of Chanderi in Madhya Pradesh as part of NDTV's Greenathon Campaign, to provide the village with a regular supply of electricity. Four years later, she participated in a campaign to raise awareness on hunger and malnutrition in the world and made donations to the Kashmir flood relief. In September 2016, Kapoor attended the inaugural of Global Citizen India - a joint initiative by the music festival of the same name and The Global Education and Leadership Foundation. The following year, Kapoor became the brand ambassador for Swasth Immunised India, a campaign launched by the Network18 Group and Serum Institute of India to promote immunization for children.

Quotations: "I never really do much research before signing a film. It is just the script and character that I concentrate on."

"My co-stars call me selfish. They say, 'You are only interested in yourself and what you are only interested is yourself and what you are doing in front of the camera.' I reply, 'I can't help it; it's what got me where I am.' "

"You are as old as you look. If you are fit and pretty at an X age, why won't filmmakers want to cast you, whether you are married or not?"

"I don't know why people feel that I am snooty. I am not a person who has ever given an interview on image building. I have never been that person, as I am very confident of what I do. People do PR, but I get completely foxed. I don't know how to do it. I stay away from the limelight, as I think my work should speak on my behalf."

"I am passionate about acting. 'Girls in our family are not allowed to act' is quite an outdated thought to have. They did it till my mother, but now no more."

"Films don't decide my whole life. They are just a part of who I am. What I do in my personal life should be of no concern to the filmmakers or the fans."

"Actors are greedy. They can never be satisfied. I want praise as well as box office returns."

"If I want to kiss, I shall kiss. If I am told that a lovemaking scene is integral to the script, I will consider it."

"Frankly, we actresses are so much in a hurry. We feel we have very few years to shine in our career, so we neglect our personal life. But for me, both aspects are equally important. I don't want to grow old and have regrets."

"My thinking is lot more different with many actresses in the industry. I don't understand why people in showbiz put their profession of acting in the back seat after marriage."

"I believe in the institution of marriage and it's like a tag to cement the relationship for your friends, family and public."

"It is important to be well-read, at least a little bit."

"I don't take success and failure seriously. The only thing I do seriously is march forward. If I fall, I get up and march again."

"Life is full of happiness and tears; be strong and have faith."

Membership

In January 2014, Kapoor began working with UNICEF.

• 

  Member

  United Nations Children's Fund , United States

  2014 - present

Personality

Describing herself as a "very naughty and spoilt child," Kapoor's exposure to films from a young age kindled her interest in acting; she was particularly inspired by the work of actresses Nargis and Meena Kumari. Her favorite actors are Raj Kapoor, Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Nargis, and Meena Kumari. She had a huge crush on actor Akshaye Khanna in her teenage days.

Kapoor turned vegetarian in 2006. She enjoys simple home-cooked meals like veggies, roti, dal, rice and ghee. She doesn't smoke, but sometimes she drinks wine.

She is a fan of cricket. Her favorite cricketer if Virat Kohli.

Kapoor loves yoga and practices it on a daily basis, but she also said that she "hated it and swore a lot" when she only began to practice it. She also believes that yoga has improved her health.

In an interview, she revealed that she doesn't wash her jeans for a month because she feels it's more comfortable to wear them that way.

Kapoor has only one bad habit, and that is biting her nails when she feels nervous.

She loves to spend her holidays in London and Switzerland. She also has a dream and wishes to settle down in South France with her husband and son someday.

Her favorite colours are black and red.

Kapoor likes to wear dresses designed by Manish Malhotra.

Physical Characteristics: Kapoor's height is 5' 4'' (163 cm), and she weighs around 121 lbs (55 kg). Her hair colour is dark brown, and her eye colour is hazel green.

Interests

• reading, swimming

• Artists

  Manish Malhotra

• Sport & Clubs

  yoga, cricket

• Athletes

  Virat Kohli

Connections

On October 16, 2012, Kapoor married actor Saif Ali Khan in a private ceremony in Bandra, Mumbai, and a reception was later held at The Taj Mahal Palace Hotel and the Lutyens Bungalow Zone in Mumbai and New Delhi respectively. The couple is called Saifeena by their fans. On December 20, 2016, their son Taimur was born.

Father:

Randhir Kapoor

Mother:

Babita

Spouse:

Saif Ali Khan

Sister:

Karisma Kapoor

Grandfather:

Raj Kapoor

Grandfather:

Hari Shivdasani

Uncle:

Rishi Kapoor

Son:

Taimur Khan

colleague:

Hrithik Roshan

colleague:

Salman Khan

colleague:

Priyanka Chopra

colleague:

Akshay Kumar

colleague:

Vivek Oberoi

colleague:

Nawazuddin Siddiqui

References

• Kareena Kapoor
  2019