Kareena Kapoor

A member of one of India’s legendary acting families, Kareena always knew that she’d one day end up in show business as well. “My great grandfather (Prithviraj Kapoor), my grandfather (Raj Kapoor), my parents (Randhir Kapoor and Babita) and my sister (Karisma Kapoor)... Everyone has been involved with films,” she says. “So you can say it was inevitable. Besides, even when I was a kid, I only wanted to be an actress.”

Making her acting debut with Refugee (2000), for which she won a Filmfare Best Female Debut Award, Kapoor had her first commercial success with her second release, Mujhe Kucch Kehna Hai (2001). Later that year, she was noticed for her performance in Karan Johar's melodrama Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, her biggest commercial success to date. Following this, Kapoor went on to star in several films which were unsuccessful at the box office, and encountered several negative reviews and criticisms for becoming typecast. Trying to reinvent her image, she took on more serious characters, and was soon recognized for her versatility as an actress.

Her portrayal of a sex-worker in Chameli (2004) proved to be the turning point in her career and won her the Filmfare Special Performance Award. She was noted for her performances in critically acclaimed films like Dev (2004) and Omkara (2006), and earned two Critics Award for Best Actress at the Filmfare. Despite not having that many hits to her credit, Kapoor has established herself as one of the leading actresses of Bollywood.