Katrina Kaif

Katrina Kaif (born Katrina Turquotte, 16 July 1983) is a British actress who works in Hindi-language films.

One of the highest-paid actresses in India, she has received accolades, including four Screen Awards and four Zee Cine Awards, in addition to three Filmfare nominations.

Though reception to her acting has varied, she is noted for her action film roles and her dancing ability.

Born in British Hong Kong, Kaif lived in several countries before she moved to London for three years.

She received her first modelling assignment as a teenager and later pursued a career as a fashion model.

Katrina Kaif was born in British Hong Kong with her mother's surname Turquotte (also spelt Turcotte), on 16 July 1983.

Her father, Mohammed Kaif, is a British businessman of Kashmiri descent and her mother (Suzanne, also spelt Susanna) is an English lawyer and charity worker.

She has seven siblings; one sister, Isabel, is also a model and actress.

Kaif's parents divorced when she was a child, and her father moved to the United States.

She said her father had no influence on her or her siblings while they were growing up, and that they were raised by their mother.

At a fashion show in London, Indian filmmaker Kaizad Gustad cast her in Boom (2003), a critical and commercial failure.

While Kaif established a successful modelling career in India, she initially had difficulty finding film roles due to her poor command of Hindi.

Boom (2003) had its first screening at the Cannes Film Festival, where it was heavily promoted, but emerged as a commercial and critical failure.

After appearing in the Telugu film Malliswari (2004), Kaif earned commercial success in Bollywood with the romantic comedies Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya? (2005) and Namastey London (2007).

Further success followed with a series of box-office hits, but she was criticised for her acting, repetitive roles, and inclination to male-dominated films.

Kaif's performances in the thriller New York (2009) and the romantic comedy Mere Brother Ki Dulhan (2011) were better received, earning her nominations for the Filmfare Award for Best Actress.

Her career progressed with roles in Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani (2009), Raajneeti (2010), and Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011), and she found major commercial success in the action thrillers Ek Tha Tiger (2012), Dhoom 3 (2013), and Bang Bang! (2014), which were among the highest-grossing Indian films of that decade.

In a 2009 interview with The Indian Express, she said she was not in touch with her father.

Ethnically, Katrina stated that she is "hundred per cent Indian".

Kaif's paternal parentage has been questioned by some members of the film industry.

In a 2011 interview with Mumbai Mirror, Boom producer Ayesha Shroff accused Kaif of fabricating her history: "We created an identity for her. She was this pretty young English girl, and we gave her the Kashmiri father and thought of calling her Katrina Kazi. We thought we'd give her some kind of Indian ancestry, to connect with the audience ... But then we thought that Kazi sounded too ... religious? ... Mohammad Kaif was at the top, and so we said, Katrina Kaif sounds really great".

Kaif denied this, calling Shroff's comments "hurtful".

As Kaif's mother is a social activist, the family relocated to a number of countries for varying lengths of time.

Therefore, Kaif and her siblings were home-schooled by a series of tutors.

She said: Our transitions in growing up were—from Hong Kong where I was born, to China, then to Japan, and from Japan by boat to France ... After France, Switzerland—and I'm cutting out many East European countries where we were for only a few months each—then Poland in Kraków ... After that we went to Belgium, then to Hawaii, which was a short time, and then came to London.

Kaif lived in London for three years before moving to India.

At age14, Kaif won a beauty contest in Hawaii, and received her first modelling assignment in a jewellery campaign.

She subsequently modelled professionally in London, working for freelance agencies and appearing regularly at the London Fashion Week.

During this period, she visited India for the first time after an Asian friend suggested they take a trip there.

At a fashion show Kaif attracted the attention of London-based filmmaker Kaizad Gustad.

She made her acting debut in Gustad's Hindi-English heist film Boom starring Amitabh Bachchan, Gulshan Grover, Jackie Shroff, Madhu Sapre and Padma Lakshmi.

While filming in India, Kaif received other offers and decided to stay in the country; she then changed her surname to her father's because she thought it would be easier to pronounce.

She was noticed as a model after walking the ramp for Rohit Bal at the India Fashion Week and appeared in the first Kingfisher Calendar.

After endorsing such brands as Coca-Cola, LG, Fevicol and Samsung, Kaif soon established a successful modelling career in India.

Following a brief setback, the action films Tiger Zinda Hai (2017), Sooryavanshi (2021) and Tiger 3 (2023) and the drama Bharat (2019) emerged as box-office hits.

Kaif's portrayal of an alcoholic actress in the romantic drama Zero (2018) earned her the Zee Cine Award for Best Supporting Actress.

In the media, Kaif frequently features in listings of India's most popular and attractive celebrities.

A regular brand endorser, she launched her cosmetic line Kay Beauty in 2019.

She participates in stage shows and is involved with her mother's charity Relief Projects India, which works to help underprivileged children.

Kaif is married to actor Vicky Kaushal.