Mahira Khan

Mahira Hafeez Khan ( born 21 December 1984) is a Pakistani actress who primarily works in Urdu films and television.

Khan is the recipient of several accolades, including six Lux Style Awards, and six Hum Awards, and was honoured with Contribution to Film and Activism by the UK Asian Film Festival.

Khan was born in Karachi, Pakistan, on 21 December 1984 to an Urdu-speaking Muhajir family of Pashtun ancestry.

Her father, Hafeez Khan, was born in Delhi, British India, and migrated to Pakistan after the partition of India.

Khan attended Foundation Public School, where she completed her O-Levels.

At the age of 17, she moved to California for higher education, where she attended Santa Monica College.

She then enrolled at the University of Southern California for her bachelor's degree.

She started her career as a VJ in 2006.

Khan made her acting debut with the social drama film Bol, and the same year she also appeared on television with the drama series Neeyat.

She is best known for portraying the role of Khirad Hussain in the romantic-drama Humsafar for which she received numerous awards, including the Lux Style Award for Satellite Best TV Actress and the Hum Award for Best On-Screen Couple with Fawad Khan.

Khan received praise for her portrayal of Falak Sher in the spiritual romantic drama Shehr-e-Zaat, which earned her Best Actress Drama at the 1st Hum Awards.

Her other notable works include the biographical drama Sadqay Tumhare, for which she received the Lux Style Award for Best TV Actress.

Khan met Ali Askari in 2006 in Los Angeles, and married him in 2007 in a traditional Islamic wedding ceremony despite Khan's father being reportedly against the marriage.

Khan started her career as a VJ in 2006, hosting the live show Most Wanted on MTV Pakistan, which was aired three days a week.

However, she did not complete her undergraduate degree and returned to Pakistan in 2008.

During her studies in the United States, she was a cashier at a Rite Aid store in Los Angeles.

She then hosted AAG TV's reality show Weekends with Mahira in 2008, where she played music videos, spoke to celebrity guests, and took phone calls from viewers.

They have a son, born in 2009.

In 2011, Khan made her film debut in a supporting role in Shoaib Mansoor-directed Bol, in which she had a supporting role.

She played Ayesha, a girl from a conservative lower-middle-class family living in the old part of Lahore who shares a mutual passion for music with her love interest Mustafa, played by Atif Aslam.

The film was a critical and commercial success and became one of the highest-grossing Pakistani films of all time.

The same year, Khan also made her TV drama debut in Neeyat, directed by Mehreen Jabbar.

The serial was set in New York, and she played the role of Ayla.

She next appeared in the Sarmad Khoosat-directed drama serial Humsafar.

Both the drama and Khan received positive reviews from critics.

The drama series was also aired on Zindagi and was a success in India.

It earned her a Lux Style Award for Satellite Best TV Actress and a Hum Award for Best Onscreen Couple.

In 2013, she played the role in the Sarmad Khoosat-directed Shehr-e-Zaat.

The drama earned her Best Actress Awards from the Pakistan Media Awards and Hum Awards.

From 2013 to 2014, she hosted TUC: The Lighter Side of Life, a talk show.

In 2014, Khan starred in the Mohammed Ehteshamuddin directed drama serial Sadqay Tumhare in which she played the role of Shano.

The drama earned her a Lux Style Award for Best TV Actress, two Hum Awards, and a Hum Award nomination.

She has also acted in successful Pakistani films Bin Roye (2015), Ho Mann Jahaan (2015), Superstar (2019), and The Legend of Maula Jutt (2022).

She made her debut as a producer with the sports web series Baarwan Khiladi (2022).

The couple got divorced in 2015.

Khan then married businessman Salim Karim in an intimate ceremony on 2 October 2023 in Bhurban.

In 2015, she starred opposite Humayun Saeed in Shahzad Kashmiri's directed film Bin Roye.

The film earned her a Lux Style Award

for Best Actress (Film), a Hum Award for Best Actress, a Hum Style Award for Most Stylish Actress (Film), and a Masala!

Khan made her Bollywood debut with the action romance Raees (2017) opposite Shah Rukh Khan.