Deepika Padukone

Deepika Padukone

Deepika Padukone was born in 5 January 1986. She is an Indian film actress and model. She has established a successful career in Hindi language films of Bollywood, and is cited in the media as one of the most popular and attractive Indian celebrities.

Padukone was born in Copenhagen to badminton player Prakash Padukone, and was raised in Bangalore (now Bengaluru). As a teenager she played baseball and badminton for state and national level championships, respectively. She later discontinued a career in sports and established herself as a fashion model. She had enrolled for a Bachelor's degree in sociology, but dropped out due to scheduling conflicts with her modelling career. Padukone soon began receiving offers for film roles, and made her acting debut in 2006 as the titular character of theKannada film Aishwarya.

Padukone played dual roles in her first Bollywood release—the 2007 blockbuster Om Shanti Om—and won a Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut. She followed it with roles in the 2008 romantic comedy Bachna Ae Haseeno and the 2009 romance Love Aaj Kal, both of which were commercially successful but earned little praise for her performance. A leading role in the 2010 drama Lafangey Parindey was more favourably received, but a series of commercially unsuccessful films failed to propel her career forward. The 2012 box office hit Cocktail marked a significant turning point in her career, earning her critical acclaim and Best Actress nominations at several award ceremonies. In 2013 Padukone established herself as a leading actress of Hindi cinema with primary roles in the romantic comedy Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani and the action comedy Chennai Express, both of which rank among the highest-grossing Bollywood films of all time.

Alongside her acting career, Padukone participates in stage shows, has written columns for an Indian newspaper, and is a prominent celebrity endorser for brands and products. Her off-screen life is the subject of fervent tabloid reporting in India.