Background and career
Kareena Kapoor Khan (pronounced [kəˈriːna kəˈpuːr xɑːn]; née Kapoor; born 21 September 1980) is an Indian film actress. A prolific leading lady of Hindi cinema since 2000, she is noted for her roles in a range of film genres—from romantic comedies to crime dramas. Kapoor is the recipient of several awards, including six Filmfare Awards, and as of 2024, is one of Hindi cinema's highest-paid actresses. Born into the Kapoor family, she is the daughter of actors Randhir Kapoor and Babita Kapoor, and the younger sister of actress Karisma Kapoor. After making her acting debut in 2000 in Refugee, Kapoor established herself the following year with several roles, including in the top-grossing drama Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. This was followed by a series of commercial failures and negative reviews for her repetitive roles. An against-type performance as a sex worker in the 2004 drama Chameli marked a turning point in her career. She earned critical recognition for her portrayal of a riot victim in the 2004 drama Dev and a character based on Desdemona in the 2006 crime film Omkara. Her performance as a loquacious woman in the romantic comedy Jab We Met (2007) earned her the Filmfare Award for Best Actress. Further praise came for her dramatic performances in Kurbaan (2009), Talaash: The Answer Lies Within, Heroine (both 2012), Udta Punjab (2016) and Laal Singh Chaddha (2022). Her highest-grossing releases include the comedy-dramas 3 Idiots (2009) and Bajrangi Bhaijaan (2015), the action films Bodyguard (2011) and Singham Returns (2014), and the comedies Golmaal 3 (2010) and Good Newwz (2019). She has also starred in the female-led comedies Veere Di Wedding (2018) and Crew (2024). Kapoor Khan is married to actor Saif Ali Khan, with whom she has two sons. Her off-screen life is the subject of widespread coverage in India. She is known for being outspoken and assertive and is recognised for her fashion style. Beside film acting, Kapoor participates in stage shows, hosts a radio show and has contributed as a co-writer to two autobiographical memoirs and two books of nutrition guides. She has started her own line of clothing and cosmetics for women, and has worked with UNICEF since 2014 to advocate for the education of girls and an increase in quality based education in India.
Born on 21 September 1980 in Bombay (now Mumbai), Kapoor (often informally referred to as 'Bebo') is the younger daughter of Randhir Kapoor and Babita (née Shivdasani); her elder sister Karisma is also an actress. Kapoor is the paternal granddaughter of actor and filmmaker Raj Kapoor, maternal granddaughter of actor Hari Shivdasani, and great-granddaughter of filmmaker Prithviraj Kapoor. The actors Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Kapoor are her uncle and aunt respectively, and actor Ranbir Kapoor is also her cousin.
According to Kapoor, her name "Kareena" was derived from the book Anna Karenina, which her mother read while she was pregnant with her. Kapoor is of Punjabi descent on her father's side, and on her mother's side she is of Sindhi and British descent. Describing herself as a naughty, 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. 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 lived separately before reconciling in October 2007. She was raised by her mother, who worked several jobs to support her daughters until Karisma debuted as an actress in 1991. Although her father was not present for most her childhood, Kapoor remarked that he played an important role in her life. 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 was not inclined towards academics though received good grades in all her classes except mathematics. Upon graduating from Welham, she returned to Mumbai and studied commerce for two years at Mithibai College. 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, she decided to pursue her interest in acting, though she later regretted not having completed her education. She began training at an acting institute in Mumbai mentored by Kishore Namit Kapoor, a member of the Film and Television Institute of India.
While training at the institute, Kapoor was cast as the lead in Rakesh Roshan's Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai (2000), opposite Hrithik Roshan. Several days into the filming, however, she abandoned the production since more prominence was given to the director's son than her. She debuted later that year alongside Abhishek Bachchan in J. P. Dutta's Refugee. Set during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, Kapoor was introduced as Naaz, a Bangladeshi girl with whom Bachchan's character falls in love. Dutta cast her for the combination of youthfulness and innocence he found in her, and Kapoor considered their collaboration to be a learning experience that helped her personally and professionally. Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama noted "the ease with which she emotes the most difficult of scenes", and India Today reported that she belonged to a new breed of Hindi film actors that breaks away from character stereotypes. Refugee was a moderate box-office success in India and Kapoor's performance earned her the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut.
Kapoor was paired opposite Tusshar Kapoor in Satish Kaushik's box-office hit Mujhe Kucch Kehna Hai (2001). A review in The Hindu noted that based on her first two films, she was "definitely the actress to watch out for". She next starred in Subhash Ghai's Yaadein, followed by Abbas–Mustan's moderately successful thriller Ajnabee. Later that year, she appeared in Santosh Sivan's period epic Aśoka, a partly fictionalised account of the life of the Indian emperor Ashoka. Featured opposite Shah Rukh Khan, Kapoor found herself challenged playing the complex personality of her character Kaurwaki with whom Ashoka falls in love. Aśoka 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 critics attributed to famed actor Shah Rukh Khan's portrayal of the emperor Ashoka. Jeff Vice of The Deseret News commended her compelling screen presence. At the 47th Filmfare Awards, Aśoka was nominated for five awards including a Best Actress nomination for Kapoor. A breakthrough in Kapoor's career came when she was cast by Karan Johar as Pooja ("Poo", a good-natured, superficial girl) in the 2001 melodrama Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. She found little resemblance between herself and her "over-the-top" character, and modeled Poo's personality on that of Johar. Filming the big-budget production, alongside an ensemble cast was a new experience for Kapoor, and she recalls it fondly as a dream come true. Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham 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. It became one of the biggest Bollywood success of all time in the overseas market, earning over ₹1 billion (US$10 million) worldwide. Taran Adarsh described Kapoor as "one of the main highlights of the film", and she received her second Filmfare nomination for the role—her first for Best Supporting Actress—as well as nominations at the International Indian Academy (IIFA) and Screen Awards. 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, and Rediff.com published that with Aśoka she had become the highest-paid Indian actress to that point earning ₹15 million (US$160,000) per film. 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. Critics described her performances in these films as variations of the character she played in Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, and expressed concern that she was becoming typecast. She later spoke positively of this period, recalling it as a beneficial lesson which taught her to work harder.
By 2004, Kapoor, who had confessed to having entered the film industry strictly for financial reasons, was eager on broadening her range as an actor and thus decided to accept more challenging roles in addition to the archetypical glamorous lead. Under the direction of Sudhir Mishra, Kapoor starred in Chameli as a golden-hearted prostitute who meets with a widowed investment banker (Rahul Bose). When Kapoor was first offered the part, she passed on 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. With a production budget of ₹20 million (US$210,000), the independent film marked a departure from the high-profile productions Kapoor previously starred in. The Times of India praised her for having exceeded all expectations; Rediff.com, however, found her portrayal unconvincing and excessively stereotypical, comparing her mannerisms to a caricature. Chameli marked a significant turning point in Kapoor's career and she received a special jury recognition at the 49th Filmfare Awards. Kapoor next co-starred in Mani Ratnam's Yuva, a composite film about three youngsters from different strata of society whose lives intersect by a car accident; she featured as Vivek Oberoi's romantic interest. Despite not having "much of a role", she agreed to the project due to her desire to work with Ratnam. Film critic Subhash K. Jha concurred that her role was insubstantial, but further stated that Kapoor uses her "character traits to her ... advantage to create a girl who is at once enigmatic and all-there". 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 Gujarat. Kapoor starred as a Muslim victim and contributed in the soundtrack by providing the vocals. Nihalani was initially hesitant to cast a mainstream commercial actress but found that Kapoor displayed a level of intelligence and sensitivity beyond her years. She was eager to work with him, as his films Ardh Satya (1983) and Tamas (1988) gave her a deeper appreciation for cinema, and identified with her character's ability to be strong yet simple. It earned her critical acclaim and a Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress.
