Background and career
Saba Qamar Zaman (born 5 April 1984) is a Pakistani actress who works predominantly in Urdu films and television series. Qamar is one of Pakistan's most popular and highest-paid actresses. She is a recipient of several accolades including two Lux Style Awards and three PTV Awards alongside a Filmfare nomination.
The Government of Pakistan has honoured her with the Tamgha-e-Imtiaz in 2012 and the Pride of Performance in 2016.
Qamar first received positive media attention for the role of Ruqsana Inayat in the historical drama Jinnah Ke Naam (2009). This was followed by further success in several television series, including the pre-partition drama Dastaan, the melodrama Uraan (both 2010), the romantic dramas Maat and Pani Jaisa Piyar (both 2011), the socio Thakan (2012), thriller Sannata, the romantic Bunty I Love You (both 2013), family drama Digest Writer (2014), crime thriller Sangat (2015) and Besharam (2016), receiving Best Actress nominations for these. She has also appeared in biographical film Manto (2015), romantic comedy Lahore Se Aagey (2016), and the Indian Hindi-language educational drama Hindi Medium (2017), for which she received a nomination of Filmfare Award for Best Actress.
Qamar has portrayed Fouzia Azeem and Noor Jehan in the 2017 biographical dramas Baaghi and Main Manto, and a strong-headed woman in the 2019 courtroom drama Cheekh. The first of these earned her a Lux Style Award for Best TV Actress. She also features in listings of the nation's popular personalities.
In addition to acting, Qamar is involved with several humanitarian causes and is vocal about issues faced by women and children and has participated in concert tours and stage shows. She has featured as a host and comedian on the political satire Hum Sab Umeed Se Hain (2009–2015). Despite maintaining privacy, her off-screen life is the subject of substantial media coverage.
