Katrina Kaif (Hindi/Kashmiri: कत्रिना कैफ़; born 16 July 1984) is a Hongkong-born British-Indian actress and model who has appeared in Hindi, Telugu and Malayalam films. Since 2007 she has starred in several commercially successful films, making her one of the most popular actresses in Bollywood.

Biography

Kaif was born in Hong Kong to a Kashmiri father and a British mother. Her father acquired British citizenship. Kaif has seven siblings. She was raised in Hawaii and later moved to her mother's home country, England. At age fourteen she was approached by an agent and began modeling; her first job was for a jewelry campaign. She continued modeling in London.

Career

Kaif's London modeling work led to her discovery by filmmaker Kaizad Gustad, who gave her a part in his film Boom (2003). She moved to Mumbai and was offered a number of modeling assignments. However, filmmakers were at first hesitant to sign her because she wasn't able to speak Hindi.

Breakthrough (2005-2006)

Katrina saw success with the 2005 film Sarkar where she played the brief role of Abhishek Bachchan's love interest. Her next release,Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya (2005), where she was paired opposite Salman Khan, earned her an award at the Stardust Award for breakthrough female performance.

Success (2007-Present)

In 2007 Katrina appeared in the hit movie Namastey London, wherein she starred as a British Indian alongside Akshay Kumar for the second time after the box office dud Humko Deewana Kar Gaye. She then worked on a series of box office hits that include Apne, Partner and Welcome. 2007 saw her play a negative role for the first time in Abbas-Mustan's hit action thriller Race. She played the role of Saif Ali Khan's secretary who is secretly in love with him. She appeared next in Anees Bazmee's box office super-hit Singh Is Kinng alongside Akshay Kumar for the fourth time. Kaif's final release of the year, Subhash Ghai's Yuvvraaj, was a surprise disaster at the box office.Kaif is the model for Mattel's Bollywood Barbie, which will be released in September 2009.

Awards

• 2006: Stardust Breakthrough Performance Award (Female), Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya
• 2008: British-Indian Actor award, Zee Cine Awards
• 2008: IIFA Awards: Best Female Style Icon
• 2008: Most searched Indian celebrity on Google^.
• 2008: Sabsey Favourite Kaun Awards, Best actress award, Singh Is Kinng

Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Other notes
2003	Boom	Rina Kaif / Popdi Chinchpokli
2004	Malliswari	Princess Malliswari	Telugu film
2005	Sarkar	Pooja
	Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya	Sonia
	Allari Pidugu	Shwetha	Telugu film
2006	Hum Ko Deewana Kar Gaye	Jia A. Yashvardhan
	Balram vs. Taradas	Supriya	Malayalam film
2007	Namastey London	Jasmeet Malhotra (Jazz)
	Apne	Nandini
	Partner	Priya Jaisingh
	Welcome	Sanjana Shetty
2008	Race	Sophia	First vamp role
	Singh Is Kinng	Sonia
	Hello	The Storyteller/God	Special appearance
	Yuvvraaj	Anushka
2009	New York	Maya	Releasing on 26th June, 2009
	Blue	Lauren	Filming
	Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani	Sonia / Lisa Singh Rathod	Releasing on 10 July, 2009
	De Dana Dan		Filming
2009	Padosan Remake	Bindhu	Pre- Production
2009	7 Days In Paris		Filming
2010	Rajniti		Filming