Anushka Sharma

Anushka Sharma (born 1 May 1988) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films.

She has received several awards, including a Filmfare Award.

Anushka Sharma was born on 1 May 1988 in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh.

Her father, Colonel Ajay Kumar Sharma, is an army officer, and her mother, Ashima Sharma, is a homemaker.

Her ancestral home is in Dehradun town of Uttarakhand on Naishvilla road, her father lived here before joining the Indian army.

Anushka Sharma's grandmother Urmila still lives in their house.

Sharma lived in Sheela Bhawan of Naishvilla road in her childhood.

Her father is a native of Uttar Pradesh, while her mother is a Garhwali.

Her elder brother is film producer Karnesh Sharma, who earlier served in the Merchant Navy.

Sharma has stated that being a military brat played an important role in shaping her as a person and contributing to her life.

Born in Ayodhya and raised in Bangalore, Sharma had her first modelling assignment for the fashion designer Wendell Rodricks in 2007 and later moved to Mumbai to pursue a full-time career as a model.

In 2007, Sharma made her runway debut at the Lakme Fashion Week for designer Wendell Rodricks's Les Vamps Show and was picked to be his finale model at the Spring Summer 2007 Collection.

Since then she has done campaigns for the brands Silk & Shine, Whisper, Nathella Jewelry and Fiat Palio.

Sharma later said, "I think I was born to emote and act. I would walk down the ramp and smile and they used to say, 'give us a blank look.' It was really difficult, not to smile".

Whilst modelling, Sharma also joined an acting school and began auditioning for film roles.

She made her acting debut opposite Shah Rukh Khan in the top-grossing romantic film Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (2008) and rose to prominence with starring roles in Yash Raj Films' romances Band Baaja Baaraat (2010) and Jab Tak Hai Jaan (2012); winning the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress for the latter.

Sharma made her acting debut in Aditya Chopra's romantic drama Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (2008), opposite Shah Rukh Khan.

She took a day to prepare for her screen test at the Yash Raj Films studio and refused to do an impromptu one.

She was signed for a three-film deal with the company and landed the leading role of Tani Sahni, a young bride to a middle-aged man, portrayed by Khan.

Khalid Mohamed of Hindustan Times found her to be "assured and upright" in the film, but Nikhat Kazmi thought that she "lacks all chutzpah and can barely hold your attention".

The film was a major commercial success, emerging as the second-highest grossing Hindi film of that year, and earned Sharma Filmfare Award nominations for Best Actress and Best Female Debut.

Two years later, Sharma played the leading lady in the crime-comedy Badmaash Company, directed by Parmeet Sethi and co-starring Shahid Kapoor, Vir Das and Meiyang Chang.

The film, which tells the story of four underachieving friends who begin a scam business enterprise, received mixed reviews.

Later in 2010, Sharma completed her three-film contract with Yash Raj Films by starring in Band Baaja Baaraat, a romantic comedy directed by Maneesh Sharma and co-starring debutant Ranveer Singh.

In an interview with The Times of India in 2012, she said, "I take pride in saying that I am an army officer's daughter even more than being an actor."

Sharma was raised in Bangalore.

But she did her primary schooling at St. Mary's School, Margherita, Assam.

Sakshi Dhoni, the wife of M.S Dhoni, was her classmate in that school.

She completed her schooling at Army School, Bangalore.

Then she did her graduation in arts from Mount Carmel College, Bangalore.

She originally intended to pursue a career in modelling or journalism, and had no aspirations to be an actress.

After graduation, Sharma moved to Mumbai to further her modelling career.

She enrolled herself at the Elite Model Management, and was groomed by the style consultant Prasad Bidapa.

Sharma went on to earn praise for playing strong-willed women in the crime thriller NH10 (2015), and the dramas Dil Dhadakne Do (2015), Ae Dil Hai Mushkil (2016), and Sui Dhaaga (2018).

Her highest-grossing releases came with the sports drama Sultan (2016), and Rajkumar Hirani's films PK (2014) and Sanju (2018).

This was followed by a hiatus from acting.

One of the highest-paid actresses in India as of 2018, she has appeared in Forbes India's Celebrity 100 since 2012 and was featured by Forbes Asia in their 30 Under 30 list of 2018.

Sharma was the co-founder of the production company Clean Slate Filmz, under which she produced several films and web series, including NH10 and Paatal Lok (2020).

She is the ambassador for brands and products, has designed her own line of clothing for women, named Nush, and supports various charities and causes, including gender equality and animal rights.

Sharma is married to the cricketer Virat Kohli, with whom she has two children.