Katrina Kaif

Biography

Katrina Kaif (pronounced [kəˈʈriːna kɛːf]; born Katrina Turquotte; 16 July 1983) is a British actress who works in Hindi-language films. One of the highest-paid actresses in India, she has received accolades, including four Screen Awards and four Zee Cine Awards, in addition to three Filmfare nominations. Though reception to her acting has varied, she is noted for her dancing ability in various successful item numbers.

Born in Hong Kong, Kaif lived in several countries before she moved to London for three years. She received her first modeling assignment as a teenager and later pursued a career as a fashion model. At a fashion show in London, Indian filmmaker Kaizad Gustad cast her in Boom (2003), a critical and commercial failure.

While Kaif established a successful modeling career in India, she initially had difficulty finding film roles due to her poor command of Hindi. After appearing in the Telugu film Malliswari (2004), Kaif earned commercial success in Bollywood with the romantic comedies Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya? (2005) and Namastey London (2007). Further success followed with a series of box-office hits, but she was criticized for her acting, repetitive roles, and inclination to male-dominated films.

Kaif's performances in the thriller New York (2009) and the romantic comedy Mere Brother Ki Dulhan (2011) were better received, earning her nominations for the Filmfare Award for Best Actress. She starred in Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani (2009), Raajneeti (2010), and Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011) during this period, and found major commercial success in the action thrillers Ek Tha Tiger (2012), Dhoom 3 (2013), and Bang Bang! (2014), all of which rank among the highest-grossing Indian films.

These were followed by a series of commercial failures, though the action films Tiger Zinda Hai (2017) and Sooryavanshi (2021) and the drama Bharat (2019) were box-office hits. Kaif's portrayal of an alcoholic actress in the romantic drama Zero (2018) earned her the Zee Cine Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Katrina Kaif was born in British Hong Kong with her mother's surname Turquotte (also spelt Turcotte), on 16 July 1983. Her father, Mohammed Kaif, is a British businessman of Kashmiri descent and her mother (Suzanne, also spelled Susanna) is an English lawyer and charity worker. She has seven siblings: three elder sisters named Stephanie, Christine, and Natasha; three younger sisters named Melissa, Sonia, and Isabel; and an elder brother named Sebastien.

Isabel is also a model and actress. Kaif's parents divorced when she was a child, and her father moved to the United States. She said her father had no influence on her or her siblings while they were growing up, and that they were raised by their mother. In a 2009 interview with The Indian Express, she said she was not in touch with her father.

Kaif's paternal parentage has been questioned by some members of the film industry. In a 2011 interview with Mumbai Mirror, Boom producer Ayesha Shroff accused Kaif of fabricating her history: "We created an identity for her. She was this pretty young English girl, and we gave her the Kashmiri father and thought of calling her Katrina Kazi.

We thought we'd give her some kind of Indian ancestry, to connect with the audience ... But then we thought that Kazi sounded too ... religious? ... Mohammad Kaif was at the top, and so we said, Katrina Kaif sounds really great".[8] Kaif denied this, calling Shroff's comments "hurtful".