Katrina Kaif (born Katrina Turquotte, 16 July 1983) is an English actress who works in Hindi films. Despite receiving mixed reviews from critics for her acting prowess, she has established herself in Bollywood and is one of India's highest-paid actresses.
Born in Hong Kong, Kaif and her family lived in several countries before she moved to London. She received her first modelling assignment as a teenager and later pursued a career as a fashion model. At a fashion show in London, filmmaker Kaizad Gustad spotted Kaif and decided to cast her in Boom (2003), a critical and commercial failure. While filming in India, Kaif received modelling assignments and established a successful modelling career. However, filmmakers were hesitant to cast her 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). She followed with a series of box-office hits, but was criticised for her acting, repetitive roles and inclination to male-dominated films.
Kaif's performance in the terrorism drama New York (2009) was better received, earning her a Filmfare Award for Best Actress nomination. After starring roles in Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani (2009), Raajneeti (2010) and Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011), she received her second Filmfare nomination for her performance in Mere Brother Ki Dulhan (2011). Kaif's highest-grossing films came with the action thrillers Ek Tha Tiger (2012), Dhoom 3 (2013) and Bang Bang! (2014), all of which rank among the highest-grossing Indian films. She followed this with roles in a series of films that did not perform well commercially, with the exception of the action sequel Tiger Zinda Hai (2017) and the drama Bharat (2019), but received praise for playing an alcoholic actress in the romantic drama Zero (2018), for which she received a nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress.
