Katrina Kaif

Katrina Kaif, born Katrina Rosemary Turcotte, is a British actress and businesswoman who works in Hindi-language cinema and is one of the best-known and highest-paid actresses in India.^[1] Born in British Hong Kong on 16 July 1983, she grew up in many countries, started modelling as a teenager and made her acting debut in 2003, but only found a lasting place in Bollywood after she worked on her Hindi and built a record of commercial hits through the 2000s and 2010s.^[1] She is especially known for her action roles and her dancing, and her films Ek Tha Tiger, Dhoom 3 and Tiger Zinda Hai rank among the highest-grossing Hindi films of their time.^[1][2]

Her recognition includes four Screen Awards and four Zee Cine Awards, along with three Filmfare nominations, for New York, Mere Brother Ki Dulhan and Zero.^[1] She was a regular in Forbes India's Celebrity 100 list from 2012 to 2019, and in 2019 she launched the cosmetics brand Kay Beauty in partnership with Nykaa, India's first celebrity makeup line at the time.^[1]

In recent years she has stepped back from acting. Her last film was the thriller Merry Christmas (2024), and as of September 2026 there is no officially announced new acting project.^[9] She married the actor Vicky Kaushal in 2021, and the couple welcomed their son, Vihaan, in November 2025.^[1] On 16 July 2026 she turned 43.^[5]

Katrina Kaif was born Katrina Rosemary Turcotte, also spelt Turquotte, on 16 July 1983 in British Hong Kong, using her mother's surname.^[1] Her mother, Suzanne, is an English lawyer and charity worker, and her father, Mohammad Kaif, is a businessman of Kashmiri descent who has lived in the United States and who she says had little influence on her upbringing.^[1] She has seven siblings, three older sisters, three younger sisters and an older brother, and her parents divorced when she was a child.^[1]

Because her mother worked in social causes, the family moved through many countries. Kaif has described a route that took them from Hong Kong to China, Japan, France, Switzerland, Poland, Belgium, Hawaii and finally London, and she and her siblings were home-schooled by a series of tutors.^[1] At 14, she won a beauty contest in Hawaii and received her first modelling assignment, in a jewellery campaign; she later modelled professionally in London, working with freelance agencies and appearing at London Fashion Week.^[1] She lived in London for around three years before moving to India.^[1]

Her path into films began at a London fashion show, where the filmmaker Kaizad Gustad cast her in his heist film Boom (2003), which starred Amitabh Bachchan.^[1] The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival but was a critical and commercial failure, and her performance was poorly received.^[1] While in India she received more offers and decided to stay, and she began working on her diction through Hindi classes after reports that her command of the language and her British accent made filmmakers hesitant to cast her.^[1] She also changed her screen surname to her father's, Kaif, because she believed it would be easier to pronounce.^[1] She modelled for designer Rohit Bal at India Fashion Week, appeared in the first Kingfisher Calendar and endorsed brands such as Coca-Cola, LG, Fevicol and Samsung.^[1]

After Boom, Kaif appeared in the Telugu film Malliswari (2004), for which she reportedly received the highest salary for a female lead in South Indian cinema at the time, and the profitable film led to many offers.^[1] Her first real step into Bollywood was David Dhawan's Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya? (2005), a hit remake of Cactus Flower that won her the Stardust Award for Breakthrough Performance - Female.^[1] In 2007 she had four hits: Namastey London, which she called her first dominating role and in which she played a spoilt British Indian woman, Apne, Partner and Welcome.^[1] Singh Is Kinng (2008) was her sixth consecutive box-office success, though critics mostly said she was being cast in glamorous roles in male-dominated films, and her voice was dubbed by other artists in most of her early films.^[1]

She sought more substantial parts with Kabir Khan's New York (2009), in which she played a woman who unknowingly marries a terrorist, and which gave her first Filmfare nomination for Best Actress.^[1] Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani (2009) and Prakash Jha's political thriller Raajneeti (2010), which earned Rs 1.4 billion, followed, and the item song "Sheila Ki Jawani" from Tees Maar Khan (2010) became hugely popular even though the film failed.^[1] Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011), in which she played a diving instructor opposite Hrithik Roshan, was a critical and commercial success, and Mere Brother Ki Dulhan (2011) brought her a second Filmfare Best Actress nomination.^[1]

Her biggest commercial run came in the early 2010s. Her dance number "Chikni Chameli" in Agneepath (2012) was a hit, and she played the Pakistani spy Zoya in Kabir Khan's Ek Tha Tiger (2012), which earned about Rs 3.1 billion worldwide and was the highest-grossing Bollywood film of its year.^[1] Jab Tak Hai Jaan (2012), Yash Chopra's final film, earned about Rs 2.11 billion, and Dhoom 3 (2013), in which she played a circus performer after a year of training, earned Rs 5.42 billion and briefly became the highest-grossing Bollywood film of all time until PK surpassed it.^[1] Bang Bang! (2014) did well but below expectations.^[1]

A run of failures followed with Phantom (2015), Fitoor and Baar Baar Dekho (2016) and Jagga Jasoos (2017), but she rebounded with Tiger Zinda Hai (2017), which earned over Rs 5.6 billion worldwide and remains her highest-grossing film.^[1] Thugs of Hindostan and Zero (2018) were unsuccessful, though her portrayal of an alcoholic actress in Zero won her a Zee Cine Award for Best Supporting Actress and a Filmfare nomination in the same category.^[1] Bharat (2019), Sooryavanshi (2021) and Tiger 3 (2023) were hits, and Tiger 3, in which she reprised Zoya as part of the YRF Spy Universe after two months of stunt training, earned over Rs 4.6 billion worldwide.^[1] In 2024 she starred opposite Vijay Sethupathi in Sriram Raghavan's thriller Merry Christmas, shot in Hindi and Tamil versions; it was well reviewed but did not do well commercially.^[1]

In 2026 her focus has been on business rather than films. In July, reports that she would replace Deepika Padukone in Prabhas's Spirit were dismissed as "completely inaccurate", and in June her team reportedly said there were no plans to move into OTT ventures.^[5][9] Kay Beauty has expanded into skincare, with the launch of the Hydra Glaze Essence and Hydra Base Water Creme in August and September 2026, and the brand brought in Saba Azad for its Cashmere Lip Blur launch.^[5][9]

Kaif has long kept her personal life private, saying she believes in conducting it with discretion and dignity.^[1] Her first serious relationship was with Salman Khan, who has remained a close friend and whom she credits for giving her confidence, and she was later linked to Ranbir Kapoor, a relationship that ended in early 2016.^[1]

She met the actor Vicky Kaushal in early 2019 and married him on 9 December 2021 in a traditional Hindu ceremony at Six Senses Fort Barwara in Sawai Madhopur, Rajasthan; their official wedding pictures became the most-liked post on Instagram at the time.^[1] Their son, Vihaan Kaushal, was born on 7 November 2025, and the couple publicly shared his name and first photo on 7 January 2026.^[1][4][8] Kaif made her first public appearance after the birth in February 2026, and she celebrated Holi 2026 as a mother with Kaushal.^[4] Kaushal has publicly described her as a "superhero" and "a warrior as a mother", and Alia Bhatt sent a gift hamper for the baby.^[4][8]

In September 2026 she faced online trolling over her postpartum weight, prompting Salman Khan and singer Ali Zafar to publicly defend her, and she spoke about how her skin became more sensitive after pregnancy.^[5][6][7]

Kaif is reported to be a firm believer in God and to have been raised with freedom to practise a faith of her choice, as her mother is Christian and her father is Muslim.^[1] She is involved with Relief Projects India, a charitable trust run by her mother that supports underprivileged children, and has donated her game-show winnings to her mother's Mercy Home orphanage.^[1] She recorded the nursery-rhyme album Rhyme Skool with Katrina Kaif (2010), composed by A.R. Rahman, to raise funds for a school in Madurai, and she was named an ambassador of Educate Girls in 2018.^[1] She has also spoken in favour of gender equality, joined a UNODC campaign against human trafficking in 2007, and donated to the PM CARES Fund and Maharashtra Chief Minister's Relief Fund in 2020.^[1]

She is a long-time brand ambassador for Slice, Nakshatra, Lux, Panasonic, Lakme and L'Oreal.^[1] Estimates of her wealth vary: Forbes India estimated her net worth at about Rs 2 billion (US$21 million) in 2021, while a 2024 website estimate puts it near US$40 million; because these are unaudited estimates, they should be treated as approximate.^[1][10]