Katrina Kaif is a British actress who has starred in a number of Bollywood films as the main lady. She had to endure terrible degrees of hardship as a foreigner in order to acquire popularity. Many critics slammed her and wrote her off because she couldn’t speak Hindi when she made her film debut. She subsequently worked hard to enhance her Hindi and landed major roles in Bollywood films as a result of her efforts. Anyone who has ever worked with her can attest to the fact that she is one of the industry’s hardest workers. She made her acting debut in the multi-starrer crime thriller ‘Boom,’ and has since appeared in films with Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar, and Ranbir Kapoor. Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, and Hrithik Roshan are among the numerous Bollywood superstars with whom she has collaborated. Despite the fact that she does not hold Indian citizenship, her attractive on-screen appearance and great performances have earned her a permanent place in the hearts of Indian movie fans.
Childhood and Adolescence
Katrina Kaif was born Katrina Turquotte on July 16, 1983, in British Hong Kong, to Mohammed Kaif, a British businessman, and Suzanne Turquotte, a British lawyer and social worker. Kaif’s father is of Kashmiri ancestry. Her mother raised her and her seven siblings, including her older brother Michael, elder sisters Stephanie, Christine, and Natasha, and younger sisters Melissa, Sonia, and Isabel, when her father emigrated to the United States and left the family behind.
Due to her charitable efforts, her mother relocated from one country to another. Katrina and her siblings were therefore homeschooled. Hong Kong, China, Japan, France, Switzerland, Poland, Belgium, and Hawaii were all part of her youth. She and her family then relocated to London.
Career of Katrina Kaif
Katrina Kaif began her modeling career at the age of 17 after winning a beauty pageant in Hawaii. She then began to participate at ‘London Fashion Week.’ There, she was discovered by London-based filmmaker Kaizad Gustad, who offered her a part in the sexual heist thriller ‘Boom,’ which was released in 2003.
She walked the runway for fashion designer Rohit Bal at ‘India Fashion Week’ in 2003 and was included in the first ‘Kingfisher Calendar.’ She was cast in the Telugu film ‘Malliswari’ in 2004 after being dismissed from Mahesh Bhatt’s ‘Saaya’ in 2003 due to her weak command of Hindi.
She began 2005 with a supporting role in the political thriller ‘Sarkar,’ and then landed her breakthrough role in the romantic comedy ‘Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya?,’ directed by David Dhawan, for which she received critical acclaim. ‘Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya?’ was her first of many collaborations with Salman Khan, the Bollywood superstar. The next year, she acted in ‘Humko Deewana Kar Gaye,’ the first of many films with action sensation Akshay Kumar.
She starred opposite Akshay Kumar in ‘Namastey London,’ worked with the Deols in ‘Apne,’ joined up with David Dhawan and Salman Khan for ‘Partner,’ and starred with an ensemble cast featuring Akshay Kumar in ‘Welcome.’ She began obtaining important roles in various other films after playing roles in commercially successful films.
She starred alongside Saif Ali Khan and Akshaye Khanna in Abbas-action Mustan’s film “Race” in 2008. She later acted in ‘Singh Is Kinng,’ starring Akshay Kumar, which received mixed to unfavorable reviews. Her performance as a cellist in her next film, ‘Yuvvraaj,’ alongside Salman Khan, was lauded, but the film bombed at the box office.
She then played alongside John Abraham and Neil Nitin Mukesh in Kabir Khan’s spy thriller ‘New York,’ which was released in 2009. The film was a critical and economic success, and Katrina Kaif’s performance was acclaimed. She was also nominated for the first time for the ‘Filmfare Best Actress Award.’
In 2009, she appeared as a guest star in Akshay Kumar’s film ‘Blue,’ and for the first time in the popular comedy film ‘Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani,’ with Ranbir Kapoor. She also had an appearance in the comedy film ‘De Dana Dan.’
In the 2010 blockbuster political thriller ‘Raajneeti,’ she was part of an ensemble cast that included Ranbir Kapoor, Ajay Devgn, Arjun Rampal, Nana Patekar, and Manoj Bajpai. Her performance in the film was well-received. In the same year, she starred alongside Akshay Kumar in the comedy ‘Tees Maar Khan.’ Despite the fact that the film’s song ‘Sheila Ki Jawani’ became an overnight phenomenon, the film failed at the box office.
In Zoya Akhtar’s award-winning comedy movie ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara,’ she was cast opposite one of her favorite Bollywood stars, Hrithik Roshan. She was nominated for another ‘Filmfare Best Actress Award’ later that year for her performance in the film ‘Mere Brother Ki Dulhan.’ She appeared opposite Salman Khan in the spy thriller ‘Ek Tha Tiger’ after making a cameo in the song ‘Chikni Chameli’ from the 2012 Hrithik Roshan film ‘Agneepath.’ She later acted in Yash Chopra’s film ‘Jab Tak Hai Jaan,’ opposite superstar Shah Rukh Khan.
In the blockbuster action film ‘Dhoom 3’ in 2013, she played a circus artist opposite Aamir Khan. She starred alongside Hrithik Roshan in ‘Bang Bang!,’ the official version of the American action comedy film ‘Knight and Day,’ in 2014.
In 2015, she appeared in the action-thriller film ‘Phantom,’ in which she played ‘Nawaz Mistry,’ alongside Saif Ali Khan. She acted in two films the next year, ‘Fitoor’ and ‘Baar Baar Dekho.’
In the 2017 film ‘Jagga Jasoos,’ she portrayed ‘Shruti Sengupta.’ In the same year, she appeared in ‘Tiger Zinda Hai,’ a sequel to the 2012 film ‘Ek Tha Tiger,’ reprising her role as ‘Zoya.’ She appeared in films including ‘Welcome to New York,’ ‘Thugs of Hindostan,’ and ‘Zero’ in 2018.
Katrina Kaif, Salman Khan, and Ali Abbas Zafar teamed up in 2019 for the drama film ‘Bharat,’ which was based on the 2014 South Korean film ‘Ode to My Father.’ In the same year, she was cast in the action film ‘Sooryavanshi,’ opposite Akshay Kumar, Ajay Devgn, Ranveer Singh, and Gulshan Grover.
Major Projects of Katrina Kaif
‘Dhoom 3,’ starring Katrina Kaif, was the highest-grossing Bollywood film at the time. It made roughly 589.2 crore rupees over the world. ‘Raajneeti,’ ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara,’ ‘Ek Tha Tiger,’ and ‘Jab Tak Hai Jaan’ are just a few of her other box-office hits.’
Achievements & Awards
‘Stardust Awards,’ ‘IIFA Award,’ ‘Screen Awards,’ ‘Zee Cine Awards,’ and ‘Star Guild Awards,’ among others, have been bestowed to Katrina Kaif.’ ‘FHM’ magazine has dubbed her the ‘World’s Sexiest Woman’ on several occasions, while ‘People’ magazine named her the ‘Most Beautiful Woman’ in India in 2011.
Life Is Beautiful
Between 2003 and 2010, Katrina Kaif dated Salman Khan, who she appreciates for having a tremendous influence in both her career and personal life. When her romance with actor Ranbir Kapoor was made public, their relationship faltered.
The allegations about Katrina and Ranbir’s connection have been debunked. However, in 2013, images of them on vacation in Ibiza were leaked by the ‘Stardust’ magazine. In 2016, it was rumored that the two had broken up. She then fuelled dating speculations by posting images of Salman Khan on social media while filming a film with him.
Estimated Net Worth
Katrina Kaif has a net worth of about $30 Million.
Trivia
While Katrina Kaif claims she used her estranged father’s surname in order to connect with the Indian audience, Ayesha Shroff, the producer of her debut film ‘Boom,’ claims the surname was made up. Katrina reportedly considered the surname ‘Kazi,’ but settled on ‘Kaif’ to avoid appearing too religious, according to her.