Bollywood star Katrina Kaif began with a flop and barely any Hindi
Katrina Kaif was born in Hong Kong, schooled at home across a dozen countries, and discovered at a London fashion show. Her first Hindi film bombed and her shaky Hindi cost her roles. She still became one of India's best-paid actresses, carrying some of the decade's biggest action blockbusters.
Born Katrina Turcotte on 16 July 1983, in what was then British Hong Kong, she was raised by her mother, Suzanne, an English lawyer who also does charity work. Her father, Mohammad Kaif, has Kashmiri roots and, by her account, lived in the United States and played no part in raising her. One of eight children, she moved constantly because of her mother's activism: China, Japan, a boat to France, Switzerland, Kraków in Poland, Belgium and Hawaii, among others, before three years in London. Tutors taught the children wherever they landed.
Modelling began in her teens. At a London show the director Kaizad Gustad cast her in Boom (2003), which failed with critics and audiences alike. Its producer, Ayesha Shroff, later claimed the team had invented her Kashmiri father and chosen the surname Kaif for marketing; Kaif rejected the story and called the remarks hurtful.
India embraced her as a model long before directors did, largely because her Hindi was weak. A Telugu film, Malliswari (2004), preceded her first Bollywood hits, the romantic comedies Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya? and Namastey London. More box-office wins followed, though critics grumbled about her acting and her habit of picking films built around male leads. The thriller New York (2009) and Mere Brother Ki Dulhan (2011) changed the tone of reviews, each bringing a Filmfare Best Actress nomination.
Her greatest commercial run came in action: Ek Tha Tiger, Dhoom 3 and Bang Bang! ranked among the top-grossing Indian films of the 2010s, and the Tiger sequels kept the streak going. Playing an alcoholic film star in Zero (2018) won a Zee Cine supporting award. Off screen she launched the cosmetics brand Kay Beauty in 2019, supports her mother's children's charity Relief Projects India, and is married to the actor Vicky Kaushal, with whom she has a son.
Source: Katrina Kaif
