Deepika Padukone

Deepika Prakash Padukone is an Indian actress who works mainly in Hindi-language films. She has won three Filmfare Awards. In 2018, *Time* magazine listed her among the 100 most influential people globally, and in 2022 she received the publication’s Time100 Impact Award.

Padukone was born on 5 January 1986 in Copenhagen, Denmark, to Konkani-speaking Indian parents. Her father, Prakash Padukone, is a former professional badminton player; her mother, Ujjala, worked as a travel agent. Her younger sister, Anisha, is a golfer. Her paternal grandfather, Ramesh, served as secretary of the Mysore Badminton Association. When Padukone was a year old, the family moved to Bangalore, India. She attended Sophia High School and completed pre-university studies at Mount Carmel College, then enrolled in a Bachelor of Arts in sociology at Indira Gandhi National Open University but dropped out due to conflicts with her modelling schedule.

As a child, Padukone described herself as socially awkward with few friends. She focused on badminton, playing competitively from a young age and competing at national-level championships. At age eight, she appeared in a couple of advertising campaigns as a child model. In the tenth grade, she decided to pursue fashion modelling instead of badminton, later explaining that she realized she was playing the sport only because it ran in the family. Her father was not upset by her decision. In 2004, she began full-time modelling under Prasad Bidapa.

Early modelling success included a television commercial for Liril soap and work for various brands. She made her runway debut at Lakmé Fashion Week in 2005 for designer Suneet Varma and won Model of the Year at the Kingfisher Fashion Awards. Her profile rose further with a print campaign for the 2006 Kingfisher Calendar. Designer Wendell Rodricks, who spotted her at a jewellery class, signed her with the Matrix talent agency. At 21, she moved to Mumbai, staying at her aunt’s home. In 2006, she appeared in the music video for Himesh Reshammiya’s song “Naam Hai Tera” from the album *Aap Ka Surroor*.

Feeling inexperienced as an actor, Padukone enrolled in a course at Anupam Kher’s film academy. Director Farah Khan, who noticed her in the music video, decided to cast her in a film then titled *Happy New Year*.