Deepika Padukone (born 5 January 1986) is an Indian actress who works predominantly in Hindi films.
Padukone was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, to Konkani-speaking parents. Her father, Prakash Padukone, is a former professional badminton player.
The family relocated to Bangalore, India when Padukone was a year old. She was educated at Bangalore’s Sophia High School and completed her pre-university education at Mount Carmel College. She subsequently enrolled at the Indira Gandhi National Open University for a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology but dropped out due to scheduling conflicts with her modeling career. In November 2018, she married her frequent co-star Ranveer Singh in traditional Konkani and Sindhi ceremonies at Lake Como, Italy.
She received offers for film roles and made her acting debut in 2006 as the title character of the Kannada film Aishwarya. Padukone then played a dual role opposite Shah Rukh Khan in her first Bollywood release, the melodrama Om Shanti Om (2007), which won her the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut. Padukone received praise for her starring role in the romantic drama Love Aaj Kal (2009), but this was followed by a brief setback.
Padukone has said that her starring role in the 2012 romantic comedy Cocktail marked a turning point in her career. Cocktail earned Padukone Best Actress nominations at several award ceremonies, including Filmfare, Screen, and IIFA.
Her performances in Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, Chennai Express, and Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela won her several awards, including the Screen Award for Best Actress for the latter two films and the Filmfare Award for Best Actress for the latter.
Padukone took on the role of a headstrong Bengali girl in Shoojit Sircar’s comedy-drama Piku.
With a then-record budget of ₹2 billion (US$25 million), Padmaavat had earnings of ₹5.45 billion (US$68 million) to emerge as one of Indian cinema’s biggest grosser. She received another Best Actress nomination at Filmfare.
The action film XXX: Return of Xander Cage (2017), in which Padukone played the leading lady opposite Vin Diesel, marked her first project in Hollywood.
In addition to acting, Padukone has written opinion columns and has been involved with women’s health and fitness magazines. Padukone took part in the opening ceremony of the third season of the Indian Premier League at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. In 2022, Padukone and Spanish footballer Iker Casillas unveiled the FIFA World Cup Trophy at the competition’s final match in Qatar. In 2013, she launched her own line of clothing for women, in association with the retail chain Van Heusen. In a 2015 interview, Padukone spoke about her personal experience of overcoming depression, and in October of that year, she formed a foundation to create awareness of mental health in India, named The Live Love Laugh Foundation. The World Economic Forum presented her with the Crystal Award in 2020 for creating awareness of mental health.
