Amrita Rao is an Indian actress who primarily works in Hindi films. Rao made her acting debut with Ab Ke Baras (2002), which earned her a nomination for Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut.
Rao comes from a Konkani-speaking Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmin family. Rao studied at Canossa Girls School, Andheri (Bombay) then at Sophia College (Mumbai) to pursue a graduate degree in Psychology but dropped out to pursue a modeling career. She has a younger sister Preetika Rao, who is also an actress.
Rao won the IIFA Award for Star Debut of the Year – Female, for her portrayal of a college student in the romantic drama Ishq Vishk (2003), her first commercial success. She is the recipient of such accolades including a IIFA Award and two Stardust Awards.
Rao received praise for her portrayals in commercially successful films – the romantic dramas Main Hoon Na (2004), Vivah (2006), the comedy thriller Masti (2004), and the comedy Welcome to Sajjanpur (2008). She has won Stardust Award for Best Actress, for her performance in Welcome to Sajjanpur. Rao also made her Telugu film debut with Athidhi (2007) and established herself as “Bollywood’s quintessential girl-next-door”. M. F. Husain pronounced Rao as his second muse and made several paintings dedicated to the actress’s role in Vivah.
Post this success, most of Rao’s films turned out to be commercial failures. She then appeared in the National Award-winning film Jolly LLB (2013). Rao has since played supporting parts in the action drama Singh Saab the Great (2013), the political drama Satyagraha (2013), and the biopic Thackeray (2019). Rao appeared as the Judge on the reality show, Perfect Bride in 2009. She made her TV debut with Meri Awaaz Hi Pehchaan Hai (2016), portraying a singer.
