Shilpa Shetty, also known as Shilpa Shetty Kundra after marriage, is an Indian film actress, producer and former model. She predominantly works in Bollywood films, and has also a few Telugu, Tamil and Kannada language films to her credit. She is undoubtedly one of the most popular and high profile celebrities in India and has not only been an immensely successful actress in Bollywood but has tasted success internationally by winning the British television reality series Celebrity Big Brother 5, aired in 2007. Text

Early Life
Shilpa Shetty was born in the year 1975 in Chembur to father, Surendra and mother, Sunanda, who are manufacturers of tamper-proof water caps for the pharmaceutical industry. Shilpa is the elder sister of Bollywood actress Shamita Shetty and both have worked together once in the 2005 film Fareb. The actress attended St. Anthony Girls` High School in Chembur, and then graduated from the Podar College in Matunga, Mumbai. During her schooling days Shilpa was active in sports, mainly volleyball. She holds a black belt in Karate and is a trained Bharatnatyam dancer.

Personal Life
Shilpa Shetty started dating actor Akshay Kumar while they worked together in the movie Insaaf, in 1997, but broke up in the year 2000. In the year 2009, she started dating businessman Raj Kundra, with whom she is the co-owner of the Indian Premier League cricket team Rajasthan Royals. She married Raj Kundra in 2009 and they have a son named Viaan, who was born in 2012.

Movie Career
In the year 1991, while she was just 15, Shilpa Shetty started her career as a model by appearing in a Limca television commercial, which got her opportunities for many more TV ads. Shilpa made her Bollywood debut in the 1993 thriller Baazigar, a movie that turned out to be a huge box-office hit. The movie featured her in a supporting role as Seema Chopra, a girl who is murdered by her boyfriend played by Shah Rukh Khan. Baazigar turned out to be the fourth-highest grossing film of the year. Her performance in the movie earned her Best Supporting Actress and Lux New Face of the Year awards` nominations at the annual Filmfare Awards ceremony.

Shilpa appeared in three films in 1994. First, she worked on the action drama Aag, in which she got to play her first leading role alongside Govinda and Sonali Bendre. She portrayed the character of Bijli, a village belle who in reality is a policewoman assigned the task to arrest a murderer. Her next movie saw her co-starring with Akshay Kumar, Saif Ali Khan, Raageshwari and Shakti Kapoor in the action comedy Main Khiladi Tu Anari, in which she played dual roles of Mona - a cabaret dancer and a gangster`s girlfriend, and Basanti - a village belle. The film was a big box office hit. The critical acclaim she received for her performance and the success of the movie turned out to be a breakthrough for Shilpa. In her last release of the year, Aao Pyaar Karen, she was seen alongside Saif Ali Khan.

Shilpa`s first project in the following year, 1995, was Hathkadi, with Saif Ali Khan, Govinda and Madhoo, which turned out to be a failure at the box office. In the next year, 1996, she made her Tamil film debut in Mr. Romeo alongside actors Prabhudeva and Madhoo.

The year 1997 had her running around quite a lot as she appeared in six films. The first one was the Telugu language film Veedevadandi Babu. However, her major release of the year was the Bollywood action thriller, Auzaar, in which she co-starred with Salman Khan and Sanjay Kapoor. She had one release in the year 1998, Pardesi Babu, for which she not only received critical acclaim but was also praised commercially, winning the Bollywood Movie Award for Best Supporting Actress for the movie.

The year 2000 got Shilpa high acclaim for her role in Dhadkan for which she received several nominations under the Best Actress category in award ceremonies. Then, she starred with Anil Kapoor and Karisma Kapoor in the film Rishtey in the same year, in which her comic performance as an eccentric fisherwoman was appreciated. For this too, she received a nomination under the Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award category and nominations for Best Comedian.

In 2004, she appeared in Garv portraying a Muslim orphan and disillusioned table dancer alongside Salman Khan. She was next seen in the movie Phir Milenge, in which she portrays a successful city high-flyer who contracts HIV from unprotected sex and ends up becoming a social outcast. This movie earned the actress a Filmfare Best Actress nomination.

Shilpa then appeared in the film Dus in 2005 as an anti-terrorist agent and also starred in a Kannada film Auto Shankar which was a major box office success. Later, she did a villainous role in the movie which earned her the name "The Gabbar Singh of the South". Following this she starred with her sister Shamita Shetty in the film Fareb. In 2006, she appeared in Shaadi Karke Phas Gaya Yaar. In the same year, she became a judge alongside Farah Khan & Sanjay Leela Bhansali on Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa, a dance show aired on the Sony Entertainment Television.

The year 2007 worked wonders for the actress. Her first release, Life in a... Metro, was highly appreciated with praises for Shilpa`s performance. The movie performed well at the box office and became the first Bollywood movie to premiere at Leicester Square in London. Next, she worked with the three Deols - Dharmendra, Sunny and Bobby- in the drama Apne, also a box office success.

Shilpa featured as a celebrity host for the 2008 reality show Bigg Boss 2. She appeared as a talent judge for the reality shows Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa (Season 1) and Nach Baliye (seasons 5 and 6). Shilpa further ventured into being a film producer with the action film Dishkiyaaoon in 2014. She then featured in Hungama 2 (2021), Nikamma (2022), Sukhee (2023) and KD - The Devil (2024).