Early life and background

See also: Kapoor family

In an interview with journalist Vir Sanghvi, Kapoor stated that growing up with her mother (left) and sister helped her become strong and independent^[3]

Born into a film family in Mumbai on 21 September 1980, Kapoor (often informally referred to as 'Bebo')^[4] is the younger daughter of Randhir Kapoor and Babita (née Shivdasani);^[5] her elder sister Karisma is also an actress. She is the granddaughter of actor and filmmaker Raj Kapoor and niece of actor Rishi Kapoor. According to Kapoor, the name "Kareena" was derived from the

Acting career

2000–03: Debut, breakthrough and setback

While training at the institute, Kapoor was cast as the female lead in Rakesh Roshan's Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai (2000) opposite his son,Hrithik Roshan.^[9] Several days into the filming, however, she abandoned the project; Kapoor later explained that she had benefited by not doing the film since more prominence was given to the director's son.^[9] She

2004–06: Critical acclaim

By 2004, Kapoor was keen on broadening her range as an actress and thus decided to portray more challenging roles.^[28][29] Under the direction of Sudhir Mishra, Kapoor essayed the role of a golden-hearted prostitute in Chameli, a film relating the story of a young prostitute who meets with a widowed investment banker (played by Rahul Bose). When Kapoor was initially offered the film she refused it, explaining that she would be uncomfortable in the role.^[28] She relented when Mishra approached her for the second time, and in preparation for the role, visited several of Mumbai's red-light districts at night to study the

2007–11: Jab We Met and commercial success

Following her break-up with Shahid Kapoor, there was speculation in the media that she was involved with Saif Ali Khan; Khan later confirmed their relationship to the media at the 2007 Lakme Fashion Week^[50]

Kapoor returned to film as the female protagonist Geet Dhillon, a vivacious Sikh girl with a zest for life, in the romantic comedy Jab We Met (2007). Director Imtiaz Ali was not a well-known figure before its production, with only one feature credit to his name, but Kapoor agreed to the film after being impressed with his "mind-blowing" script.^[22][51] Featured opposite Shahid Kapoor, the film relates

2012–present: Marriage and recent work

Kapoor at a promotional event for Heroine (2012). Reviewers, while being generally negative of the film, were appreciative of her performance

Kapoor followed her success in Bodyguard and Ra.One with a role in Shakun Batra's directorial debutEk Main Aur Ekk Tu (2012) opposite Imran Khan. Produced by Dharma Productions, the romantic comedy is set in Las Vegas and tells the story of two strangers who get married one night after getting drunk. In an interview with The Times of India, Kapoor explained that she was drawn to the qualities of her character Riana Braganza—

Off-screen work

Kapoor performing at Temptation Reloaded 2008

Kapoor has participated in several stage shows and world tours since 2002. Her first tour (Heartthrobs: Live in Concert (2002) with Hrithik Roshan, Karisma Kapoor, Arjun Rampal andAftab Shivdasani) was successful in the United States and Canada.^[98] At the end of that year, she performed with several other Bollywood stars at Kings Park Stadium in Durban

Clothing line and publication

In August 2007, Kapoor was appointed spokesperson for Globus in a five-year contract.^[109] In association with the retail chain, she became the first Indian actress to