Indian Cinema Series
Who out there hasn’t tried at least once ‘googling’ their own name? Well, if Katrina Kaif has, she would only be one of thousands, perhaps millions, to have entered her name in that search box–the actress, who is No. 1 on our Top 5 Indian Actresses countdown, is the most searched for Indian celebrity on Google.
The 25-year-old superstar was born Katrina Turquotte in Hong Kong, to a Kashmiri father and British mother, and is one of eight siblings–all female. Her truly international life thus far has had her growing up in Hawaii and later living in England, before India, where she now works. Starting out as a teenage model, Kaif landed her first Bollywood film role in 2003 with Boom. She headed to India to continue her modeling and embark on her movie career–the latter of which been a major success. Since arriving in Mumbai in 2003, Kaif has been the female lead in 10 movies. And this year has been particularly good, with critical praise for her acting in two hit films.
And this spring, Kaif added another (unique) notch to her belt–she will be the model for India’s first Barbie doll. For somebody who couldn’t sing, dance or, most importantly, speak Hindi, before moving to India, it all seems quite impressive. Although she made efforts to master all of the above, Kaif claims that her move to India was mostly culture shock free; saying that the fact is that ‘no matter where you come from, the bottom line is that everyone wants to be loved, respected and cared for.’
Kaif’s mother now lives in southern India, working with orphans, and the actress attributes her own involvement with charities to such maternal inspiration. Kaif refuses to talk much about her private life in the media, although it is well-known that she dates fellow Bollywood actor Salman Khan.