Anushka Sharma

Sharma says she originally wished to make it big in the modeling world but had no strong aspirations for films. She began her modeling career at the Lakme Fashion Week as a model for Wendell Rodricks's Les Vamps Show and was picked to be Rodricks's finale model at the Spring Summer '07 Collection. Since then she has done campaigns for Silk & Shine, Whisper, Nathella Jewelry and Fiat Palio.Her first acting role was in Aditya Chopra's Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (2008) opposite Shahrukh Khan. Her performance was appreciated with film critic Taran Adarsh stating, "Anushka looks the character and surprises you with a confident performance. It's no small achievement to share screen space with an actor of the caliber of SRK and Anushka manages it very well from start to end." Her second film, Badmaash Company, also under Yash Raj Films, was released on May 7, 2010. Harshita Kohli of StarBoxOffice.com said, "Anushka Sharma goes from Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi housewife to super hot chic in Badmaash Company." While Taran Adarsh added, "Anushka is a revelation. She looks stunning, her performance is livewire and the chemistry with Shahid is electrifying."She starred in her third Yash Raj Film, Band Baaja Baaraat, directed by Maneesh Sharma and co-starring debutant Ranveer Singh. Band Baaja Baaraat was released on December 10, 2010 to positive reviews and became a sleeper hit. This time Adarsh wrote, "Anushka is truly wonderful. The toughest part of her job must have been to speak like a typical Delhi Punjabi girl and she does it so skillfully. For the first time in her 3-film career, a film rests mainly on Anushka's shoulders, as opposed to her prior films , and she handles the responsibility so well." For her performance, she received her second nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actress and earned several awards and nominations at different award ceremonies.

Sharma was born in Bangalore, but her parents are from Garhwal, Uttarakhand. Her father, Col. Ajay Kumar Sharma, is an army officer and her mother Ashima Sharma is a housewife. She has an elder brother named Karnesh,who was a state-level cricketer and now, is in the Merchant Navy. She studied in Army School and graduated with specialization in arts from Mount Carmel College, Bangalore. She later moved to Mumbai to further pursue her modelling career, where she currently resides.In December 2009, she began shooting for Patiala House, her first venture outside of Yash Raj with Nikhil Advani and Akshay Kumar. Patiala House was released on February 11, 2011.Despite the film's lukewarm performance at the box office, Sharma received positive reviews. Nikhat Kazmi of The Times Of India wrote, "Anushka Sharma’s vivacity may have an after taste of her bubbling Band Baaja Baraat act but her passage from Janakpuri’s dhinchak girl to Southall’s siren is sweet and smooth. Watch out for the girl; she’s truly on a roll."As of June 2011, she is set to re-unite with her Band Baaja Baarat gang Ranveer Singh and Maneesh Sharma for Yashraj Films's 2011 release Ladies vs Ricky Bahl.