Katrina Kaif born Katrina Turquotte; on 16 July 1984, is a
British actress and former model who appears in Indian films, mainly in the
Hindi film industry. She has also appeared in Telugu and Malayalam films. Being a British citizen, she works in India on an
employment visa. Kaif is of Indian descent.
Kaif made her acting debut in 2003
with Kaizad Gustad's Boom. In 2007, she earned commercial success with
Vipul Shah's Namastey London
and later earned public recognition for playing glamorous roles in such
male-centric films as Partner (2007), Race (2007) and Singh Is
Kinng (2008). Kaif subsequently played more prominent roles in such films
as New York
(2009), Rajneeti (2010), Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011), and Ek
Tha Tiger (2012, the second highest-grossing Bollywood film). Despite
earning mixed reviews from critics for her acting prowess, Kaif has emerged as
a commercially successful actress of Hindi cinema.
Personal
life
Background
Kaif was born in Hong Kong, to an
Kashmiri Indian father, Mohammed Kaif, and an English mother, Susanna Turquotte, who is a British
citizen. Her parents divorced when she was very young. Kaif once stated,
"My dad, unfortunately, and not out of choice, has had no influence on our
upbringing, on our religious or social or moral bearings." When she came
to India, she changed her surname to that of her father's, Kaif, because it was
Indian in origin. Furthermore, Ayesha Shroff has maintained that the actress'
original name is Katrina Turquotte. She also claims that they gave her the
Indian father and also the surname Kaif after cricketer Mohammad Kaif as he was
on top at that time. She adds that they also had thought her naming Katrina
Kazi. Kaif has seven siblings; a brother Michael Kaif and six sisters Isabel
Kaif, Ayesha Kaif, Maria Kaif, Habiba Kaif, Alina Kaif and Eshal Kaif. From
Hong Kong, she and her family moved to China, then to Japan. From there she
went to France when she was 8, and thereafter lived for a few months at a time
in Switzerland, Poland, Germany, Belgium, and other European countries. Then
she moved with her family to Hawaii, and eventually to her mother's home country of England.
Although it is often assumed that Kaif is from London, she lived there only for
three years before finally moving to Mumbai. Kaif's personal life including her
relationships has been a great subject to the media. After years of
speculations Katrina Kaif admitted in an 2011 interview for a magazine that she
was in a serious relationship with actor Salman Khan for several years, which
ended in 2010. She has been to various religious places in India, including
Hindu, Sikh and Islamic places of worship; Siddhivinayak temple, Hindu temples
in Haridwar, Shirdi, Amritsar's Golden temple and Ajmer Sharif dargah.
Career
Modeling
and film (1998–2004)
Kaif began her modeling career at
age fourteen; her first assignment was for a jewelry campaign. She continued
modeling in London under a contract with the Models 1 Agency and did campaigns
for houses such as La Senza and Arcadius, and even walked on the London Fashion
Week
Kaif's modeling work led to her
discovery by London-based filmmaker Kaizad Gustad, who gave her a part in his
film Boom (2003). The film, which starred Amitabh
Bachchan and Gulshan Grover, failed to make
an impact. She then moved to Mumbai and was offered a number of modeling
assignments, but filmmakers were hesitant to cast Kaif due to her poor command
in Hind
Katrina
Kaif