Deepika Padukone is an Indian actress who works predominantly in Hindi films. She is one of the highest-paid actresses in India, and her accolades include three Filmfare Awards. She features in listings of the nation's most popular personalities; Time named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2018 and awarded her the TIME100 Impact Award in 2022.

Padukone, the daughter of the badminton player Prakash Padukone, was born in Copenhagen and raised in Bangalore. As a teenager, she played badminton in national level championships but left her career in the sport to become a fashion model. She soon received offers for film roles and made her acting debut in 2006 as the title character of the Kannada film Aishwarya. Padukone then played a dual role opposite Shah Rukh Khan in her first Bollywood release, the romance Om Shanti Om (2007), which won her the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut. Padukone received praise for her starring role in the romance Love Aaj Kal (2009), but this was followed by a brief setback.

The romantic comedy Cocktail (2012) marked a turning point in her career, and she gained further success with starring roles in the romantic comedies Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani and Chennai Express (both 2013), the heist comedy Happy New Year (2014), Sanjay Leela Bhansali's period dramas Bajirao Mastani (2015) and Padmaavat (2018), and the Hollywood action film XXX: Return of Xander Cage (2017). She also received critical acclaim for playing a character based on Juliet in Bhansali's tragic romance Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela (2013) and a headstrong daughter in the comedy-drama Piku (2015), winning two Filmfare Awards for Best Actress. Following a short hiatus and two commercially unsuccessful productions under her own company Ka Productions, Padukone starred in her highest-grossing Indian film, Pathaan (2023).

Padukone is the founder of The Live Love Laugh Foundation, which creates awareness on mental health in India. Vocal about issues such as feminism and depression, she also participates in stage shows, has written columns for a newspaper, designed her own line of clothing for women, and is a prominent celebrity endorser for brands and products. Her other ventures include startup investments and a self-care brand. Padukone is married to her frequent co-star Ranveer Singh.

Early life and modelling career

Padukone was born on 5 January 1986 in Copenhagen, Denmark, to Konkani-speaking parents. Her father, Prakash Padukone, is a former professional badminton player and her mother, Ujjala, is a travel agent. Her younger sister, Anisha, is a golfer. Her paternal grandfather, Ramesh, was a secretary of the Mysore Badminton Association. The family relocated to Bangalore, India when Padukone was a year old. She was educated at Bangalore's Sophia High School and completed her pre-university education at Mount Carmel College. She subsequently enrolled at the Indira Gandhi National Open University for a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology, but dropped out due to scheduling conflicts with her modelling career.

Padukone has said that she was socially awkward as a child and did not have many friends. The focus of her life was badminton, which she played competitively from a young age. Describing her daily routine in a 2012 interview, Padukone said, “I would wake up at five in the morning, go for physical training, go to school, again go for playing badminton, finish my homework, and go to sleep.” Padukone continued to pursue a career in badminton throughout her school years and played the sport in national level championships. She also played baseball in a few state level tournaments. While concentrating on her education and sporting career, Padukone also worked as a child model, first appearing in a couple of advertising campaigns at the age of eight. In the tenth grade, she changed focus and decided to become a fashion model. She later explained, “I realised that I was playing the game only because it ran in the family. So, I asked my father if I could give up the game and he wasn't upset at all.” In 2004, she began a full-time career as a model under the tutelage of Prasad Bidapa.

Early in her career, Padukone gained recognition with a television commercial for the soap Liril and modelled for various other brands and products. In 2005, she made her runway debut at the Lakme Fashion Week for designer Suneet Varma and won Model of the Year at the Kingfisher Fashion Awards. Padukone's fame increased when she appeared in a popular print campaign for the 2006 Kingfisher Calendar; the designer Wendell Rodricks commented, “Since Aishwarya Rai, we haven't had a girl as beautiful and fresh.” Rodricks had spotted her at a Ganjam jewellery class he was teaching and signed her up with the Matrix talent agency. At the age of 21, Padukone relocated to Mumbai and stayed at her aunt's home. That year, she gained wider recognition by featuring in the music video for Himesh Reshammiya's song "Naam Hai Tera".

Padukone soon began to receive offers for film roles. Believing herself to be too inexperienced as an actor, she enrolled for a course at Anupam Kher's film academy. Following much media speculation, the director Farah Khan, who had noticed her in Reshammiya's music video, made the decision to cast her for a role in her upcoming film, then named Happy New Year. Rodricks also takes credit in helping her get the role. Khan was looking for a model to star in the film, and got in touch with Malaika Arora. Rodricks, for whom Padukone had been modelling for roughly two years then, recommended her to Arora, a close friend of his, who in turn recommended her to Khan.

Acting Career

Film Breakthrough and Career Struggles (2006-2011)

Padukone made her acting debut with Aishwarya (2006), a Kannada film directed by Indrajit Lankesh. The romantic comedy was a remake of the Telugu film Manmadhudu, and she was cast in the title role opposite the actor Upendra. The film proved to be a commercial success. RG Vijayasarathy of Rediff.com was appreciative of Padukone's screen presence but added that “she needs to work on her emotional scenes.” By the end of 2006, Farah Khan's Happy New Year was shelved, and Khan had instead cast Padukone for the melodrama Om Shanti Om (2007). Set against the backdrop of the Hindi film industry, the film tells the story of a struggling actor who is reincarnated to avenge the death of a film star. Shah Rukh Khan starred as the lead, and Padukone featured in dual roles of a star in the 1970s, and later, an aspiring actress. In preparation, Padukone watched several films of actresses Helen and Hema Malini to study their body language. Her voice was dubbed by the voice artist Mona Ghosh Shetty. For one of the songs in the film, "Dhoom Taana," Padukone drew upon Indian classical dance, and according to Dorling Kindersley, "mesmeriz[ed] audiences" by using hasta mudras (hand gestures). Om Shanti Om emerged as the highest-grossing Hindi film of the year, with a global revenue of ₹1.49 billion (US$19 million). Taran Adarsh of the entertainment portal Bollywood Hungama opined that she had "all it takes to be a top star", and she was awarded with the Filmfare Best Female Debut Award and received her first Filmfare Award for Best Actress nomination. Bollywood Hungama reported that the success of Om Shanti Om proved a breakthrough for her.

Padukone next played one of star Ranbir Kapoor's love interests in Siddharth Anand's romantic comedy Bachna Ae Haseeno (2008). The film was a financial success, but Namrata Joshi of Outlook dismissed her performance as "mannequin-like and utterly lack[ing] fire and zing". Her first release of 2009 came alongside Akshay Kumar in the kung fu comedy Chandni Chowk to China, in which she portrayed dual roles of Indian-Chinese twin sisters. Produced by Warner Bros., it had one of the widest international releases given to an Indian film. Padukone learned jujutsu and performed her own stunts. Despite the hype, Chandni Chowk To China was a financial failure, failing to recoup its ₹800 million (US$10 million) budget. She appeared alongside Saif Ali Khan in the romantic drama Love Aaj Kal from the writer-director Imtiaz Ali. The film documented the changing value of relationships among the youth and had Padukone play the part of Meera Pandit, a head-strong career woman. With a worldwide gross of ₹1.2 billion (US$15 million), Love Aaj Kal proved to be the third highest-grossing Hindi film of 2009. Aniruddha Guha of Daily News and Analysis said that Padukone "delivers the best of her four performances so far", and she was awarded with another Best Actress nomination at Filmfare.

Padukone had five film releases in 2010. In the psychological thriller Karthik Calling Karthik, she played the supportive girlfriend of a depressed man (played by Farhan Akhtar). Derek Elley of Variety found the film to be "thinly plotted" but considered "the uncomplicated ingenuousness of Padukone" to be the film's highlight. Her most financially profitable film that year was Sajid Khan's ₹1.15 billion (US$14 million)-grossing comedy film Housefull in which she featured alongside an ensemble cast headlined by Akshay Kumar. Critic Raja Sen described the film as a "festival of bad acting" and attributed Padukone's poor performance to her “plasticky expressions.” Pradeep Sarkar's drama Lafangey Parindey (2010) starred Padukone as a blind girl determined to win a skating competition, for which she observed the interactions of blind people and rehearsed scenes while blindfolded. The Hindu's Sudhish Kamath was impressed by the "considerable restraint" in her performance. Her next role was opposite Imran Khan in the romantic comedy Break Ke Baad. CNN-IBN's Rajeev Masand found the film to be "watchable largely for the performance of its leading lady". Padukone's final release of 2010 was Ashutosh Gowariker's period film Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey opposite Abhishek Bachchan. Based on the book Do and Die, the film is a retelling of the 1930 Chittagong armoury raid. Bachchan featured as the revolutionary leader Surya Sen and Padukone played Kalpana Dutta, his confidante. Padukone said that she was unable to research her role as there was very little information on Dutta and relied on Gowarikar's direction. Barring Housefull, none of these films were commercially successful.

Padukone began 2011 with an item number in the film Dum Maaro Dum. She referred to it as "the wildest song any actress has done"; the song's sexual content attracted controversy including a court case for indecency. Her next film was Prakash Jha's socio-political drama Aarakshan, which dealt with caste-based reservations in India. Trade journalists had high expectations for the film which ultimately flopped at the box office. Critical reaction was largely negative, though Pratim D. Gupta mentioned Padukone as the most "refreshing thing" about it. Her final appearance that year was in the comedy Desi Boyz alongside Kumar and John Abraham, a role that failed to propel her career forward. The series of poorly received films led critics to perceive that Padukone had “[lost] her sparkle.”

Established Actress (2012-2016)

Padukone has said that her starring role in the 2012 Homi Adajania-directed romantic comedy Cocktail marked a turning point in her career. Raja Sen opined that she had successfully proved to be a “stunning girl who can also act.” Set in London, Cocktail tells the story of a man's relationship with two temperamentally different women—an impulsive party girl (Veronica, played by Padukone) and a submissive girl next door (Meera, played by Diana Penty). During the script narration, the producer Dinesh Vijan offered Padukone the choice of which woman to play; she decided on Veronica to expand her horizons as an actress. Portraying the role was a creative and physical challenge for her, and to achieve the physical requirements of her character she exercised extensively and followed a rigorous diet. Critics were divided in their opinion of the film, but particularly praised Padukone's performance; Devesh Sharma of Filmfare credited her as the "soul of the film" and wrote that she “excels in every scene, whether as a material girl who enjoys sex, drugs and rock and roll or as the jealousy ridden girl out to destroy herself.” Cocktail earned Padukone Best Actress nominations at several award ceremonies, including Filmfare, Screen, and IIFA. The film also proved to be a box office success.

The year 2013 was key for Padukone, as she starred in four of the top-grossing Hindi films of the year. She reunited with Saif Ali Khan in Abbas–Mustan's Race 2, an ensemble action thriller that served as a sequel to Race (2008). The film received predominantly negative reviews, but grossed a successful total of ₹1.62 billion (US$20 million). Ayan Mukerji's romantic comedy Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani paired her opposite Ranbir Kapoor. She was cast as Naina Talwar, a "shy wallflower," which marked a departure from the glamorous characters that she had a reputation for portraying. Raja Sen termed it "her most self-aware performance" adding that she "acts within herself and eschews exaggeration, and the results are impressive". The pairing of Padukone with her former boyfriend was highly anticipated, and the film emerged as a major commercial success. Her next appearance was opposite Shah Rukh Khan in Rohit Shetty's action-comedy film Chennai Express, as a Tamil girl on the run from her father (a local don), which required that she adopt a Tamil accent. Critical opinion on her accent was mixed, but her performance received praise; film critic Aseem Chhabra wrote, “Padukone is delightful in the film—beautiful, smiling, and often a lot more playful and funny than Khan.” Chennai Express earned over ₹3.95 billion (US$49 million) to emerge as one of the highest-grossing Indian films.

Padukone next played opposite Ranveer Singh in Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela, an adaptation of the Shakespearean tragedy of Romeo and Juliet from director Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Her role was Leela, a Gujarati girl based on the character of Juliet. Initially titled Ram-Leela, the film's title was changed after a court case was registered against Bhansali, Padukone, and Singh for "offending the religious sentiments" of the Hindu community by showcasing sex and violence under a title that referred to the life of Rama. The film released among protests, but was generally well received by critics. Meena Iyer of The Times of India mentioned Padukone as "breathtaking", and Khalid Mohamed concluded that “it's Deepika Padukone whom the film belongs to. Looking drop dead gorgeous and going at her part with a wallop, she's the prime asset of Ram-Leela.” Her performances in Chennai Express and Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela won her several awards, including the Screen Award for Best Actress for both films and the Filmfare Award for Best Actress for the latter.

In 2014, Padukone featured opposite Rajinikanth in the Tamil film Kochadaiiyaan, a period drama shot using motion capture technology. She was paid ₹30 million (US$380,000) for two days of work in it. In Homi Adajania's satire Finding Fanny, Padukone played a young widow on a road trip with her dysfunctional friends. The film was screened at the 19th Busan International Film Festival; critic Anuj Kumar of The Hindu wrote that Padukone successfully "takes off the fineries of Bollywood and you can sense the freedom from baggage in her performance". Later that year, she starred opposite Shah Rukh Khan for the third time in Farah Khan's renewal of Happy New Year. She played a bar dancer who trains a group of underachievers for a dance competition. Sanjukta Sharma of Mint found her glamorous role to be of minimal importance, but the film became one of her most successful, earning over ₹3.4 billion (US$43 million) worldwide. Padukone later remarked that production on the film was difficult for her as she suffered from depression and anxiety.

Following an appearance in Homi Adajania's online video on feminism, entitled My Choice, Padukone took on the role of a headstrong Bengali girl who cares for her hypochondriac father (played by Amitabh Bachchan), in Shoojit Sircar's comedy-drama Piku (2015). She was drawn to the depiction of a realistic father-daughter bond, which she thought was rare in Hindi cinema. Reviews for the film were positive; Tanmaya Nanda of Business Standard praised the film's feminist tone, and wrote that Padukone proves "what she is capable of when given something more to do than look pretty and be the crazy-dance girl at parties". NDTV's Saibal Chatterjee opined that she "holds Piku together with a restrained star turn". With a worldwide gross of over ₹1.40 billion (US$18 million), Piku was a box office hit, and garnered Padukone several awards, including second Best Actress awards at Filmfare and Screen.

Later in 2015, Padukone played a vulnerable young woman in love with a psychologically troubled man (played by Ranbir Kapoor) in Imtiaz Ali's romantic drama Tamasha. Sukanya Verma named her performance as the best by an actress that year, writing that she "is so potent in Tamasha, it's almost as if you can hear her heartbeat across the screen". Reacting to the film's commercial failure, Padukone said that she did not measure success with box-office numbers. She reunited with Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Ranveer Singh in Bajirao Mastani, a historical drama about a tragic extramarital affair. Singh was cast as the maratha general Bajirao I, while Priyanka Chopra and Padukone featured as his first and second wife, respectively. To play the warrior-princess Mastani, Padukone learnt sword-fighting, horse-riding, and the martial art form of kalaripayattu. With a revenue of over ₹3.5 billion (US$44 million), Bajirao Mastani proved to be the fourth highest-grossing Bollywood film of the year. Anupama Chopra found Padukone "riveting", but Subhash K. Jha thought that she was "way too subtle and silken, and not steely enough". At the 61st Filmfare Awards, Bajirao Mastani was named Best Film and Padukone received her second Best Actress nomination in that year. 

Professional expansion and film controversies (2017-present)

Padukone has said that her starring role in the 2012 Homi Adajania-directed romantic comedy Cocktail marked a turning point in her career. Raja Sen opined that she had successfully proved to be a “stunning girl who can also act.” Set in London, Cocktail tells the story of a man's relationship with two temperamentally different women—an impulsive party girl (Veronica, played by Padukone) and a submissive girl next door (Meera, played by Diana Penty). During the script narration, the producer Dinesh Vijan offered Padukone the choice of which woman to play; she decided on Veronica to expand her horizons as an actress. Portraying the role was a creative and physical challenge for her, and to achieve the physical requirements of her character she exercised extensively and followed a rigorous diet. Critics were divided in their opinion of the film, but particularly praised Padukone's performance; Devesh Sharma of Filmfare credited her as the "soul of the film" and wrote that she “excels in every scene, whether as a material girl who enjoys sex, drugs and rock and roll or as the jealousy ridden girl out to destroy herself.” Cocktail earned Padukone Best Actress nominations at several award ceremonies, including Filmfare, Screen, and IIFA. The film also proved to be a box office success.

The year 2013 was key for Padukone, as she starred in four of the top-grossing Hindi films of the year. She reunited with Saif Ali Khan in Abbas–Mustan's Race 2, an ensemble action thriller that served as a sequel to Race (2008). The film received predominantly negative reviews, but grossed a successful total of ₹1.62 billion (US$20 million). Ayan Mukerji's romantic comedy Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani paired her opposite Ranbir Kapoor. She was cast as Naina Talwar, a "shy wallflower," which marked a departure from the glamorous characters that she had a reputation for portraying. Raja Sen termed it "her most self-aware performance" adding that she "acts within herself and eschews exaggeration, and the results are impressive". The pairing of Padukone with her former boyfriend was highly anticipated, and the film emerged as a major commercial success. Her next appearance was opposite Shah Rukh Khan in Rohit Shetty's action-comedy film Chennai Express, as a Tamil girl on the run from her father (a local don), which required that she adopt a Tamil accent. Critical opinion on her accent was mixed, but her performance received praise; film critic Aseem Chhabra wrote, “Padukone is delightful in the film—beautiful, smiling, and often a lot more playful and funny than Khan.” Chennai Express earned over ₹3.95 billion (US$49 million) to emerge as one of the highest-grossing Indian films.

Padukone next played opposite Ranveer Singh in Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela, an adaptation of the Shakespearean tragedy of Romeo and Juliet from director Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Her role was Leela, a Gujarati girl based on the character of Juliet. Initially titled Ram-Leela, the film's title was changed after a court case was registered against Bhansali, Padukone, and Singh for "offending the religious sentiments" of the Hindu community by showcasing sex and violence under a title that referred to the life of Rama. The film released among protests, but was generally well received by critics. Meena Iyer of The Times of India mentioned Padukone as "breathtaking", and Khalid Mohamed concluded that “it's Deepika Padukone whom the film belongs to. Looking drop dead gorgeous and going at her part with a wallop, she's the prime asset of Ram-Leela.” Her performances in Chennai Express and Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela won her several awards, including the Screen Award for Best Actress for both films and the Filmfare Award for Best Actress for the latter.

In 2014, Padukone featured opposite Rajinikanth in the Tamil film Kochadaiiyaan, a period drama shot using motion capture technology. She was paid ₹30 million (US$380,000) for two days of work in it. In Homi Adajania's satire Finding Fanny, Padukone played a young widow on a road trip with her dysfunctional friends. The film was screened at the 19th Busan International Film Festival; critic Anuj Kumar of The Hindu wrote that Padukone successfully "takes off the fineries of Bollywood and you can sense the freedom from baggage in her performance". Later that year, she starred opposite Shah Rukh Khan for the third time in Farah Khan's renewal of Happy New Year. She played a bar dancer who trains a group of underachievers for a dance competition. Sanjukta Sharma of Mint found her glamorous role to be of minimal importance, but the film became one of her most successful, earning over ₹3.4 billion (US$43 million) worldwide. Padukone later remarked that production on the film was difficult for her as she suffered from depression and anxiety.

Following an appearance in Homi Adajania's online video on feminism, entitled My Choice, Padukone took on the role of a headstrong Bengali girl who cares for her hypochondriac father (played by Amitabh Bachchan), in Shoojit Sircar's comedy-drama Piku (2015). She was drawn to the depiction of a realistic father-daughter bond, which she thought was rare in Hindi cinema. Reviews for the film were positive; Tanmaya Nanda of Business Standard praised the film's feminist tone, and wrote that Padukone proves "what she is capable of when given something more to do than look pretty and be the crazy-dance girl at parties". NDTV's Saibal Chatterjee opined that she "holds Piku together with a restrained star turn". With a worldwide gross of over ₹1.40 billion (US$18 million), Piku was a box office hit, and garnered Padukone several awards, including second Best Actress awards at Filmfare and Screen.

Later in 2015, Padukone played a vulnerable young woman in love with a psychologically troubled man (played by Ranbir Kapoor) in Imtiaz Ali's romantic drama Tamasha. Sukanya Verma named her performance as the best by an actress that year, writing that she "is so potent in Tamasha, it's almost as if you can hear her heartbeat across the screen". Reacting to the film's commercial failure, Padukone said that she did not measure success with box-office numbers. She reunited with Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Ranveer Singh in Bajirao Mastani, a historical drama about a tragic extramarital affair. Singh was cast as the maratha general Bajirao I, while Priyanka Chopra and Padukone featured as his first and second wife, respectively. To play the warrior-princess Mastani, Padukone learnt sword-fighting, horse-riding, and the martial art form of kalaripayattu. With a revenue of over ₹3.5 billion (US$44 million), Bajirao Mastani proved to be the fourth highest-grossing Bollywood film of the year. Anupama Chopra found Padukone "riveting", but Subhash K. Jha thought that she was "way too subtle and silken, and not steely enough". At the 61st Filmfare Awards, Bajirao Mastani was named Best Film and Padukone received her second Best Actress nomination in that year. 

Personal Life

Padukone shares a close bond with her family, and visits them regularly in her hometown of Bangalore. She lives in Prabhadevi, a neighbourhood in Mumbai, and has admitted to missing the presence of her parents there. A practicing Hindu, Padukone considers religion to be an important aspect of her life and makes frequent visits to temples and other religious shrines.

While filming Bachna Ae Haseeno in 2008, Padukone began a romantic relationship with co-star Ranbir Kapoor. She spoke openly about the relationship and sported a tattoo of his initials on the nape of her neck. She has said that the relationship had a profound effect on her, transforming her into a more confident and social person. The couple broke up a year later; she professed in an interview to feeling betrayed for a long time. In a 2010 interview, Padukone accused him of infidelity, and Kapoor later admitted to it. They reconciled their friendship while working on Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani.

Padukone subsequently became reticent to discuss her personal life, but in 2017, she fondly spoke of her relationship with her frequent co-star Ranveer Singh, whom she began dating in 2012. In November 2018, the couple married in traditional Konkani and Sindhi ceremonies at Lake Como, Italy.

Accolads

Padukone has been the recipient of three Filmfare Awards: Best Female Debut for Om Shanti Om (2007), and two Best Actress awards for Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela (2013) and Piku (2015).