Deepika Padukone
Model turned actress Deepika Padukone started her modelling career under Prasad Bidappa. Post her stint at modelling, she made her film debut in the Indrajit Lankesh Kannada directorial venture Aishwarya where she played the title role. She made her Bollywood debut with the movie Om Shanti Om in 2007 where she acted alongside Shah Rukh Khan. She has garnered a lot of appreciation for her acting as well as her looks.
Katrina Kaif
Known as one of the most attractive celebrities, Katrina Kaif is a model turned actress of British Indian origin and is mostly seen in Bollywood movies. She made her film debut through Kaizad Gustak’s Boom in 2003 which was a commercial failure. She received many modelling assignments during the shoot of the film Boom but not many film offers since directors were hesitant to cast her in their movies due to her lack of proper grasp of Hindi. She tasted success in filmdom for the first time through the Telugu movie, Malliswari in which she was cast opposite Daggubatti Venkatesh. Post that, there was no looking back for this beautiful model turned actress.
Aishwarya Rai
Winner of the Miss World pageant in the year 1994, Aishwarya Rai turned to acting and made her film debut through the movie Iruvar which was a biographical film. She acted in the 1998 romantic flick Jeans. She has also won a lot of awards for her acting, especially for the films Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and Devdas directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. She has won both national and international awards for her work in various films. She continues to be a much sought after actress of the Bollywood industry.
Freida Pinto
Freida Pinto is a model and actress who made her acting debut with the film Slumdog Millionaire in 2008 where she acted alongside Dev Patel, Anil Kapoor, and Irrfan Khan. Her acting in Slumdog Millionaire was well appreciated and won Freida quite a few awards as well. Slumdog Millionaire was considered the Most Successful Film at the 81st Academy Awards. Post this movie, Freida Pinto got many acting offers from Hollywood and continues to participate in Hollywood productions.
Bipasha Basu
Bipasha Basu was a successful model before she ventured into acting. She made her acting debut with the film Ajnabee in 2001 which also fetched her her first Filmfare Award for the Best Female Debut category. She has acted in over 50 films till date. Adept at playing both negative and positive characters, Bipasha Basu has won awards for both negative and positive roles.
Anushka Sharma
Anushka Sharma began her modelling career by modelling for Wendell Rodricks’s Les Vamps Show at the Lakme Fashion Week. Intending to make it big in the modelling world, acting was not really on her cards. But she got into acting later and made her acting debut with Aditya Chopra’s Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi where she acted opposite Shah Rukh Khan. Her performance was much appreciated and she went on to act in many more films and continues to do so.
Dia Mirza
Dia Mirza started off her modelling while still in college. She has been the face of many advertisements for products like Lipton, Walls Ice Cream, etc. She has also won the title of Miss Asia Pacific in 2000. She made her acting debut in the film Rehnaa Hai Tere Dil Mein where she acted opposite Madhavan in 2001. Thereafter, she acted in many more Bollywood productions as well as regional cinema.
Lara Dutta
Lara Dutta is a supermodel as well as an actress. She was crowned Miss Universe in 2000 and happened to be only the second woman from India to be crowned Miss Universe. She made her acting debut in 2003 with the film Andaaz which earned her the Filmfare award for the Best Female Debut as well as the Screen Best Female Debut Award. She further went on to act in numerous Bollywood productions and regional cinema.
Neha Dhupia
Neha Dhupia made her film debut with the 2003 Bollywood film Qayamat: City Under Threat. She has also won the Femina Miss India pageanr in 2002 where she won the Femina Miss India Universe title. Apart from acting in Bollywood, she Neha Dhupia has also been seen playing different roles in films made in other languages as well.
Preity Zinta
Preity Zinta’s first stint at television commercial was for Perk chocolates after which she went to do many more commercials and print advertisements including modelling for catalogues. Her debut film was Shekhar Kapur’s Tara Rum Pum Pum where she was cast opposite Hrithik Roshan but this film’s shooting was cancelled. Thereafter she acted in Mani Ratnam’s Dil Se. She went on to act in many movies post Dil Se including films in other languages.
Sushmita Sen
Crowned Miss Universe 1994 at the 43rd Miss Universe pageant, Sushmita Sen went on to become the first Indian to be crowned Miss Universe. Sushmita Sen started her film career with the Bollywood movie Dastak where she was acted alongside Mukul Dev and Sharad Kapoor. Her role in the movie Biwi No. 1 fetched her the Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award. She has been critically acclaimed for her women-oriented roles in movies like Filhaal…, Chingaari, and others.
Zeenat Aman
When Zeenat Aman won the Miss Asia Pacific title in 1970, she was the first South Asian woman to win the title. One of her first few modelling assignments included modelling for brands like Taj Mahal Tea in 1966. She began her journey of films through the movie Hulchul in the year 1971. She went on to act in many movies thereafter which earned her a lot of appreciation and a few awards as well.
Kabir Bedi
Actor Kabir Bedi was a very famous model of his times. He later went on to pursue acting and dabbled in other areas of film making as well, like direction. He has worked on international projects as well, apart from the Bollywood projects which didn’t quite make the mark at the box-office. Kabir Bedia is one of the first actors from India to have made it big in Europe and worked in Hollywood.
Arjun Rampal
Arjun Rampal is a well known model, actor, producer, and a television host. He made his acting debut in the 2001 romantic film Pyaar Ishq Aur Mohabbat which fetched him the Filmfare Best Male Debut Award. He has also received numerous other awards for his performance in various other movies. His performance in the movie Rock On! fetched him the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor and the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor. Most of his movies have been commercial successes.
John Abraham
John Abraham has been a model for numerous advertisements. He started his acting career with the 2003 film Jism which also earned him a Filmfare Best Debut Award nomination. Post the success of Jism, he went on to do many more movies in Bollywood which proved commercial successes as well. Some of his most noteworthy movies include Dhoom, Zinda, Water, and others.
Sidharth Malhotra
Actor Siharth Malhotra started modelling at the age of 18 and quit the profession due to dissatisfaction. He then went on to pursue a career in the film industry by assisting Karan Johar on the sets of his movie My Name is Khan. He then made his acting debut with the popular film, Student of the Year. He was nominated for the Filmfare Best Male Debut Award for his performance in Student of the Year. Apart from Student of the Year, he has also acted in Hasee Toh Phasee and Ek Villain.
Randeep Hooda
Randeep Hooda began modelling when he returned to India from Melbourne after completing his studies. He made his acting debut in Mira Nair’s Monsoon Wedding where he played the role of a Non-Resident Indian (NRI) from Australia. After the success of Monsoon Wedding, he acted in Ram Gopal Verma’s D for which he received glowing reviews. He then went onto act in some movies which didn’t become commercial successes. Post this lean phase, he once again started acting in Bollywood movies which proved to be box-office hits.
Milind Soman
Milind Soman forayed into modelling by becoming the model for a clothing manufacturer. He made his acting debut with the Indian Science fiction TV series, Captain Vyom where he played the titular role. He then went on to play diverse roles in various movies and television series. He started acting in films from 2000.
Dino Morea
A former supermodel, Dino Morea made his acting debut with the 1999 movie Pyar Mein Kabhi Kabhi. Post that he has acted in many Bollywood films as well as a Kannada movie (Julie) and a Tamil film (Kandukondain Kandukondain). His prominent films include Raaz, Gunaah, Rakht, and others.
Varun Dhawan
A former model, Varun Dhawan made his acting debut with the movie Student of the Year. Post his debut, he has acted in other movies – Main Tera Hero and Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania. He has received a lot of appreciation for his performances in all the movies he has acted in so far.
Happy reading!
