Deepika Padukone

Deepika Padukone (Konkani/Kannada: ದೀಪಿಕಾ ಪಡುಕೋಣೆ; born January 5, 1986) is an Indian model turned actress who appears in Bollywood movies.

Early life and background

Deepika is of Mangalorean origin. Padukone was born to Ujjala and Prakash Padukone on January 5, 1986, in Copenhagen, Denmark. Her family moved to Bangalore, India, when she was only eleven months old. Her parents Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmins hail from Padukone village in Kundapura Taluk of Udupi District, Karnataka, India. Her father, Prakash Padukone, was a badminton player of international repute, and her mother is a travel agent. Padukone also has a younger sister, Anisha, born in 1991.

Padukone attended Sophia High School in Bangalore. She completed her Pre-university studies at Mount Carmel College in Bangalore, India. While in high school she played badminton at the state level like her father and was a member of her father's badminton club.However, she was not keen on pursuing a career as a badminton player and abandoned it to concentrate on her ICSE exams.

Career
Modeling

While in college, Padukone pursued a career in modeling. Over the years, she has modeled for such Indian brand names such as Liril, Dabur Lal powder, Close-Up toothpaste and Limca, and "brand ambassador" for the Jewels of India retail jewelery show.[citation needed] The cosmetics company Maybelline made her its international spokesperson.

At the fifth annual Kingfisher Fashion Awards she was awarded the title "Model of the Year".[citation needed] Shortly afterward, she was chosen as one of the models for the Kingfisher Swimsuit Calendar for 2006 and won two trophies at the Idea Zee Fashion Awards: "Female Model of the Year - (Commercial Assignments)" and "Fresh Face of the Year". Padukone was also chosen as the brand ambassador of Kingfisher Airlines and later Levi Strauss and Tissot SA.

Acting

After pursuing a successful career in modeling, Padukone branched out into acting. She started by starring in the music video for the song Naam Hai Tera from the independent pop album Aap Kaa Surroor by Himesh Reshammiya.

In 2006, Padukone made her cinematic debut in the Kannada film Aishwarya starring opposite actor Upendra. She later made a successful Bollywood debut in 2007 with Farah Khan's international hit Om Shanti Om opposite Shahrukh Khan. The film featured her portraying 1970s star Shantipriya and later as Sandhya aka Sandy, a young woman who looks exactly like Shantipriya. Her performance was well received, earning the actress a Filmfare Best Female Debut Award as well as her first Filmfare Best Actress nomination. Taran Adarsh from indiaFM noted, "Deepika has all it takes to be a top star — the personality, the looks and yes, she's supremely talented too. Standing in the same frame as SRK and getting it right is no small achievement. She comes as a whiff of fresh air!"

Padukone next appeared in Siddharth Anand's Bachna Ae Haseeno (2008) opposite Ranbir Kapoor and then the Warner Bros.-Rohan Sippy collaboration, Chandni Chowk to China, which released on January 16, 2009. As of January 2009, she is working on Imtiaz Ali's Love Aaj Kal opposite Saif Ali Khan.

Personal life

Padukone is currently dating actor Ranbir Kapoor whom she co-starred with in the movie Bachna Ae Haseeno (2008).

Awards and nominations

Filmfare Awards

Winner

* 2008: Filmfare Best Female Debut Award; Om Shanti Om
* 2008: Sony Head N Shoulders Fresh Face of the Year Award; Om Shanti Om

Nominated

* 2008: Filmfare Best Actress Award; Om Shanti Om

Star Screen Awards

Winner

* 2008: Star Screen Award for Most Promising Newcomer - Female; Om Shanti Om
* 2008: Star Screen Award Jodi No. 1 along with Shahrukh Khan; Om Shanti Om

Zee Cine Awards

Winner

* 2008: Zee Cine Award for Best Female Debut; Om Shanti Om

Nominated

* 2008: Zee Cine Award for Best Actor - Female; Om Shanti Om
IIFA Awards

Winner

* 2008: IIFA Awards' Best Debutant (Female); Om Shanti Om

Nominated

* 2008: IIFA Best Actress Award; Om Shanti Om

Stardust Awards

Nominated

* 2008: Stardust Superstar of Tomorrow - Female; Om Shanti Om

Apsara Film and Television Producers Guild Awards

Winner

* 2008: Apsara Film & Television Producers Guild Awards' Best Female Debut; Om Shanti Om

Asian Film Awards

Nominated

* 2008: Asian Film Awards' Best Actress; Om Shanti Om
* 2009: Asian Film Awards' Best Actress; Chandni Chowk to China

Other Awards

* 2007: Star's Sabsey Favourite, Sabsey Favourite Nayi Heroine; Om Shanti Om
* 2007: HT Café Film Awards, Best Newcomer Award (Female); Om Shanti Om
* 2008: Reebok Zoom Glam Awards, Glam Debutant (Female); Om Shanti Om
* 2008: Annual Central European Bollywood Awards, Breakthrough Role (Female); Om Shanti Om