Katrina Kaif (born 16 July 1984) is an actress and former model who appears in Indian films, mainly in the Hindi-language film industry. She has also appeared in Telugu, and Malayalam films.
Kaif was born in Hong Kong to an Indian Kashmiri father, Mohammed Kaif, and an English mother, Suzanne Turquotte, both of whom are British citizens. Her parents divorced when she was very young. Kaif has seven siblings. She was raised in Hawaii and later moved to her mother's home country, England.
Kaif began her modeling career at the age fourteen; her first job 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 London modeling-work led to her discovery by London-based filmmaker Kaizad Gustad, who gave her a part in his film Boom (2003). She moved to Mumbai and was offered a number of modeling assignments. However, filmmakers were initially hesitant to sign her because she could not speak Hindi.
Kaif saw moderate success with the 2005 film Sarkar, where she played the bit part of Abhishek Bachchan's girlfriend, and Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya (2005), where she was paired opposite Salman Khan.
In 2007, Kaif appeared in her first major hit movie, Namastey London, wherein she starred as a British Indian girl alongside Akshay Kumar for the second time after the box office letdown Humko Deewana Kar Gaye (2006). Her run of hit films continued with Apne, Partner, and Welcome.