Sonam Kapoor

Sonam Kapoor (Hindi: सोनम कपूर; born 9 June 1985) is an Indian film actress who appears in Bollywood films. Kapoor made her acting debut in the unsuccessful film Saawariya opposite newcomer Ranbir Kapoor, which earned her a nomination for Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut. She earned her first commercial success in I Hate Luv Storys opposite Imran Khan. Other Bollywood films she has appeared in include Delhi-6, Aisha and the multistarrer Thank You.

Sonam Kapoor was born and raised in Chembur, Mumbai. She is the eldest daughter of Anil Kapoor, who is Punjabi, and Sunita Kapoor, who is Sindhi and the granddaughter of filmmaker Surinder Kapoor.^[2] She is the niece of producer Boney Kapoor, actress Sridevi, actor Sanjay Kapoor and producer Sandeep Marwah. Kapoor is the eldest of three children; the others are sister Rhea Kapoor and brother Harshvardhan. She is also the cousin of upcoming actor Arjun Kapoor.

She went to school in Mumbai at the Arya Vidya Mandir school in Juhu and then enrolled in the United World College of South East Asia to do her International Baccalaureate. She also studied Political Science and Economics from Bombay University. She speaks English, Hindi and Punjabi and is a trained classical dancer.

Before starting her career off as an actress, Sonam and Ranbir Kapoor worked as assistant directors under Sanjay Leela Bhansali in 2004, and assisted him during the making of his film, Black which was released in early 2005. 

She made her acting debut alongside newcomer, Ranbir Kapoor in Bhansali's Saawariya (2007), which failed to do well at the box office, but her performance opened to good reviews by critics. In 2009, Kapoor appeared in Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's Delhi-6, opposite Abhishek Bachchan. The film flopped at the box office and received mixed critical reviews, but her performance was praised. Critic Rajeev Masand commented, "Sonam Kapoor is the revelation in Delhi 6. She's a firecracker performer, instinctive and uninhibited in what isn't even a conventional female lead". Sonia Chopra, film criric from Rediff commented, "Sonam Kapoor is an earnest and effortless performer so she does make you like the character somewhat, despite the typical Delhi-girl recipe". 

In 2010, she appeared in Punit Malhotra's I Hate Luv Storys opposite Imran Khan. The film went on to become her first box office success. She also appeared in the romantic comedy, Aisha, opposite Abhay Deol, which was declared a below average performer at the box office. 

Kapoor's first release in 2011, Thank You was a critical failure, although the film was an average grosser at the box office. The same year, she made an appearance at the 64th Cannes Film Festival representing L'Oréal, the brand she endorses in India. 

Her second film of the year was the romance film Mausam, in which she and co-star Shahid Kapoor had four different looks representing each of the four seasons. The film received mixed reviews and was a failure at the box office. However, Sonam's performance was appreciated by most prominent critics. Taran Adarsh commented, "For Sonam, MAUSAM will prove to be a turning point in her career. Astonishing -- that would be the right word to describe her work this time around. The confidence with which she handles the distinct characterization speaks volumes". 

Her first release of 2012 is Players, a remake of The Italian Job, alongside Abhishek Bachchan, Bipasha Basu and Neil Nitin Mukesh. The film received mixed to negative reviews and didn't do well at the box office.