Deepika Padukone, the gorgeous and exceptionally talented model-turned-actress, has successfully established herself amongst the leading actresses of Bollywood. Deepika Padukone had been a successful sportsperson in her childhood and had also earned recognition at the national level. However, later she realized her inclination towards the entertainment world and decided to pursue a career in the same. She began her career as a model but later turned her focus to the silver screen where she soon rose to fame through her ravishing screen presence and appealing acting skills.

Deepika Padukone has been awarded with a number of accolades for the convincing portrayal of diverse roles in the movies. Apart from movies she also performs at various award functions and concerts. In addition to acting, Deepika Padukone is actively involved in humanitarian activities.

Early Life of Deepika Padukone
Deepika Padukone is the daughter of the former Badminton Champion Prakash Padukone (father) and Ujjala Padukone (mother) who runs a travelling business. She has a younger sister Anisha who is a golfer by profession. Deepika was born on January 5, 1986 in Copenhagen, Denmark and later she, along with her whole family, moved to Bengaluru situated in the Indian state of Karnataka. She did her academics from Bengaluru. Deepika Padukone studied from Sophia`s High School, Bengaluru and did her graduation from Mount Carmel College. Afterwards she had joined the Indira Gandhi National Open University for a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology but dropped the course owing to the conflicts with her modelling career. She played Badminton from a very young age and participated in several national level championships. Deepika had also played Baseball in some state level tournaments. The actress has undergone formal training in Bharatnatyam and was a member of the Badminton club run by her father. Although she played Badminton in her school days and had reached the status at state level, she was more focused on building her career in modelling.

Modelling Career of Deepika Padukone
Deepika Padukone`s tryst with modelling world occurred at the age of eight when she appeared in a couple of advertising campaigns as a child model. As an adult she made her debut in the glamorous world of modelling through different commercials like Liril soap, Dabur Lal powder, Close-Up toothpaste, Limca and others. She came into limelight in the international market by appearing as the new cover girl for Maybelline. She has received many accolades and awards in her modelling career. At the fifth annual Kingfisher Fashion Awards she was awarded as the Model of the Year and Playboy magazine cover winner. Following this she was chosen as one of the models for the Kingfisher Swimsuit Calendar for the year 2006. She has also won two trophies at the Idea Zee Fashion Awards in 2006 as Female Model of the year in Commercial Projects and also as the Fresh Face of the year. Deepika Padukone was also selected as the brand ambassador of Levis Strauss Jeans, Kingfisher Airlines and Tissot SA. She appeared in the music video of Himesh Reshammiya in the song "Naam Hain Tera" in "Aap Ka Suroor" after which she started receiving film offers. However weighing her inexperience in the acting world, she instead joined Anupam Kher`s film academy.

Film Career of Deepika Padukone

Deepika Padukone made her debut in a Kannada movie Aishwarya in 2006 in which she starred alongside actor Upendra. The following year Deepika made her debut in Bollywood opposite Shahrukh Khan in the movie, Om Shanti Om in 2007 where she portrayed dual character. The movie was directed by Farah Khan and became quite a big success at the box-office. She next ventured in the multi starrer Bachna Ae Haseeno with Minissha Lamba, Bipasha Basu and Ranbir Kapoor.The film faired well at the box office. Subsequently she was seen in movies like Chandni Chowk to China in a dual role with Akshay Kumar and Love Aaj Kal opposite Saif Ali Khan. In the year 2010 the actress appeared in movies like Karthik Calling Karthik with Farhan Akhtar, comedy flick Housefull along with Akshay Kumar, Lafangey Parindey along with Neil Nitin Mukesh and Break Ke Baad alongside Imran Khan. She also acted in the film Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey along with Abhishek Bachchan which was a revolutionary movie concerning the Indian freedom movement against the British.

In the following years she appeared in a number of films such as Dum Maaro Dum, Aarakshan and Desi Boyz. In 2012, she starred in the romantic comedy Cocktail, which proved to be a turning point of her career. Deepika received critical acclamations for her compelling performance in this box office hit movie. In 2013, the actress was featured in four of the top-grossing productions of the year which raised her to the fame of the leading contemporary actress of Hindi cinema. Her movies in the year included Abbas-Mustan`s action thriller Race 2, Ayan Mukerji`s romantic comedy Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, Rohit Shetty`s action-comedy Chennai Express and Sanjay Leela Bhansali`s Goliyon Ki Raasleela-Ram-Leela which was an adaptation of the Shakespearean tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. Deepika gathered huge appreciations for her varied portrayals in different movies and has become one of the most popular and attractive celebrities of India. In the year 2014, Deepika Padukone was featured opposite South Indian Actor Rajinikanth in the Tamil film "Kochadaiiyaan", drama that was shot using motion capture technology. She also performed with praise in satire Finding Fanny. Deepika Padukone took on the role of a Bengali architect who cares for her hypochondriac father in Shoojit Sircar`s comedy-drama Piku that was released in the year 2015.

Other Ventures of Deepika Padukone
Apart from acting, Deepika Padukone is also associated with women`s health and fitness magazines and has written opinion columns for them. She has performed in several stage shows through which she has supported charitable organisations. She used to write weekly columns for the lifestyle section of Hindustan Times. In 2010, she had also participated in the World 10K Bangalore marathon which was a fund raising event in support of 81 NGOs. In the same year, as part of NDTV`s Greenathon Campaign, she has adopted the Maharashtrian village of Ambegaon for providing it a regular supply of electricity. She has also performed in a few events of Indian Premier League and in several award functions and concerts. She also works for the Olympic Gold Quest team along with other sports personalities and actors. The organization was established by her father and Geet Sethi for supporting Indian athletes at the Olympic Games. In 2013 Deepika Padukone had launched her own line of clothing for women, in collaboration with the retail chain Van Heusen.

Achievements of Deepika Padukone
For her spectacular performance in the debut movie Om Shanti Om, Deepika was awarded the Filmfare Best Female Debut Award and the Sony Head N Shoulders Fresh Face of the Year. For the same movie, she also won Zee Cine Awards, Star Screen Awards, IIFA Awards, BIG Star Entertainment Awards and Apsara Film and Television Producers Guild Awards. She also won BIG Star Entertainment Awards for her movies Cocktail and Chennai Express, IIFA Awards for Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, Star Screen Awards for Desi Boyz and Times of India Film Awards for Cocktail. In addition to these, she has also received several other awards and accolades.

Filmography of Deepika Padukone