Early life and modelling career
Anushka Sharma was born on 1 May 1988 in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh. Her father, Colonel Ajay Kumar Sharma, is an army officer, and her mother, Ashima Sharma, is a homemaker. Her father is a native of Uttar Pradesh, while her mother is a Garhwali. Her elder brother is film producer Karnesh Sharma, who earlier served in the Merchant Navy. Sharma has stated that being a military brat played an important role in shaping her as a person and contributing to her life. In an interview with The Times of India in 2012, she said, “I take pride in saying that I am an army officer’s daughter even more than being an actor.”
Sharma was raised in Bangalore. She was educated at the Army School there, and received a degree in arts from Mount Carmel College. She originally intended to pursue a career in modelling or journalism, and had no aspirations to be an actress. After graduation, Sharma moved to Mumbai to further her modelling career. She enrolled herself at the Elite Model Management, and was groomed by the style consultant Prasad Bidapa. In 2007, Sharma made her runway debut at the Lakme Fashion Week for designer Wendell Rodricks’s Les Vamps Show and was picked to be his finale model at the Spring Summer 2007 Collection. Since then she has done campaigns for the brands Silk & Shine, Whisper, Nathella Jewelry and Fiat Palio. Sharma later said, “I think I was born to emote and act. I would walk down the ramp and smile and they used to say, ‘give us a blank look.’ It was really difficult, not to smile”. Whilst modelling, Sharma also joined an acting school and began auditioning for film roles.
Anushka Sharma is no doubt one of the top actresses of Bollywood who made it big in spite of hailing from a non-filmy background. The actress made her big Bollywood debut with Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi opposite Shah Rukh Khan and it was a blockbuster. The actress climbed the ladder of success with her remarkable acting prowess and amazing choices of films.
We all know that Anushka started modelling just after her graduation and left a successful career in IT to pursue a career in the modelling industry. Anushka was a popular model before she made her Bollywood debut and walked the ramp for many popular designers. Here are some rare pictures of Anushka during her modelling days: Anushka never considered herself as a good model. In an interview with a news daily, the actress said , “I don’t think I was a good model. I think I was born to emote and act. I would walk down the ramp and smile and they used to say, ‘give us a blank look.’ It was really difficult, not to smile.”
Anushka made her Bollywood debut with Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi opposite Shah Rukh Khan. According to reports, the actress took a day to prepare for her screen test for the movie and refused to do an impromptu one.
After Shah Rukh Khan, she is the only actor who worked under both father Yash and son Aditya Chopra.
She has started her own production company, Clean Slate Films.
