Esha Deol was born on November 2, 1981 to Hema Malini and Dharmendra. With both her parents being established actors in the Indian film industry, she made her first appearance on screen when she was just a baby, appearing in Razia Sultan (1983), which starred her mother. Despite this, she initially wanted to become a fashion designer and studied to attain this goal at Mumbai’s Mithibai College.

Soon after her education, however, Deol chose to follow in the footsteps of her parents, and made her acting debut in Koi Mere Dil Se Poochhe (2002). Though the film did not fare well commercially or critically, and Deol’s own performance received mixed reviews, it did gain her a fair amount of popularity as well as a number of awards, including the Filmfare Award, the IIFA Award, and the Bollywood Movie Award, for the Best Female Debut.

Her next few films, including Na Tum Jaano Na Hum (2002) and Kuchh To Hai (2003), were not very successful either, but she received several good reviews for her performances. She also won the Star Screen Awards in 2003, for the Most Promising Newcomer for both these films. J.P. Dutta’s LOC Kargil (2003) became Deol’s first big commercial success, and though she played only a supporting role in it, she was critically appreciated for her acting.

The following year, Deol appeared in her first Tamil film, Mani Ratnam’s Aaytha Ezhuthu (2004), as well as in its Hindi remake, Yuva  (2004) – becoming the only cast member to appear in both versions of the film. The same year, she appeared in Dhoom (2004), one of her most commercially successful films till date. Her other notable films in the following years include Main Aisa Hi Hoon (2005), Darling (2007), and One Two Three (2008). Another of her major successes is the film No Entry (2005), and is currently scheduled to appear in its sequel, Anees Bazmee’s No Entry Mein Entry. Tell Me O Kkhuda (2011) and Kill Them Young (2015) are some of her latest Bollywood releases.

Her half-brothers Sunny Deol and Bobby Deol, and cousin Abhay Deol, are also well-known actors in the Hindi film industry. She got married to eminent businessman Bharat Takhtani in June 2012.

Besides acting, Deol is passionate about sports and used to play football and handball competitively during her school days. She is also an Indian classical dancer, and has trained in Odissi from Guru Rabindra Atibudhhi as well as in Bharatnatyam from her mother Hema Malini.

She has also started her own production company, Esha Entertainment, and plans to produce both television programmes and films.