Raveena Tandon is the daughter of filmmaker Ravi Tandon. Born on 26 October 1974 in Bombay, she did her schooling at Jamnabai Narsee School in Juhu and joined Mithibai College for her graduate course but dropped out to pursue modelling. Her debut film was Patthar Ke Phool (1991) with Salman Khan, for which she won the Filmfare Lux New Face award. The year 1994 was significant for the beautiful actress as she worked in two big hits – Mohra and Dilwale – and was nominated for the Filmfare award for Best Supporting Actress for Laadla. These films brought her immense popularity. She continued to be part of hit films like Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi (1996) and Ziddi (1997). However, she also declined the second lead in blockbusters Dil To Pagal Hai (1997) and Gupt (1997). Nevertheless, the next year saw her come back with a bang, with eight releases. After 1998, Tandon decided to test her versatility. She accepted offers from directors who did realistic cinema. Her de-glamorized looks and strong performances in films like Shool (1999) were much appreciated. Other films like Bulandi (2000) and Aks (2001) won her critical acclaim. She got the prestigious National award for Best Actress for her performance in Kalpana Lajmi's film Daman: A Victim of Marital Violence (2001) in which she played an abused wife.
Thereafter, Tandon was seen in a number of critically acclaimed films like Satta (2003) and Dobara (2004), which didn’t do well commercially but won her accolades. She did not let go of mainstream Hindi cinema, either, appearing in the flop Sandwich (2006) with her popular 1990s co-star Govinda. She also acted in the Telugu movie Pandavulu Pandavulu Tummeda (2014).
Tandon has produced several films, including Stumped (2003) and Pehchaan: The Face of Truth (2005). In 2012, she hosted a TV show called Isi Ka Naam Zindagi. She was last seen in Anurag Kashyap’s Bombay Velvet (2015), in a special appearance as a singer in a club.
Raveena Tandon is married to film distributor Anil Thadani and has two children with him. Before marriage, Tandon had adopted two girls, who are both married.
