The Hindi film industry’s new age ‘Chocolate Boy’, has established himself as a prominent icon in cinema. With a number of hit films to his name, as well as being the heartthrob of the nation, Kapoor is one of the most influential personalities of Hindi cinema. In a career spanning over a decade, the young Kapoor has given many memorable performances.

Born on 25 February, 1981, Shahid Kapoor is the son of seasoned actor Pankaj Kapoor and actress Neelima Azeem. Due to the separation of his parents, his step mother is Supriya Pathak. He studied at Gyan Bharati School in Delhi initially, but later shifted to Rajhans Vidyalaya, Mumbai.  Kapoor honed his dancing skills at the Shiamak Davar Institute of Performing Arts (SDIPA). He worked as a child artist to endorse the health drink brand Complan. In his teenage days, he worked in many music videos and advertisements, including the Pepsi advertisement with Shahrukh Khan, Kajol and Rani Mukerji. He was also seen as a background dancer in Subhash Ghai’s film Taal (1999).

He made his first debut in a major role as Rajiv Mathur, a carefree young man in Ken Ghosh's Ishq Vishk (2003). The film was well received by audiences and Kapoor's performance and dancing skills earned him many accolades. It also won him the Filmfare Award and the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Award for the Best Debut. The following year, Kapoor joined hands with director Ken Ghosh once again in the thriller Fida (2004). The film failed, but the young actor’s performance didn’t go unnoticed.

Success in a big way was yet to come to this talented actor. Three of his movies that released in 2005 failed to get the box office registers ringing. However, things started to change for the better in 2006-2007, and one of the major turning points in his life was when he signed for Imtiaz Ali’s film Jab We Met (2007) alongside Kareena Kapoor, with whom he also had a highly publicised relationship with. The film was one of the biggest hits in the industry and got him much appreciation as well as a massive fan-base. The film critically and commercially gained huge success at the box office.  After this, he showcased his versatility as an actor in Vishal Bhardwaj’s film Kaminey (2009). The film was critically acclaimed and was earned him rave reviews.

In 2011, Kapoor acted opposite Sonam Kapoor in father Pankaj Kapoor’s Mausam (2011). After that, Kapoor’s R…Rajkumaar (2013) was a typical mainstream Hindi film. He reunited with director Vishal Bhardwaj for the film Haider (2014), an adaptation of William Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet, adapted for the Indian context and set during the Kashmir conflict of 1995. The film got the actor critical acclaim and was much appreciated by the masses. Once again, his brilliant performance got him the Filmfare Award and the IIFA Award for the Best Actor.

Shahid Kapoor last appeared in the film Shaandaar (2015) alongside Alia Bhatt. He has many more films in the pipeline, and is set for two releases later this year. His fan following continues to grow and audiences look forward to seeing more of him on the big screen.

Shahid Kapoor is also a member of the Radha Soami Satsang Beas, a religious group where he also met his current wife, Mira Rajput, a graduate from Lady Shri Ram College for Women in Delhi.