Vidya Balan is a renowned Indian film actress, who gained immense popularity due to her breathtaking performances in a variety of roles. The unique selection of characters she has portrayed include strong, female leads and anti-heroes, making her one of the most versatile and talented actresses in the industry. She is also known to be fluent in a number of languages including English, Hindi, Malayalam, Bengali, and Tamil, having worked in regional films of all these languages.

Born on 1 January 1978, Vidya Balan spent the early years of her life in Kerala. She completed her studies from St. Anthony's Convent School and then pursued a degree in Sociology from St. Xaviers College in Mumbai. Balan however, always had a deep desire to work in the film industry and was inspired by the work of actresses like Shabana Azmi and Madhuri Dixit. Although she got her first offer to act in a Malayalam movie Chakram (2003), Vidya’s career could not take off and she turned her attention to television. She appeared in a number of advertisements, music videos and also acted in the television soap, Hum Paanch.

After a tedious struggle, Vidya finally signed her debut with an independent Bengali drama Bhalo Theko (2003) by Goutam Halder. Later, Balan made her Hindi debut with Pradeep Sarkar's Parineeta (2005). Her performance in the film made several critics sit up and take note of her performance. She also won the Filmfare Award for Best Debut in this film. The following year, Vidya appeared opposite Sanjay Dutt in the film Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006), a comedy directed by Rajkumar Hirani. In preparation for her role as a radio jockey, she spent several hours at radio stations in order to see how they worked. Her dedication and passion for acting clearly knew no bounds.

She went on to act in a spate of successful films including Mani Ratnam’s Guru (2007), Salaam-e-Ishq (2007), Eklavya: The Royal Guard (2007), Heyy Babyy (2007), and Bhool Bhulaiyaa (2007). Through her roles in this selection of films, she established herself as a formidable actress. Neither did she fit in with the dolled up image associated with many of her contemporaries. In 2009, Balan portrayed the struggling mother of a child with progeria in the film Paa (2009). Her unconventional role in this movie got her widespread critical acclaim and appreciation, as well as the Filmfare Award for Best Actress. Continuing with her atypical roles, Vidya Balan then acted in the black comedy Ishqiya (2010) and won accolades for the portrayal of a seductive widow, along with the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress.

 After an array of films, Vidya Balan was seen along with Rani Mukherjee in the thriller No One Killed Jessica (2011) directed by Raj Kumar Gupta. It was based on the true events of the murder of Jessica Lal. This film was critically praised but her performance in the film as Jessica’s sister was lauded in particular. After this, she appeared in a role as the controversial, sizzling South Indian actress Silk Smitha in The Dirty Picture (2011), which was based on her life and death. The film opened to major critical acclaim, and Vidya received unanimous appreciation for her work in the film, which even won her the National Film Award for Best Actress and the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Award for Best Actress, and also earned her nominations internationally, including with the Asian Film Awards.

For her next feature film, Vidya starred as Vidya Bagchi, in Sujoy Ghosh's acclaimed Kahaani (2012). The film emerged as a major commercial success both at the domestic and international box offices. She received further appreciation for her performance in this film. Vidya Balan was seen in many new projects in the year 2014, but her recent film Bobby Jasoos (2014) was given huge accolades from some of the most eminent critics in the industry. In 2014, Vidya Balan was also awarded the prestigious Padma Shri by the Government of India for her outstanding contribution to Indian cinema.

She recently appeared in the film Hamari Adhuri Kahani (2015) and has many other films in the pipeline.

She married Siddharth Roy Kapur, who was the CEO of UTV Motion Pictures in 2012 after a long term relationship.