Indian Subcontinent/Desi

1. Dilshad Vadsaria

Actress | Greek

Dilshad Vadsaria was born in Karachi, Pakistan, of Portuguese and Indian descent. She moved with her family to the US at the age of six and spent her childhood in various parts of the country, including Chicago, Richmond (Virginia) and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She eventually moved to New York to...

2. Sabrina Herft

Self | Miss Universe 2012

3. Dichen Lachman

Actress | Jurassic World Dominion

Dichen Lachman was born in Kathmandu, Nepal, to a Tibetan mother and Australian father. Until the age of seven, she lived in Kathmandu with her parents and extended family. Following that, she moved to Adelaide, Australia, with her parents. After dropping out of university, Dichen took up acting ...

4. Daya Vaidya

Actress | Superman & Lois

From drama to comedy, Daya Vaidya has made a name for herself through the dynamic characters she has brought to life on screen, and her ability to seamlessly transform into every role she embodies.

Daya starred for six seasons as political shark Jen Kowski on Amazon's hit thriller/drama series "...

5. Iman Ali

Actress | Bol

Iman Ali is a Pakistani actress and model. She is the daughter of television/film actor Abid Ali and his first wife Humaira Ali. She has two sisters, one younger and one older, both of whom are also actresses. Ali is known for portraying Anarkali in a seven-minute music video directed by Shoaib ...

6. Humaima Malik

Actress | Raja Natwarlal

Humaima Malick was born on the 18th of November, 1987, in Quetta. She was discovered at the tender age of fourteen by Saqib Malik, who cast her in a nationwide campaign for Fair&Lovely and Humaima has not looked back since. Humaima rose to fame at a very young age and the stars seemed to be in her ...

7. Samia Shoaib

Actress | The Sixth Sense

A writer, filmmaker and actress with a Master's Degree in Film from Columbia University, Samia Shoaib began studying her craft by performing Shakespeare while growing up in London. She has performed in theatrical productions: "The Tempest", "As You Like It", "No Exit" and "The Women",

8. Somy Ali

Actress | Yaar Gaddar

Somy was born on March 25, 1976 in Karachi, Pakistan, to an Iraqi mother and a Pakistani father. She has a younger brother, Mohammed. She studied in Convent of Jesus & Mary High School in Karachi up until the age of 7, then re-located to Florida, USA, along with her mom and brother.

She re-located ...

9. Simer Motiani

Actress | Khwaabb

Simer Motiani is known for Khwaabb (2014), Uu Kodathara Ulikki Padathara (2012) and Pichhodu (2019).

10. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan

Actress | Jodhaa Akbar

Born into a traditional south Indian family, Aishwarya started modeling at a young age. This green-blue-eyed beauty appeared in advertisements for many prestigious firms; the ones that brought her into the limelight were the garden sari and the Pepsi ad. Crowned Miss India 1994 runner-up, she was a...

11. Persis Khambatta

Actress | Star Trek: The Motion Picture

Persis Khambatta was born on October 2, 1948 in Bombay, India. When aged 16, as Femina Miss India, she entered Miss Universe 1965, dressed in off-the-rack clothes she bought at the last minute. Khambatta became a model for companies such as Revlon. Her biggest acting break was getting the role of ...

12. Nandana Sen

Actress | Black

Nandana Sen was born on August 19, 1967 in Calcutta, West Bengal, India. She is an actress and producer, known for Black (2005), Prince (2010) and Sharpe (1993). She has been married to John Makinson since June 22, 2013.

13. Freida Pinto

Actress | Slumdog Millionaire

Freida Selena Pinto was born in Bombay (now Mumbai), Maharashtra, India, to Sylvia, a school principal, and Frederick Pinto, a senior bank branch manager. She is from a Mangalorean family.

Pinto traversed the modeling circuit in Mumbai (represented by Elite Model Management India) for two years ...

14. Nazneen Contractor

Actress | Star Trek Into Darkness

Born in Mumbai, India and raised in Nigeria until the age of seven, Contractor was well-versed in world travels and a variety of cultures at a very young age. She attended boarding school in London from seven to nine years old, then her family moved to Toronto, Canada, where she spent the majority ...

15. Padma Lakshmi

Actress | Glitter

Padma Lakshmi was born on September 1, 1970 in Madras, Tamil Nadu, India. She is a producer and actress, known for Glitter (2001), Star Trek: Enterprise (2001) and Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi (2020). She was previously married to Salman Rushdie.

16. Purva Bedi

Actress | One of Us Is Lying

Purva Bedi was born in India. Purva is an actor and producer, known for One Of Us Is Lying (2021), Sully (2016) and Gossip Girl (2007). Purva has been married to David Andrew Stoler since October 3, 2010.

17. Tannishtha Chatterjee

Actress | Roam Rome Mein

Tannishtha Chatterjee is an Indian actress, best known for her performance in Sarah Gavron's Brick Lane (2007), the film adaptation of Monica Ali's best selling novel of the same name. She was nominated for the British Independent Film Awards as the best actress for Brick Lane along with actresses ...

18. Mallika Sherawat

Actress | Murder

Mallika Sherawat is an Indian actress who mainly works in the Hindi film industry. She was named Reema Lamba at birth but later took up Mallika Sherawat as her screen name.

Sherawat did her schooling at Delhi Public School, Mathura Road. She earned her degree in philosophy from Miranda House at ...

19. Namrata Singh Gujral

Director | 5 Weddings

Namrata Singh Gujral is a film producer, director and motivational speaker.

Gujral also serves as President of Uniglobe Entertainment, a Hollywood based studio which focuses on socially relevant, international projects for the North American market.

Gujral is a breast cancer survivor and blood cancer...

20. Sandra Teles

Actress | Constellation

Sandra Teles is known for Constellation (2024), Bridgerton (2020) and Extinction (2018).

21. Veerta Motiani

Actress | Easy A

Veerta Motiani was born on August 8, 1984 in Mumbai, India. She is an actress, known for Easy A (2010), You Don't Mess with the Zohan (2008) and Being Bin Laden (2011).

22. Karen David

Actress | Galavant

Karen David is a multi-hyphenate talent - actress and singer/songwriter - who has found equal diversity in her film, television, stage, and recording career. Born in Shillong, India, in the foothills of the Himalayas; raised in Toronto; and the daughter of a half-Chinese, half- Khasi mother and an ...

23. Suleka Mathew

Actress | Claws

Suleka Mathew was born in India, raised in Vancouver and currently resides in Los Angeles working as a professional actress in film, television, radio and theatre.

Having been a lifelong dream of hers, Suleka started to pursue acting early in her college years. She was signed by an agent shortly ...

24. Sherlyn Chopra

Actress | Maya: by Sherlyn Chopra

Sherlyn Chopra is an Indian actress and webcam model who became the first Indian to have graced the iconic Playboy magazine. Sherlyn Chopra loves to express the mellifluous aspect of her personality through music albums and singles. Her last single was titled, Bad Girl which was Sherlyn's take on ...

25. Neha Dhupia

Actress | A Thursday

Neha was born in the Punjabi-speaking Dhupia family in Cochin, India, on August 27, 1980, and as is customary with most Punjabi and Sikh families - she was nicknamed 'Chotu'. Her dad is an Officer in the Indian Navy, Pradip Singh Dhupia; her mom, Manpinder, is a homemaker, and she has a brother, ...

26. Amrita Rao

Actress | Vivah

Amrita was born in the Rao family on June 7, 1986 in Mumbai, She speaks Konkani. She comes from a well to do Hindu family. Her dad owns an Advertising Agency.

Amrita did not want to purse any career with Bollywood as she wanted to graduate in psychology, which she eventually did.

No stranger to ...

27. Anushka Sharma

Actress | Jab Tak Hai Jaan

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 ...

28. Asin Thottumkal

Actress | Ghajini

Asin was born in Cochin, Kerala, India in the Malayalam-speaking Thottumkal family which consists of her businessman dad, Joseph, and mom, Dr. Seline, who practices in Ernakulam. She attended Naval Public School in Cochin, and after obtaining her Matriculation, was enrolled in St. Theresa's Higher ...

29. Ayesha Takia

Actress | Taarzan: The Wonder Car

Ayesha Takia was born in Mumbai on April 10th 1986. Her father's name is Nishit, a Gujarati and her mother's name is Faridah, who is half Maharashtrian and half Caucasian British.

Ayesha had never let her lack of speaking Hindi fluently come in her way. A go-getter, she is no stranger to the silver ...

30. Shilpa Shetty Kundra

Actress | Baazigar

Among very few actresses, Shilpa Shetty was nominated for her first film Baazigar (1993). The following year she delivered another blockbuster hit Main Khiladi Tu Anari (1994) where she starred with Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan. However, the proceeding years her movies failed to succeed at the ...

31. Chitrangda Singh

Actress | Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi

"You have outdone Smita Patil," said Shekhar Kapur, when he saw Chitrangda Singh's performance in her debut movie Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi (2003). And he is not the only one. Time and again Chitrangda has been compared to the legendary Smita Patil.

Chitrangda began her career as a model prior to ...

32. Deepika Padukone

Actress | Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani

Deepika Padukone, born 5 January 1986 in Copenhagen, Denmark, is an Indian model and actress. She is the daughter of former badminton champion Prakash Padukone. Her mother tongue is Konkani. Deepika has a younger sister named Anisha.

She has been modeling appearances in print and television ...

33. Kareena Kapoor

Actress | 3 Idiots

Kareena was born to Sindhi-speaking Babita (nee Shivdasani) and Punjabi-speaking Randhir Kapoor in Bombay, India. She has an elder sister, Karisma.

She is born in a family that have been actors for generations, including her paternal great-grandfather, Prithviraj Kapoor; her grandfather, Raj Kapoor;...

34. Shriya Saran

Actress | Manam

Shriya Saran also known by the mononym Shriya, is an Indian film actress, model and presenter. She has worked in multiple of the regional industries of Indian cinema, including Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu language films, as well as a few films in English, Malayalam and Kannada. Saran made her film ...

35. Koel Purie

Actress | White Noise

Koel Purie was born on November 25, 1978 in Delhi, India. She is an actress and producer, known for White Noise (2004), Fairy Tales (2008) and The Archies (2023).

36. Priyanka Chahar Choudhary

Actress | Udaariyaan

Priyanka Chahar Choudhary was born on August 13, 1996 in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India. She is an actress, known for Udaariyaan (2021), Gathbandhan (2019) and Yeh Hai Chahatein (2019).

37. Meena Kumari

Actress | Kaajal

The Empress of Indian Cinema!

A Sweetheart of 1950s, & The Undisputed Goddess of 1960s Bollywood, Meena Kumari bestrode the movies like few women in history have!

Combing enchanting grace, amazingly heart-melting expression, & consistently solid progressive content base, this Giant of Cinema will ...

38. Poorna Jagannathan

Actress | The Night Of

Poorna Jagannathan is an actress and producer. She is best known for her portrayal of Safar Khan in the HBO miniseries "The Night Of" as well for her role as Nalini Vishwakumar in the Netflix teen comedy series "Never Have I Ever" by Mindy Kaling.

She also initiated, produced and acted in the play "...

39. Riya Sen

Actress | Noukadubi

Riya Sen, born Riya Dev Varma, is an Indian actress and model. She has appeared in Bengali, Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu films and several music videos.

Sen completed her studies at Loreto House in Kolkata, an INCSE school, and later studied Philosophy at Uccha Madhyamik School Rani Birla Girls' College...

40. Trishna

Actress | Rise of the Tarragon

Trishna is an emerging actress, singer-songwriter, and model. She was born in India and adopted to an Ohio based family when she was just a year old. Church, school, and local competitions were the foundation of Trishna's vocal training throughout her youth. She later graduated as a vocalist from ...