Kareena Kapoor, (करीना कपूर; born September 21, 1980) nicknamed Bebo, is an Indian film actress who appears in Bollywood movies.

Making her acting debut with Refugee (2000), for which she won a Filmfare Best Female Debut Award, Kapoor had her first commercial success with her second release, Mujhe Kucch Kehna Hai (2001). Later that year, she was noticed for her performance in Karan Johar's melodrama Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, which became India's top-grossing film in the overseas market that year and her biggest commercial success to date. Kapoor followed this with several films, which were unsuccessful at the box office, and encountered several negative reviews and criticisms for becoming typecast. Trying to reinvent her image, she took on more serious characters, and was soon recognized for her versatility as an actress.

Her portrayal of a sex-worker in Chameli (2004) proved to be the turning point in her career and won her the Filmfare Special Performance Award. She later received two Critics Award for Best Actress at the Filmfare for her performances in the critically acclaimed films Dev (2004) and Omkara (2006). In 2007, Kapoor earned her first Filmfare Best Actress Award for her performance in the commercially successful comedy-romance Jab We Met. Despite not having that many hits to her credit, Kapoor has established herself as one of the leading actresses of Bollywood.

Kareena was born to Sindhi-speaking Babita (nee Shivdasani) and Punjabi-speaking Randhir Kapoor on September 21, 1977 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; her paternal uncles, Shammi, Shashi, Rishi, and Rajiv; as well as aunt, Neetu Singh, & Jennifer Kendall, the wives of Rishi and Shashi respectively. On her maternal side, her grandfather, Hari Shivdasani, and aunt, Sadhana, have been actors in their own rights. As a child she studied in Jamnabai Narsee School in Juhu, Bombay, and thereafter was enrolled in Dehra Dun's prestigious Welham Girls' Boarding School. Then she re-located to Harvard for approximately 3 months to take a course in Information Technology and Microcomputers. Upon her return to India, she joined the Government Law College in Churchgate, Bombay, but left it after one year, to enroll in the Kishore Namit Kapoor Acting School. Her dad, Randhir is very protective towards his daughters and wanted both of them to keep away from acting, get married, and settle down, as per the Kapoor family tradition. This led to irreconcilable differences between her parents, ultimately leading to a divorce, with both sisters leaving their dad to live with their mom. Her film debut was in the year 2000 with 'Refugee' along with the debut of Amitabh Bachchan's son, Abhishek. She went on to appear in 31 other Hindi movies, and has thus far won four awards for her performances in 'Refugee', 'Chameli', 'Dev', and 'Omkara'. She is one of the most sought-after actresses in Bollywood, considered bankable, with an enviable A-listing and as of June 2007 is to appear in 'Tashan', 'Lajjo', 'Kismat Talkies' amongst others.