Madhuri Dixit

Madhuri Dixit (born as Madhuri Shankar Dixit on May 15, 1967) is an award winning Indian Bollywood actress and one of the biggest stars of the Indian film industry. Throughout the late 1980s and 1990s, she dominated Hindi cinema as a leading actress, appearing in many hit films. She is considered to be an icon of the Bollywood film industry.
Film career
MaduriDixit made her acting debut in Abodh (1986). After a few minor and supporting roles the film which shot her to fame was the hit film Tezaab (1988). She then went on to star in the hit films such as Ram Lakhan (1989), Parinda (1989), Tridev (1989), Kishen Kanhaiya (1990), Dil (1990), Saajan (1991), Beta (1992), Khalnayak (1993), the Bollywood blockbuster Hum Aapke Hain Kaun! (1994) and Raja (1995).
After a year of little success, she appeared as Pooja in the blockbuster Dil To Pagal Hai (1997), for which she won her fourth Filmfare Best Actress Award. In that same year, Dixit starred in Prakash Jha's critically acclaimed Mrityudand. The film straddled the boundary between an art and a commercial film. It won the Best Feature Film at the Cinéma Tout Ecran in Geneva, the Bangkok Film Festival and the Sansui Awards (Critics' Choice). Her performance in the film also landed her Best Actress awards at the Star Screen Awards and Sansui Awards.
Her dance sequences accompanying many famous Bollywood songs such as Ek Do Teen (from Tezaab), Bada Dukh Diya (from Ram Lakhan), Dhak Dhak (from Beta), Chane Ke Kheth Mein (from Anjaam), Choli Ke Peechche (from Khalnayak), Akhiyan Milau (from Raja), Piya Ghar Aya (from Yaarana), Key Sera (from Pukar), Mar dala (from Devdas), and many others have received abundant critical acclaim.
In 2002, she starred in Devdas, with actor Shahrukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai. Her performance was applauded and earned her a Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award. The film attracted worldwide attention and was featured at the Cannes Film Festival.
The following year a film named after her, Main Madhuri Dixit Banna Chahti Hoon!, was released in which a woman (played by Antara Mali) aspires to become the new Madhuri Dixit by trying her luck in the Bollywood industry.
On February 25, 2006 she performed on stage for the first time in six years at the Filmfare Awards to music from her last movie Devdas. Her performance was choreographed by Saroj Khan.
Madhuri Dixit has been the muse for the famous Indian painter M.F. Hussain who considers her the epitome of the Indian woman. She also appeared in his film, Gaja Gamini (2000). The film was intended as a tribute to Dixit.
On December 7, 2006, Dixit returned to Mumbai along with her husband and sons to start filming for Aaja Nachle (2007). The film released in November 2007 and despite the critics panning it, Dixit's performance was well received, with the New York Times commenting about her that "she's still got it"
On Women's International Day in 2007, Dixit topped the list of the Best Bollywood Actresses Ever.
Personal life
Madhuri Dixit is a native of Mumbai, India. She was born Madhuri Shankar Dixit to Shankar and Snehlata Dixit, of a Marathi Chitpavan Brahmin family. Dixit attended Parle College and wanted to be a micro-biologist. She is trained as a Kathak dancer, in the Indian classical tradition.
She married an Indian-American, Dr. Sriram Madhav Nene, in 1999. A UCLA-trained cardiovascular surgeon who practices in Denver, Nene is also from a Marathi Konkanastha Brahmin family. She has two sons, Arin (born in March 2003 in Colorado) and Ryan (born on March 8, 2005 in Colorado).
She has two elder sisters, Rupa and Bharati, and an elder brother, Ajit. Madhuri now lives with Dr. Nene and her two children in Denver, Colorado, USA.