Kajol Devgan (née Mukherjee) (born 5 August 1974), known mononymously as Kajol, is an Indian film actress who predominantly works in Hindi cinema. She has received six Filmfare Awards, among eleven nominations and along with her late aunt Nutan, holds the record for most Best Actress wins at Filmfare, with five. In 2011, the Government of India awarded her with the Padma Shri.
Born to actress Tanuja and film director Shomu Mukherjee, Kajol made her acting debut with Bekhudi (1992), while still in school. She subsequently quit her studies to pursue acting, and had her first commercial success with Baazigar (1993). She subsequently earned wide public recognition for playing leading roles in several blockbusters, including Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (1995), Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), and Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... (2001). Her performances in these films earned her three Filmfare Awards in the Best Actress category. She earned critical appreciation for playing against type in the 1997 mystery film Gupt and the 1998 psychological thriller Dushman.
Following a sabbatical from full-time acting in 2001, Kajol returned to film with the 2006 romantic thriller, Fanaa, for which she received a fourth Filmfare Award for Best Actress. She continued working infrequently through the rest of the decade, playing leading roles in such films as U Me Aur Hum (2008), We Are Family and My Name Is Khan (both 2010). Her performance in the latter earned her a fifth Best Actress award at Filmfare. She, thus, established herself as one of India's most successful female actors.
In addition to acting in films, Kajol is a social activist and is noted for her work with widows and children, for which she received the Karmaveer Puraskaar in 2008. She has featured as a talent judge for Zee TV's reality show, Rock-N-Roll Family and holds a managerial position at Devgn Entertainment and Software Ltd. She is known in the Indian media for not subscribing to stereotypes of a Bollywood heroine and has hence been labelled as "unconventional". Kajol has been in a relationship with actor Ajay Devgn since 1995. In 1999, they married, and she gave birth to their daughter, Nysa, in 2003 and their son, Yug, in 2010.
