Mahira Khan | |
---|---|
ماہرہ خان | |
Born | Mahira Hafeez Khan 21 December 1984 |
Alma mater | Santa Monica College |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 2006–present |
Spouse | Salim Karim (m. 2023) |
Children | 1 |
Awards | Full list |
Mahira Hafeez Khan (pronounced [maɦiːraː hafiːz kʰan]; born 21 December 1984) is a Pakistani film and television actress. One of the most popular and highest-paid actresses of Pakistan, she is the recipient of several accolades, including seven Lux Style Awards and seven Hum Awards.[1]
After working as a video jockey for various television shows, Khan made her acting debut in 2011 with a supporting role in the blockbuster social drama Bol (2011). She then played a troubled wife in the highly successful romantic television drama Humsafar (2011), which won her the Lux Style Awards for Best Television Actress. Khan gained wider recognition for portraying a range of unconventional characters in several highest-rated television series, including the religious drama Shehr-e-Zaat (2012), the biographical romance Sadqay Tumhare (2014), and the romantic drama Bin Roye (2016), all of which earned her several Best Actress awards and nominations.
Khan established herself by starring as the female lead in two of Pakistan's top-grossing productions—the 2015 romantic drama Bin Roye and the 2016 coming-of-age musical drama Ho Mann Jahan. Her first project in the Hindi cinema came with the crime thriller Raees (2017), which ranks among the highest-grossing Indian films of all time, and received critical acclaim for portraying a rape victim in the revenge drama Verna (2017), and an aspiring actress in the musical drama Superstar (2019). Following a short hiatus, Khan took on roles in the 2022 androcentric action films, including the top-grossing Quaid-e-Azam Zindabad and The Legend of Maula Jatt, and produced the sports web-series Baarwan Khiladi (2022).
In addition to acting, Khan promotes social causes such as women's rights and refugee crisis, and is vocal about issues such as child abuse and rapes. She has worked with UNICEF since 2019 and was appointed as the national and global UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for Afghan refugees in Pakistan in 2019. She has featured as a host for several television and award shows, and is a prominent celebrity endorser for brands and products. She is guarded about her personal life, which is a subject of media scrutiny.