Shilpa Shetty is born on 8th June 1975 in a traditional close-knit family in Mangalore that hails from the Bunt community. Her pet name is "Manya" but her mom calls her "babucha" or "Honeybunch". She has a younger sister Shamita Shetty is also a Bollywood actress. They worked together once in the film Fareb (2005).

Her parents Surendra and Sunanda Shetty, manufacturers of tamper-proof caps for the pharmaceutical industry. Her native language is Tulu although she speaks several other languages at differing levels, including English, Kannada, Marathi, Hindi, Tamil, Gujarati, Telugu, Urdu and basic French.

In Mumbai, she attended St. Anthony Girls' High School in Chembur, and later attended Podar College in Matunga. She is a trained Bharatanatyam dancer, she is also into sports, was the captain of the volleyball team in school, has earned a black belt in karate and is currently a dancesport expert and enthusiast.


Shilpa Shetty started her career by modelling for Limca in 1991 at age 16. She made her film debut in 1993 with Baazigar, portraying a woman murdered by her psychopathic boyfriend. Shetty took the supporting role of Seema, co-starring alongside Shahrukh Khan and Kajol; the film was a major success and earned her a nomination for Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award.

Her first leading role was in the film Aag in 1994, which was averagely received at the box office. She had a hit that same year with the film Main Khiladi Tu Anari opposite Akshay Kumar. This was followed by many films which were average to poor performers at the box office. Shetty starred in another big film that year, Aao Pyaar Karen, followed in 1995 by Hathkadi, where she was working alongside actors such as Saif Ali Khan, Govinda and Madhoo, but they failed at the box office.


1997 was one of her busiest years: she appeared in six different films, beginning with the Telugu language film Veedevadani Babu. Her first major Bollywood film of that year was the action thriller Auzaar. Shilpa portrayed the character of Prathna Thakur alongside actors Salman Khan and Sanjay Kapoor. In 1998, she had one release, Pardesi Babu, for which she received critical acclaim and won the Bollywood Movie Award for Best Supporting Actress. In 2000, Shetty received much acclaim for her role in Dhadkan which earned reasonable takings at the Indian box office. She received several nominations under the Best Actress category in different award ceremonies. She would later go on to star with Anil Kapoor and Karisma Kapoor in the film Rishtey (2002). Her comic performance as an eccentric fisherwoman was appreciated and she received a nomination under the Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award category and various nominations for Best Comedian as well.


However, it was in 2004 that her performance in 'Phir Milenge' that brought her to the top actress list. In 2005, she delivered modest hits like 'Fareb' (where she costarred with her sister Shamita Shetty) and Dus.

Apart from being seen in Hindi films, she remains involved in Tamil, Telugu and Kannada movies as well.

Though she has worked with top actors, unlike many Bollywood actresses who are either scared of or shy away from working with top actresses, Shilpa has worked with numerous talented actresses (such as Juhi Chawla, Raveena Tandon, Manisha Koirala, Tabu, Kajol, Mahima Chaudhry and Konkona Sen Sharma) and is said to share a great rapport with her co-stars.


In 2007, Shilpa Shetty became the first Indian celebrity to feature in ‘Celebrity Big Brother’ show of UK. During the show, she was allegedly made a target of racism and bullying by other housemates, mainly Jade Goody, Jo O'Meara and Danielle Lloyd. Many disparaging conversation took place, some followed by Shetty almost in tears, and the incident got snowballed into an international racism controversy. Shetty finally won the contest, after gaining 63% of the public vote and later, apologies were tended to her.

After the show ended, Shetty was invited to a reception at the House of Commons by Keith Vaz MP. There, she met the then-British Prime Minister Tony Blair. In March 2007, she was invited to meet Queen Elizabeth II, at Marlborough House in London. She became a celebrity in UK and was even offered a role in British EastEnders soap opera, which she turned down. She was the subject of a Sky One documentary entitled "The Real Shilpa Shetty" and received numerous commercial offers as well.

In the 1990s, Shilpa Shetty was reported to be having an affair with co-actor Akshay Kumar. The couple broke up in 2000, after Akshay started dating Shetty's friend and fellow actress, Twinkle Khanna. Thereafter, she was subjected to the rumors of her affair with director Anubhav Sinha, which she quashed later.

In April 2006, Shilpa Shetty and Reema Sen were issued non-bailable warrants by a Madurai court. The warrants were for "posing in an obscene manner", in photographs that were published by a Tamil newspaper.

In April 2007, she paired with Richard Gere for promotion of AIDS Awareness. During one of the events, Richard Gere kissed here in jest, several times on the cheek. Protests broke in several cities of India, against the kiss that was said to be an attack on India's cultural and moral values..

After that the First Class Magistrate Court, Siwan, has issued summons to Shilpa Shetty and others for 'hurting' the Indian and Bhojpuri culture through a television programme. The case was filed by a Siwan lawyer and president of Bhojpuri Kranti Parishad, Ramji Singh.

She married Raj Kundra on 22nd November 2009.

Shilpa's favorite actors include Tom Cruise and Jackie Chan. Shilpa's method of spending a holiday would be to wake up late, cook, watch movies, work out and spend time with her family. She is also a huge fan of prints, especially Tiger and Leopard prints. Her room is filled with all the different kind of prints. Even her pillow case.