Kajol (born 5 August 1974) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films. She is one of the most celebrated leading ladies of the 1990s and 2000s. She is best known for her romantic pairings with Shah Rukh Khan in Baazigar, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham and My Name Is Khan. She has won five Filmfare Awards for Best Actress, which was for many years a joint record with her aunt, Nutan. She received the Padma Shri in 2011.
Quick Facts
| Full name | Kajol Devgan (née Mukherjee) |
| Born | 5 August 1974, Bombay (now Mumbai), India |
| Age | 52 |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1992–present |
| Parents | Shomu Mukherjee (filmmaker), Tanuja (actress) |
| Relatives | Rani Mukerji (cousin); Nutan (aunt); sister Tanishaa Mukerji |
| Spouse | Ajay Devgn (m. 1999) |
| Children | 2 (Nysa, Yug) |
| Known for | Baazigar, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, Fanaa, My Name Is Khan |
Early Life and Family
Kajol was born in Bombay to the filmmaker Shomu Mukherjee and the actress Tanuja. She belongs to the Mukherjee–Samarth film family: the actress Nutan was her aunt, and Rani Mukerji is her cousin. She attended St. Joseph’s Convent in Panchgani and left school at 17 to make her first film.
Career
Kajol made her debut in Bekhudi (1992). She had her first hit with the thriller Baazigar (1993), opposite Shah Rukh Khan. Aditya Chopra’s Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995), in which she played Simran, became one of the most successful and beloved films in Indian history. It won her the Filmfare Award for Best Actress. She then won the Filmfare Award for Best Villain for the thriller Gupt (1997), the first woman to do so.
Kajol played Anjali, a tomboy who falls in love with her best friend, in Karan Johar’s Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998). She starred again for Johar in Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001), and both roles brought her Best Actress awards. After a break she returned in Fanaa (2006), playing a blind Kashmiri woman, and won another Best Actress award. She won her fifth for Johar’s My Name Is Khan (2010), again opposite Shah Rukh Khan.
In recent years Kajol has taken on fewer roles. She reunited with Shah Rukh Khan in Dilwale (2015) and starred with her husband, Ajay Devgn, in the historical action film Tanhaji (2020). On streaming she appeared in Tribhanga (2021), Lust Stories 2 (2023) and the legal drama The Trial (2023). She co-starred with Kriti Sanon in Do Patti (2024). In 2025 she starred in the horror film Maa and the thriller Sarzameen.
Personal Life
Kajol married the actor Ajay Devgn on 24 February 1999. They have a daughter, Nysa (born 2003), and a son, Yug (born 2010). She is known for her outspoken, candid personality in interviews.
Awards and Honours
Selected Filmography
Frequently Asked Questions
When and where was Kajol born?
Kajol was born on 5 August 1974 in Bombay (now Mumbai), India and is 52 years old.
What is Kajol known for?
Known for: Baazigar, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, Fanaa, My Name Is Khan.
Featured image: President Pratibha Patil presents the Padma Shri to Kajol at Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi, 1 April 2011. Photo by President’s Secretariat, Government of India, licensed under Government Open Data License – India, via Wikimedia Commons.
