Sonali Bendre (born 1 January 1975) is an Indian actress and model. She has mostly starred in Bollywood films but has acted in many hit Telugu films as well as a few number of Marathi,Tamil and Kannada films. She was also one of the four judges in the fourth season of Indian Idol and India's Got Talent.
Sonali was born in Mumbai in korba sarasawat brahmin family. She studied in Bangalore and Mumbai in Kendriya Vidyalaya Antop Hill, Sion and Holy Cross High School Thane. She married film actor/director Goldie Behl on 12 November 2002. On 9 August 2005, she gave birth to a son, Ranveer, at the Breach Candy Hospital.
Bendre started out as a model before being selected for the "Star Dust Talent Search". She was invited to Mumbai and received training from a variety of top actors and performers of the Indian film industry. Her first role was in Aag (1994) opposite Govinda.
Though she initially struggled to be a successful actress, she was eventually given critical acclaim for her performances in films like Bhai (1997),Murari (Telugu film) Sarfarosh, Zakhm, Duplicate, Kadhalar Dhinam (Tamil film), Hum Saath-Saath Hain: We Stand United (1999), Tera Mera Saath Rahey and Anaahat (2003) among many others.
She is also known for being one of the few actresses who acted opposite all top four Khans (Aamir, Shahrukh, Salman and Saif). She has also starred opposite some of the other biggest names in bollywood such as Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty, Ajay Devgan, Sanjay Dutt and Anil Kapoor.
Next to her well-received performances, she was also recognized as a graceful dancer through films like Gaddar(1995),Sapoot, Bombay, Lajja and Major Saab to name a few. She is frequently listed as one of the top most beautiful Bollywood actress. Bendre is set to star in the theatre in a play called, Aap Ki Soniya.
