Kajol Devgan, popularly known as Kajol, is an Indian film actress appearing in Hindi films. Kajol made her acting debut in the film Bekhudi (1992) and had her first commercial success with her second film Baazigar (1993) opposite Shahrukh Khan, with whom she would act in such popular movies as Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (1995), Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001) and My Name is Khan (2010).
Her performances in all four of these films were praised and the first three earned her three Filmfare Awards for Best Actress. After Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham in 2001, she took a sabbatical from full time acting for five years. She made a comeback with Kunal Kohli's Fanaa (2006), for which she received her fourth Best Actress Award at the Filmfare. Kajol is regarded as one of India's most successful and talented actresses. She is married to fellow Indian actor Ajay Devgn.
Kajol was born in Mumbai of Bengali-Marathi descent. Her mother Tanuja is an actress, while her late father Shomu Mukherjee was a film director and producer. Her late maternal aunt, Nutan is the record holder for the most (five times) Filmfare Awards for Best Actress, and her late maternal grandmother Shobhna Samarth and great grandmother Rattan Bai had both been involved in Hindi cinema.
Her paternal uncles are film producers; Joy Mukherjee and Deb Mukherjee. Kajol's paternal grandfather, Sashadhar Mukherjee, was a filmmaker. His wife Satirani Devi, Kajol's paternal grandmother, was the sister of Ashok Kumar, Anoop Kumar and Kishore Kumar. Kajol's cousins Rani Mukerji, Sharbani Mukherjee and Mohnish Behl are also Bollywood actors; whereas her cousin Ayan Mukerji is a director. Kajol's younger sister Tanisha Mukherjee is also an actress.
Kajol married Bollywood actor Ajay Devgan on February 24, 1999. The couple have 2 children, a daughter named Nysa (born in 2003) and a son named Yug (born in 2010). On April 10, 2008, Kajol's father died after suffering from a cardiac arrest. His funeral was held the same day and was attended by other Bollywood personalities.
Kajol left her school St. Josephs convent at Panchgani and started her career at the age of seventeen. Although her debut film, Bekhudi (1992) was a box office failure, her performance was noticed and she went on to work with big production houses in India. In 1993, she shot to fame with her second film, Baazigar. The film was her first major hit, and her pairing with Shahrukh Khan was appreciated. She later went on to make a popular pairing with him in a number of films, all of which were box office successes.
