Mallika Sherawat built her entire career by refusing to fit into a mould. Known for her fearless screen presence and her willingness to speak her mind, she became one of the most talked-about actresses of her generation, and even decades into her career, she continues to surprise audiences, most recently by stepping into the world of reality television with The Traitors Season 2.
Early Life and Education
Mallika was born Reema Lamba on October 24, 1976, in Moth, a small village in the Hisar district of Haryana, into a Jat family. Her father, Mukesh Kumar Lamba, worked as a senior engineer with the Irrigation Department of the Haryana government, and her mother is Santosh Sherawat. She belongs to the family of Seth Chhaju Ram, a well-known Jat philanthropist, which gave her roots a certain prominence in her native region even before she found fame of her own.
She did her schooling at Delhi Public School, Mathura Road, and went on to earn a degree in philosophy from Miranda House, Delhi University. By her own account, she grew up in a fairly conservative household where she often felt restricted, and she has spoken about running away from home at a young age to chase a career in acting, something her family strongly disputes and describes differently. Whatever the full story, tensions with her family were real during her early career, though they eventually reconciled once her career took off.
Interestingly, Mallika changed her name from Reema Lamba to Mallika Sherawat early on. She picked “Mallika,” meaning empress, to stand apart from other actresses with similar names, and adopted “Sherawat,” her mother’s maiden name, saying she wanted to honour the support her mother had given her.
Career Beginnings
Before stepping into films, Mallika worked briefly as an air hostess and appeared in television commercials alongside big names like Amitabh Bachchan for BPL and Shah Rukh Khan for Hyundai Santro. She also featured in a couple of Hindi music videos during this period, which slowly built her visibility.
She made her film debut with a small role in Jeena Sirf Merre Liye, credited under her birth name Reema Lamba. But it was her performance in the 2003 film Khwahish that first caught the industry’s attention, largely due to her bold and confident screen presence.
Rise to Fame
Mallika’s real breakthrough came with Murder in 2004, a film that pushed boundaries for its time and became one of the biggest hits of the year. Her performance even earned her a Best Actress nomination at the Zee Cine Awards, and critics praised her ability to bring dignity to emotionally demanding scenes.
From there, she built a reputation as one of Bollywood’s boldest actresses, going on to headline hits like Pyaar Ke Side Effects in 2006, followed by Aap Ka Suroor and Welcome in 2007. Welcome in particular did extremely well at the box office and earned her glowing reviews. In 2008, she starred in Dasavathaaram, a Tamil film that remains her biggest commercial success till date.
International Career
Mallika was among the first Bollywood actresses to actively pursue international projects. In 2005, she starred in the Chinese film The Myth alongside Jackie Chan, marking her international debut. Her appearance at the Cannes Film Festival to promote the film drew significant attention, with Time magazine famously calling her “the next big thing.”
She continued building this international profile with Hollywood projects like Hisss in 2010, co-starring Irrfan Khan, and Politics of Love in 2011, where she played a campaign volunteer in a story set during Barack Obama’s presidential run. In 2009, she was honoured with honorary citizenship of Los Angeles for her career achievements and charitable work, a rare distinction for an Indian actress at the time.
Reality TV and Recent Work
In 2013, Mallika hosted her own dating reality show called Bachelorette India, adapted from the American format, where contestants competed to win her heart. She continued acting steadily through the years, appearing in films like Time Raiders in 2016, Dirty Politics in 2015, and more recently in the Tamil film Pambattam in 2024 and Vicky Vidya Ka Woh Wala Video in the same year.
The Traitors Season 2
In 2026, Mallika Sherawat added a fresh chapter to her long career by joining The Traitors Season 2 as a celebrity contestant. The show, hosted by Karan Johar and streaming on Prime Video, brings together a diverse group of actors, comedians, and personalities to compete in a psychological game built around trust and deception.
Given her outspoken personality and her history of taking bold, unconventional career decisions, Mallika’s entry into a game centered on reading people and managing alliances felt like a fitting next step for someone who has never shied away from a challenge. She joins a starry cast that includes Shweta Tiwari, Krystle D’Souza, Rhea Chakraborty, Dalip Tahil, and Munawar Faruqui, adding her own flair to what has already become one of the most talked-about reality seasons in recent memory.
Related Reads:
- Krystle D’Souza Biography
- Ranveer Brar Biography
- Aaditya Kulshrestha Biography
- Fukra Insaan Biography
- Munawar Faruqui Biography
- Dalip Tahil Biography
Personal Life
Mallika briefly worked as an air hostess and married Delhi-based pilot Karan Singh Gill in 1997, though she kept the marriage private for years, worried that the stigma of divorce could hurt her career prospects in Bollywood. The couple eventually divorced.
She later dated French businessman Cyrille Auxenfans, a relationship that lasted for a few years before ending. She has since clarified in interviews that she remains unmarried and single. She has one younger brother, Vikram Lamba, who works as a film producer.
Away from her acting career, Mallika has been vocal about women’s rights, speaking at the United Nations DPI/NGO Conference in 2014, and she famously locked herself in a cage for twelve hours at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival to support an anti trafficking NGO called Free A Girl India.
Similar Articles:
Quick Facts
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Reema Lamba (known professionally as Mallika Sherawat) |
| Born | October 24, 1976 (Age 49) |
| Birthplace | Moth, Hisar district, Haryana, India |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Religion | Hinduism |
| Caste | Jat |
| Education | Degree in Philosophy, Miranda House, Delhi University |
| Occupation | Actress, Model |
| Film Debut | Jeena Sirf Merre Liye (2002) |
| Known For | Khwahish, Murder, Welcome, Dasavathaaram, The Traitors Season 2 |
| International Work | The Myth, Hisss, Politics of Love, Time Raiders |
| Ex-Husband | Karan Singh Gill (Jet Airways pilot, divorced) |
| Parents | Mukesh Kumar Lamba (father), Santosh Sherawat (mother) |
| Sibling | Vikram Lamba (younger brother, film producer) |
| Marital Status | Unmarried (previously divorced) |