Varun Dhawan

Varun Dhawan is an Indian actor who works in Hindi films and is recognized as one of the highest-paid actors in India. Featured on Forbes India's Celebrity 100 list during the 2010s, he achieved significant commercial success early in his career by starring in eleven consecutive successful box-office releases between 2012 and 2018. Outside of his film work, Dhawan is a major commercial brand endorser and has participated in hosting major award shows and performing in live benefit events.

Dhawan was born on 24 April 1987 into a Punjabi Hindu family associated with the entertainment industry. He is the son of film director David Dhawan and Karuna Dhawan. His elder brother, Rohit Dhawan, is a film director, while his uncle Anil Dhawan is an actor. His extended family includes fashion designer Manish Malhotra, as well as film directors Punit Malhotra and Kunal Kohli. Dhawan completed his primary schooling at Bombay Scottish School and studied at H.R. College of Commerce and Economics in Mumbai before earning a business studies degree from Nottingham Trent University in the United Kingdom.

Dhawan began his film career working behind the camera as an assistant director to Karan Johar on the 2010 drama My Name Is Khan. He made his acting debut in Johar's 2012 teen movie Student of the Year, playing a wealthy student competing in an annual school event. The movie was a commercial success, and Dhawan subsequently gained wider audience recognition with starring roles in romantic comedies such as Main Tera Hero and Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania in 2014.

Over the following years, Dhawan demonstrated versatility across various film genres. He earned critical acclaim and a Filmfare Award nomination for Best Actor for playing a vengeful father in the 2015 crime thriller Badlapur. He followed this with major roles in the dance film ABCD 2, the ensemble action film Dilwale, the action-comedy Dishoom, the romantic comedy Badrinath Ki Dulhania—which earned him another Filmfare Best Actor nomination—and the comedy reboot Judwaa 2. In 2018, he received a Filmfare Critics Award nomination for his lead role in the drama October and starred in the drama Sui Dhaaga.

Dhawan later experienced varied commercial results with films including Kalank, Street Dancer 3D, and the digital release Coolie No. 1. He regained box-office success in 2022 with the family drama Jugjugg Jeeyo and the horror-comedy Bhediya. His subsequent work includes the romantic drama Bawaal, the action series Citadel: Honey Bunny, the action film Baby John, and the romantic comedy Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari. In 2026, he played Major Hoshiar Singh Dahiya in the war drama Border 2, which became the highest-grossing film of his career, and appeared in the romantic comedy Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai.

Dhawan considers himself a spiritual person who feels close to ISKCON. On 24 January 2021, he married his long-time partner, fashion designer Natasha Dalal, whom he first met during his middle school years. The couple welcomed their first child, a daughter, on 3 June 2024.