Mahira Khan facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Mahira Khan
Khan in 2018
Born	Mahira Hafeez Khan (1984-12-21) 21 December 1984 (age 39) Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan
Alma mater	Foundation Public School
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2006–present
Spouse(s)	Ali Askari ​ ​ (m. 2007; div. 2015)​ Salim Karim ​ (m. 2023)​
Children	1
Awards	Full list

Mahira Hafeez Khan (pronounced [maɦiːra hafiːz xaːn] born 21 December 1984) is a Pakistani actress who primarily works in Urdu films and television. Khan is the recipient of several accolades, including six Lux Style Awards, six Hum Awards and was honoured with Contribution to Film and Activism by the UK Asian Film Festival.

She started her career as a VJ in 2006. Khan made her acting debut with the social drama film Bol, the same year she also appeared in television with drama series Neeyat. She is best known for portraying the role of Khirad Hussain in the romantic-drama Humsafar for which she received numerous awards, including Lux Style Award for Satellite Best TV Actress and Hum Award for Best On-Screen Couple with Fawad Khan. Khan received praise for her portrayal of Falak Sher in the spiritual romantic drama Shehr-e-Zaat which earned her Best Actress Drama at the 1st Hum Awards. Her other notable works include the biographical drama Sadqay Tumhare for which she received the Lux Style Award for Best TV Actress.

Khan made her Bollywood debut with the action romance Raees 2017 opposite Shah Rukh Khan. She has also acted in successful Pakistani films Bin Roye (2015), Ho Mann Jahaan (2015), Superstar (2019) and The Legend of Maula Jutt (2022). She made her debut as a producer with sports web series Baarwan Khiladi (2022).

Early life

Khan was born in Karachi, Pakistan on 21 December 1984 to parents of Pashtun descent. Her father, Hafeez Khan, was born in Delhi, British India, and migrated to Pakistan after the partition of India.

Khan attended Foundation Public School from where she completed her O-Levels. At the age of 17, she moved to California for higher education, where she attended Santa Monica College. She then enrolled in the University of Southern California for her bachelor's degree. However, she did not complete her undergraduate degree and returned to Pakistan in 2008. During her studies in the United States, she was a cashier at a Rite Aid store in Los Angeles.

Personal life

Khan met Ali Askari in 2006 in Los Angeles and married him in 2007 in a traditional Islamic wedding ceremony despite Khan's father being reportedly against the marriage. They have a son, born in 2009. The couple got divorced in 2015. Khan then married businessman Salim Karim in an intimate ceremony on 2 October 2023 in Bhurban.

Career

Early work (2006–2011)

Khan started her career as a VJ in 2006, hosting the live show Most Wanted on MTV Pakistan which was aired three days a week. She then hosted AAG TV's reality show Weekends with Mahira in 2008, where she played music videos, spoke to celebrity guests and took phone calls from viewers.

In 2011, Khan made her film debut in a supporting role in Shoaib Mansoor-directed Bol in which she had a supporting role. She played Ayesha, a girl from a conservative lower-middle-class family living in old part of Lahore, who shares a mutual passion for music with her love interest Mustafa, played by Atif Aslam. The film was a critical and commercial success, and became one of the highest-grossing Pakistani films of all time. The same year, Khan also made her TV drama debut in Neeyat directed by Mehreen Jabbar. The serial was set in New York and she played the role of Ayla.

Breakthrough and recognition (2012–2017)

She next appeared in the Sarmad Khoosat-directed drama serial Humsafar. Both the drama and Khan received positive reviews from critics. The drama series was also aired on Zindagi and was a success in india. It earned her a Lux Style Award for Satellite Best TV Actress and a Hum Award for Best Onscreen Couple. In 2013, she played the role in Sarmad Khoosat-directed Shehr-e-Zaat. The drama earned her Best Actress Awards from Pakistan Media Awards and Hum Awards. From 2013 to 2014, she hosted TUC The Lighter Side of Life, a talk show.

In 2014, Khan starred in Mohammed Ehteshamuddin directed drama serial Sadqay Tumhare in which she played the role of Shano. The drama earned her a Lux Style Award for Best TV Actress, two Hum Awards and a Hum Award nomination. In 2015, she starred opposite Humayun Saeed in Shahzad Kashmiri's directed film Bin Roye. The film earned her a Lux Style Award for Best Actress (Film), Hum Award for Best Actress, Hum Style Award for Most Stylish Actress (Film) and a Masala! Award for Best Actress. The film was also adapted as a TV series in 2016, which earned her a Hum Award for Best Actor Female (Drama Serial) and a Hum Award nomination for Best Onscreen Couple. She played a supporting role in Sarmad Khoosat-directed biographical film Manto in 2015.

Khan at the Zindagi TV press meet in 2016

In 2016, she starred in Asim Raza-directed film Ho Mann Jahaan, The film earned her a Lux Style Award for Best Actress (Film) and a Nigar Award nomination for Best Actress.

In early 2017, Khan co-starred in Rahul Dholakia's Indian film Raees, which was her debut in the Hindi film industry. Before the release of film, 'Indian Motion Picture Producers Association' (IMPPA) and 'The Film Producers Guild of India' had decided to ban all Pakistani actors, actresses and technicians from working in India due to the tensions created after the 2016 Uri attack, until the situation was normalised. Reportedly, there were rumours that Khan's scenes would be deleted from the film or she would be replaced by another actress. Shah Rukh Khan, the lead star and co-producer of the film, said that she would not be allowed to promote the film in India. Khan repeatedly received threats from Shiv Sena, an Indian far-right political party. Despite the controversies, the film was released in January 2017 and was a modest commercial success, earning over ₹3.0 billion (US$39 million) worldwide which made Khan the first Pakistani actress to join Bollywood's 100 Crore Club and become the top grossing actress in Bollywood during the first quarter of 2017.

Success and recent work (2018–present)

..... The film received generally unfavourable reviews but her performance was praised and she earned a Lux Style Award for Best Actress in 2018. In 2018, she starred in Meenu Gaur-Farjad Nabi's romantic comedy 7 Din Mohabbat In which was a commercial failure In 2019, she made a special appearance in Asim Raza's Parey Hut Love. The same year, she starred in romantic, musical-drama film Superstar, her highest-grossing film domestically at the time.

In 2022, she starred opposite Fahad Mustafa in Nabeel Qureshi's action-comedy film Quaid-e-Azam Zindabad which opened to mixed reviews from critics. She has also produced a web series titled Baarwan Khiladi, which was released in March 2022. Khan next starred in Bilal Lashari's Punjabi-language action drama film The Legend of Maula Jatt alongside Fawad Khan which was also starring Hamza Ali Abbasi and Humaima Malik. The film released in October 2022 and was widely praised by critics. however Khan's performance was less well received, Syed Zain Raza of The Friday Times wrote "One can't deny the star power of Mahira, but it would be better to say that this wasn't her film. Mukkho wasn't meant for her" while Siham Basir, of Dawn Images wrote "The only downside for me was Mahira Khan's Mukkho, Her Punjabi accent needed a lot of work because her performance fell flat".

Khan will next be seen in Pakistan's first Netflix Original Series, Jo Bachay Hain Sang Samait Lo which is an official adaptation of Farhat Ishtiaq’s bestselling 2013 Urdu-language novel of the same name. She will star alongside Fawad Khan, Sanam Saeed, and Ahad Raza Mir with other well-know actors in pivotal roles.

Filmography

Films

Key

Denotes films that have not yet been released

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Refs
2011	Bol	Ayesha Khan
2015	Bin Roye	Saba Shafiq
	Manto	Madaran	Appeared in screen credits and song "Kya Hoga"
2016	Ho Mann Jahaan	Manizeh
	Actor in Law	Herself	Special Appearance
2017	Raees	Aasiya	Indian film
	Verna	Sara
2018	7 Din Mohabbat In	Neeli
2019	Parey Hut Love	Zeena	Special appearance
	Superstar	Noor
2022	Quaid-e-Azam Zindabad	Jia
	The Legend of Maula Jatt	Mukhoo Jatti
0TBA	Neelofar	Neelofar	Completed

Television

Web series

Other appearance

Awards and nominations

See also

In Spanish: Mahira Khan para niños