Richest Indian Actresses in 2016

EntertainmentMar 11, 2016

Being an actress is tough, but being a successful actress in even tougher. You have people constantly
following you around and wanting to know everything about your life, although the rewards are well
worth it. The women on this list have enough money to permanently live enriching lives for themselves
and their children. Here is the list of the richest Indian actresses.

Richest Indian Actresses Real Net Worths in 2016

#10 Priyanka Chopra (Net Worth: $8 million)

Priyanka Chopra is highly regarded as the worlds most
beautiful woman ever and just by looking at this single
picture of her, youll probably agree. Her original dream
in life was to become a psychiatrist or an engineer but
would eventually become an actress, thanks in part to
her many pageant wins; her most prominent being when
she won Miss World Pageant in 2000. This lead to
several offers from many Indian filmmakers which she would finally accept and go on to star in such
films like: Thamizhan, Andaaz and The Hero. But it wasnt until the 2004 filmAitraaz that Priyankas film
career would begin to thrive. Since then she has gone on to win several Filmfare and National Film
awards. She has also won the Padma Shri award for her distinguished contributions. Just recently she
made her Hollywood debut by starring in the ABC drama Quantico. She plays as Alex Parrish who is a
terrorist suspect on the run from the FBI.
Both of Priyankas parents were in the army, so growing up they moved quite a lot. Rather than
complain about having to start over every few months, she accepted the fact that her life was
dysfunctional and took advantage by learning everything she could about all the cultures she came
into contact with. When she was 13 years old Priyanka moved to the United States with her aunt who
also moved quite frequently. Because of her heritage, Priyanka was the subject of bullying and
harassment from her peers in high school. She would return to India during her senior year and upon
her return she began receiving stalkers, so her parents had to place bars on her room windows to
prevent people from breaking in at night. She would then begin to enter in pageants all around India
and has won several big titles, leading to her being offered to star in many films.

#9 Preity Zinta (Net Worth: $10 million)

Preity was born in 1975 in the Shimla district. Growing up
was especially tough for her, as her father was an officer
in the Indian Army. Her family went by a certain code of
discipline which you can imagine being tough for a selfacclaimed tomboy. Tragedy would strike the family early
on in Preitys life when her father and mother were in a
car accident. Luckily her mother survived the incident but
was left severely injured, but sadly her father was killed. This became a turning point in her life as she
was forced to mature and help take care of her two siblings. To help cope with the loss of losing her
father, Preity would begin reading the work of William Shakespeare which significantly helped with
making the decision to graduate college with an English honors degree. She would go on to attain a
postgraduate degree in criminal psychology but didnt put it to use as she began modeling. While
hanging out with one of her friends, she met a film director who would persuade her to audition for a
chocolate commercial. While she was hesitant, she eventually agreed to audition and landed the role
instantly, thus her career in Bollywood began.
While she was going on an audition with a friend, Preity was approached by Shekhar Kapur who saw
her audition and immediately insisted she become an actress. She nailed the audition but the movie
she auditioned for would soon get cancelled due to lack of funding. But that didnt halt her career since
Kapur would soon find out and recommend Preity to director of the movie Dil Se, which ended up
being Preitys breakout film, as it starred none other than Shahrukh Khan himself. Dil Se would go
on to win Preity the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut. With this amount of early recognition she
had no trouble landing future roles and would even go on to win the Filmfare Award for Best Actress in
2003 for her performance in the romantic drama Kal Ho Naa Ho. She continued doing movies in India
and then took her career international in 2008 when she flew to Canada to shoot the movie Heaven on
Earth, a movie which won her the Silver Hugo Award for Best Actress.
Outside of acting, Preity is a social activist and has even written columns for BBC News Online. In
2003 she won the Godfrey Phillips National Bravery Award for speaking out as a witness in court
against the Indian mafia.

#8 Mallika Sherawat (Net Worth: $10 million)

Mallikas career started when she was young and began
starring in commercials. She worked her way up to
music videos until she finally grabbed a small role in the
movieJeena Sirf Merre Liye. She is most well known in
India for her portrayal in the movie Khwahish, which
turned her to a sex symbol almost overnight. Her most
critically successful role would be in the
movie Welcome in 2007. Since then she has attempted
to crossover from Bollywood to Hollywood, starring in
American films like Hisss andPolitics of Love. She was also in a season four episode ofHawaii FiveO which films in Hawaii and airs on CBS. In 2013 she starred in the debut season of the India version
of The Bachelorette which had guys attempting to win her heart over. Throughout her career she has
become very famous and has won several awards, though she is nominated more than she wins.
Mallika was born Reema Lamba in 1976, but would go by the name Mallika (which means Empress)
so she wouldnt be compared to another actress named Reema. While most of her family was against
her career choice, her mother very much supported her decision to become an actress and with that
Mallika would use her mothers maiden name (Sherawat) as her stage name. Mallika received a
degree in philosophy from Delhi University and her family wanted her to get a job in that field but she
was much more interested in Bollywood. While it was difficult for her to not have her families support,
they would eventually change their minds after seeing how talented she is.

#7 Dimple Kapadia (Net Worth: $10 million)

Dimples career began when she was 16 years old.
Raj Kapoor, who is the grandfather of Karisma Kapoor,
gave Dimple her first role in the teen romance
movie Bobby. Even though she was just 16 she would
go on to marry Indian actor Rajesh Khanna. Just like
Karisma, Dimple too came from an acting family. Both
of her parents were famous actors in India, but luckily
for Dimple, she had an easier time being able to stand
out on her own and establish herself as a leading lady
in Bollywood cinema in the 80s. Dimple realized early on that if she were to become a successful
actress she would need to take her career serious and avoid being typecast. This resulted in her taking
on a wide variety of different roles, ranging from comedy to drama. Throughout the past three decades
she has starred in some of the most successful films, resulting in her winning numerous Nation Film
awards, the first of which happened in 1993 with the movie Rudaali.
Dimple grew up with two very successful parents and while it may seem like she has the perfect life, it
wasnt always that way. Her relationship with her first husband would soon diminish after they had
gotten married. She had gotten pregnant early on and rumors were circulating that her husband forbid
her from continuing her acting career, though she denied the rumors intensively. They would later get a
divorce after Dimple finally came to the realization that she was unhappy. For some time she was very
bitter towards her ex-husband, though things seem to have gotten better between them now as she
has made public appearances with him and even campaigned for his election.
These days her life is a lot happier and her two children have grown up to become actresses
themselves.

#6 Karisma Kapoor (Net Worth: $12 million)

Just because her last name has the word poor in it,
doesnt mean that its at all true. Karisma is considered
one of the best actresses in India history. Her career
began when she was only seventeen years old, in the
1991 movie Prem Qaidi. During the 90s Kapoor would
dominate the box office and become the best-selling
actress of that time. She is also considered by most to
be a fashion icon and Bollywood sex symbol. In 1996
she starred in the movieRaja Hindustani which earned
her an award for Best Actress. She would go on to star in films like Zubeidaa andFiza which would
earn her numerous other awards. In 2004 she took a break from acting to focus on her time on her
new marriage but returned to the big screen in 2012 with the movie Dangerous Ishhq. Even though the
movie was considered a box office disaster, critics still praised Kapoors wonderful acting.
Born in 1974, Kapoor descends from a long line of famous actors and actresses. Both her parents,
their siblings, and their parents as well, all have a connection to theater or film. So it was no surprise
that Kapoor herself would go on to become famous. Because of her famous relatives, people in the
film industry made it increasingly difficult for Kapoor to stand out. Her first few movies did not do very
well financially, but she stuck with it and finally in 1995 her hard work paid off with the release of the
comedy Coolie No. 1. The movie would become a cult classic and the highest-grossing Bollywood
movie.

#5 Ileana DCruz (Net Worth: $14 million)

The beautiful Ileana DCruz was born on November 1st, 1987 in Mumbai. When she turned 10 years
old her family moved to a town called Goa and her
mother earned a job working at a hotel. When she was
fifteen the manager at the hotel stated Ileana had a
pretty face and smile and should consider getting into
modeling. Though she was initially reluctant, she
eventually changed her mind and began doing photo
shoots. Ileana would begin to catch the attention of
several television producers who offered her parts in
commercials which lead into offers for film. She began taking acting classes and even landed a few
small roles in movies. Her film debut happened in 2006 with the movie Devadasu which would go on to
gross over $140 million and turn Ileana to an overnight star, earning her several award nominations.
Since then, Ileana, whose name derives from Greek mythology, has gone on to star in several fulllength feature films. Though her career has its up and down moments, she is overall a very gifted
actress who tends to steal the spotlight in all of her movies. She is considered a Kollywood and
Bollywood sex icon and even posed backless for a PETA advertisement, which demotes the wearing of
animal fur.

#4 Kajol Devgan (Net Worth: $16 million)

She is known mononymously as Kajol, making her Indias Cher or Madonna. After dropping out of high
school to pursue acting, Kajol would land her first role in
the romantic drama Bekhudi. Though it was a box office
bomb, Kajol wasnt fazed by its failure and continued
acting. Its a good thing she did too, as between 1995
2001 she would star in more than five back-to-back box
office smashes, earning praise from both critics and
audiences alike. She took a five year break from acting
but would return in 2006 with a major comeback by
starring in the romantic thriller Fanaa. Her continued success as an actress has earned her five Best
Actress awards at Filmfare, more so than any other actress in history.
Kajol was born in Mumbai in the year 1974. Her family is composed of people who are also in the film
industry. Her late father, who died in 2008 from a heart attack, was a film producer and director. Her
mother was also an actress, as well as her sister. She has multiple aunts, uncles, grandparents and
cousins all working in the film industry so its no surprise that Kajol would become so successful.
During school she described herself as a very mischievous child and would often get away with being
very impulsive. By the time she was 16 she was already a top notch dancer and knew she wanted to
live her life on screen. During filming of her first movie she had planned on returning to school during
the summer but ultimately decided dropping out was the best, a decision she still stands by to this day

#3 Amrita Rao (Net Worth: $20 million)

Though she describes herself as very liberal, the wellrounded Amrita was born on 1981 to a very conservative
and traditional Hindu family. She speaks four languages
total, one being English. Amritas father owns an
advertising agency and with his help she was able to
nab some commercial roles while she studied at Sophia
College, where she would eventually graduate from with
a degree in psychology. She would then go on to land
movie roles, the first being the 2002 hit Ab Ke Baras which earned Amrita the award for Best Female
Debut at Filmfare. Other films under her belt include Heyy Babyy, Life Partner, Shaurya, Jaane Kahan
Se Aayi Hai and the popular romantic comedyVivah. She has such a bubbly and outgoing personality
that she is considered by most to be the quintessential girl next door.

#2 Ameesha Patel (Net Worth: $30 million)

Ameeshas career began in 2000 when she starred in
the blockbuster Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai and by the time
2001 rolled around she was already one of Bollywoods
top actresses. Born in 1975, Ameesha is highly regarded
as one of Indias sexiest woman and is constantly
receiving awards for film and acting in some of the
highest grossing Hindi movies. In 2011 she even
founded her own production company which of course
helps with her wealth.
Born in Mumbai, Ameesha was already a trained dancer by the time she was five years old. She grew
up in a very intelligent family, with her parents and grandparents being very prominent lawyers and
politicians. Ameesha herself is actually a genius with an extremely high IQ. After she finished high
school she travelled overseas to Massachusetts to study Economics at Tufts University. When she
returned to India she immediately accepted an offer to star in the movie Kaho Na which I already
discussed earlier. The film itself was very successful and won Ameesha several awards in the Best
Debut Actress category.
For three years between 2003 2006, Ameeshas career hit a rock and the films she starred in went
on to do very poorly in the box office. Though when 2007 came she decided to renew her image and
she began posing in bikinis for magazines which helped for about a year. Her career would reach a low
point again until 2011 when she would launch a very successful production company. Since then she
has continued to produce movies and co-star in them.

#1 Aishwarya Rai Bachchan (Net Worth: $35 million)

Pageant winner of Miss World 1994, Aishwarya Rai is
regarded by many to be an extremely beautiful woman.
Born during November in the year 1973, this Indian
beauty has had a career in film since the late 90s. Her
debut film was in 1997 with a movie titled Iruvar followed
by Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya that same year. Though her first
critically acclaimed role wouldnt be until the next year
when she starred in the romantic drama Jeans, a film
which earned her two Best Actress awards at Filmfare. Though her greatest years had yet to come, as
between the decade of 2000 2010, Aishwarya has starred in some high profile movies, such
as Dhoom 2, Enthiran, Chokher Bali, Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai, the historical romance Jodhaa
Akbar and the movie Dil Ka Rishta which was co-written by her mother and co-produced by her older
brother. In 2004 she travelled to Great Britain to star in the musical Bride and Prejudice and then to the
United States to star alongside Steve Martin in the spy comedy Pink Panther 2. After her ten-year
streak she took a long five year hiatus from acting, but returned in 2015 to star in the crime
thriller Jazbaa.
Growing up, her family was very involved with the Indian military. Her father was an army biologist and
her brother is an engineer for the merchant navy. Her mother is a homemaker which obviously is the
toughest job of them all. During her teenage years she fell in love with animals, particularly in the
subject zoology and considered a career in medicine to help zoo animals. But she changed her mind
and gave up her education to become a model. In 1991 she won a supermodel contest organized by
Ford Motors which landed her a modeling cover in Vogue Magazine. Though it wasnt until she costarred alongside Aamir Khan and Mahima Chaudhry in a Pepsi commercial where she simply uttered
the line Hi, Im Sanjana. That made her instantly famous. She continued her modeling career until her
acting career took off. To this day her acting career is going strong and in 2016 she is going to appear
in two movies: Ae Dil Hai Mushkil and a biopic of Indian spy Sarabjit Singh called Sarbjit.

There you have the top 10 list of the richest actresses in India. Coming from someone who enjoys
foreign films, I was very excited to make this list. If one of these women sounds interesting to you, then
you should definitely check out their filmography.
Who is your favorite Indian beauty? Let me know in the comments below!