Birthday special: From a model to Bollywood's leading lady: Anushka Sharma's life in spotlight

Anushka Sharma is one such star who has created a unique space for herself in this big industry. Anushka, who started her journey as a model at the age of 15 has came a long way. Marking her special day, here's a look at her glorious career and that makes her a stand-out actress. 

Anushka Sharma looks totally unrecognizable in this picture from her modelling days. The diva, who is the leading lady of Bollywood now, started working as a model at the age of just 15. She walked in the ramps for different designers as a full-time model for almost 5 years. 

After years of working as a model, her stars shined and Anushka got her big break alongside King Khan of Bollywood Shah Rukh Khan. Sharma got her debut project after Aditya Chopra, producer of Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, noticed her in one of the fashion shows and find her perfect for the role of Tani. 

After making her debut in the year 2008 from Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi with SRK, there was no turning back for Anushka. In her career, Anushka has worked with some renowned filmmakers and starred in several superhits movies. 

In her glorious career, Sharma was part of many blockbuster movies including Salman Khan's Sultan, and Aamir Khan's PK among others. 

From the very start of her career, Anushka made sure to deliver a strong message from her movie roles - whether it was telling a story of an urban girl in NH 10 or taking you back to the pre-independence era with Phillauri,  Anushka has always proved that she's a true feminist model with her woman empowering stories. 

 

We all are aware that Anushka Sharma is an animal lover. Over the years, Anushka, who is a proud parent of  a labrador, has been involved in different animal rights activities whether it was raising voices for stray dogs and horses or launching a cruelty-free clothing line 'Nush'

In the year 2017, she was named PETA's Person Of The Year for her efforts toward animals. 

 

In the year 2013, Anushka ventured into production and founded the production house Clean Slate Filmz with her brother Karnesh Sharma with the aim of making a clutter-breaking cinema.

Through her banner, Anushka backed some projects with unique storylines like Pari, Bulbul web series Pataal Lok and others, that were highly praised by critics and audiences alike.