Mallika Sherawat

The woman who more than a billion people know, India's Mallika Sherawat, credited as the "original Bollywood bombshell" and the first Bollywood actress to meet U.S. President Barack Obama, first captivated Indian audiences in the 2003 groundbreaking film KHAWISH and has gone on to become one of Bollywood's most popular actresses.

In 2004, she starred in MURDER, India's biggest box office hit of that year. The next year she starred opposite Jackie Chan in THE MYTH and emerged as a breakout star at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival, with Time Magazine's Richard Corliss calling her "the next big thing." Other popular films include DASAVATHARAM, GURU and PYAAR KE SIDE EFFECTS, among others.

Over the past year, the interest in Mallika has begun crossing over to the West. She was given a special honor by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa in a council presentation recognizing her as the first Bollywood star to be honored with a Resolution in her name from the City of Los Angeles for her extraordinary career and charitable efforts. Additionally, Los Angeles Sheriff Leroy Baca honored Mallika with an award for her contributions to America-India relations. She was the first star from Asia invited to the Twitter headquarters in San Francisco, and she received the Diversity Award in Hollywood and the Arts Award by the mayor of Jersey City. With a degree in philosophy, Mallika is an advocate for women's issues, environmental causes and nutrition.

In 2010, Mallika starred with Irrfan Khan in the Indo-American film HISSS, one of the most controversial and highly anticipated movies in India, for which she was honored with a Kalakar Award for Best Actress. Mallika stars in her first all-American project, playing a character inspired in part by Attorney General of California, Kamala Harris, in a film set during the 2008 Presidential election, titled "Love, Barack/Politics of Love", currently in post-production.