10 Award-Winning Actresses in Bollywood

The women of Bollywood don't get nearly as much credit in the American media as the women of Hollywood do but that doesn't mean that they aren't stunning actresses. In fact, there are several different awards ceremonies held throughout the world each year which give credit to those people who are working in Bollywood both behind the scenes and in front of the camera.

Here is a look at ten of the amazing women who have won "Best Actress" awards in the past ten years from some of the various organizations that recognize Bollywood filmmaking:

• 1. Rani Mukerji - 2005 winner of both the Global Indian Film Awards (GIFA) and the Bollywood Movie Awards for the movie Hum Tum . In that same year, she also won a best supporting actress award for another Bollywood film and became the first actress to win two awards in the same year at that event. Not interested in stopping there, that she also won the 2005 Best Actress award at the Filmfare Awards for Hum Tum and then followed it up with a 2006 Best Actress award for the movie Black . The Bollywood gossip tabloids have been rough on her both in terms of linking her with people in the industry romantically as well as reporting on the supposed battles she's had with other actresses in the industry but she denies all of the rumors that have been stated about her. Guess Bollywood isn't all that different from Hollywood after all!
• 2. Bipasha Basu - 2007 winner of both the Global Indian Film Awards (GIFA) and the Bollywood Movie Awards for the movie Corporate . She is one of the Bollywood stars that actually gets a decent amount of media attention due in no small part that she has also been an award-winning supermodel and frequently voted one of the sexiest celebrities in Asia. She has had a few famous relationships with male Bollywood stars and is currently in a long-term relationship with another actor.
• 3. Urmila Matondkar - 2006 winner of the Bollywood Movie Awards for the movie Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara and 2004 winner of those same awards for the movie Bhoot . She was also a 2002 winner of those awards as the "most sensational actress" for her film Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya . She started off as an actress that was known primarily for her sex appeal (which she undeniably has plenty of). However, she is also well known for her more recent roles playing more dramatic psychological film characters as well which is something that you might not often associate with a Bollywood actress if you don't know much about this particular star!
• 4. Aishwarya Rai - This Bollywood actress has starred in over forty different films including the American hit Bride and Prejudice . She was the 2003 winner of the Best Actress award from the Bollywood Movie Awards for the film Devdas . She is another example of an Indian film actress who started off her career path as an award-winning model and then went on to become a diverse-role actress. She dated a few different actors in Bollywood and then ended up settling down with one into a marriage that took place early last year.
• 5. Kajol - This Hindi film actress was the 2002 winner of the Bollywood Movie Awards for the film Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham and also the 1999 winner of the same event for the film Kuch Kuch Kota Hai . She is considered to be one of the most successful actresses in all of India and has a long history of different types of films behind her. Perhaps that's why she only needs to go by a single name (think Madonna, think Cher)!
• 6. Kareena Kapoor - Winner of the 2008 Filmfare Award for Best Actress in her role in Jab We Met , this woman is one of the hottest movie stars in all of Bollywood right now. Prior to that she had won two Critics Awards for Best Actress at the same event (which incidentally is the biggest Bollywood movie awards event in the world). Her film history has been interesting because she has had a series of ups and downs in terms of the "box office success ratings" of her movies but she is still considered to be one of the top actresses in the industry today.
• 7. Karisma Kapoor - The last name sounds familiar because this is the big sister to the aforementioned Kareena Kapoor. She is also an award-winning actress who has historically done well at the Filmfare Award Festival. She won the Best Actress award at that event in 2001 for the film Fiza and the 1997 award for the film Raja Hindustani . She was one of the leading Bollywood actresses in her time and remains a legend in the industry although she stopped working on film about five years ago. It's rumored that a comeback can be expected and many in the industry are looking forward to that day.
• 8. Madhuri Dixit - This actress is one of only two actresses thus far to have won four Best Actress awards each at the Filmfare Awards. The other actress (Meena Kumari) was a classic actress whose films were legendary in the 1950s and 1960s. Madhuri Dixit is a slightly more relevant actress today although the last of her Best Actress awards was given in 1998. That wasn't her most recent important award for her work though. This year she actually received the Padma Shri which is an award given by the government of India to recognize the country's outstanding contributors to the arts.
• 9. Preity Zinta - The 2004 winner of the Filmfare Awards for the film Kal No Haa No stands out as an actress that has done well in both traditional Bollywood films and in non-traditional English-speaking films. She's a smart cookie who actually has a degree in criminal psychology but who has been acting for about the past ten years and has seen considerable success in the industry during this short career.
• 10. Shefali Shah - This actress won the 2008 Best Actress award from the Zee Cine Award festival for the film Gandhi, My Father . She started appearing in film roles in 1997 and began winning awards the following year. She's made nine different movies in that time and has also appeared in multiple television roles.