1. Rani Mukerji was born on March 21, 1978, into a film family. Despite coming from an impressive lineage, she carved her own niche through hard work.

2. Her father, Ram Mukherjee, was a former film director and one of the founders of Filmalaya Studios. Her mother, Krishna Mukherjee, is a former playback singer.

3. For the unversed, Rani’s father, Ram Mukherjee, was the first cousin of Kajol’s father, Shomu Mukherjee, making Rani and Kajol cousins.

4. She is also Ayan Mukerji’s cousin, as Deb Mukherjee was Ram Mukherjee’s brother.

5. Rani Mukerji and Kajol’s grandfather, Sashadhar Mukherjee, founded Filmistan Studios in 1943. Reports state that the iconic studio was later sold for Rs. 183 crore.

6. Despite being cousins and frequent co-stars, Rani Mukerji and Kajol had a phase of distance and a “cold war” in the early 2000s.

7. Both actresses have cited misunderstandings and a lack of communication as the primary reasons behind the rift, as stated by Rani Mukerji.

8. Mukerji completed her schooling at Maneckji Cooper High School in Juhu and later graduated with a degree in Home Science from SNDT Women’s University.

9. After completing her Home Science degree, Rani wanted to pursue jewellery and interior designing but could not afford the course fee of Rs. 3 lakh at the time.

10. She is a trained Odissi dancer and pursued the classical dance form for 10 years under Guru Ravindra Athibudhi, beginning her training while she was in the tenth grade.

11. Rani’s debut film was actually a Bengali movie directed by her father, Ram Mukherjee, titled Biyer Phool, released in 1996. The film starred Prosenjit and Indrani Haldar in lead roles.

12. Rani made her Bollywood debut in the same year with Raja Ki Aayegi Baarat. Although the film failed to make an impact, her confident performance caught everyone’s attention.

13. Rani Mukerji became the first actor to win both Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress awards in the same year at the Filmfare Awards in 2005. She won for Kunal Kohli’s Hum Tum and Mani Ratnam’s Yuva, respectively.

14. Rani Mukerji received her first-ever National Award after more than 30 years in Bollywood. She was honoured with the Best Actress award at the 71st National Film Awards in 2025 for Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway.

15. She was reportedly offered Tabu’s role in The Namesake but had to opt out due to date clashes with Karan Johar’s Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna.

16. Rani has also turned down several big films, including Lagaan, Bhool Bhulaiyaa, Munna Bhai MBBS, Waqt: The Race Against Time, and Heyy Babyy. It was recently revealed that she was also the first choice for Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Gangubai Kathiawadi.

17. Initially, Rani had also declined her role in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Black, as she did not feel confident enough to do full justice to the challenging character.

18. Rani Mukerji is reportedly the only member of the Bollywood film industry to have been invited for dinner in honour of Pakistan’s former President, Pervez Musharraf.

19. In 2014, Mukerji attended a charity dinner on child abuse in London, where she was felicitated by Prince Charles for raising awareness on the issue through her work in Mardaani.

20. Rani’s voice was initially considered husky by filmmakers, due to which it was dubbed in Ghulam. Even Karan Johar had contemplated dubbing her voice in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai.

21. In April 2014, the actress married director-producer Aditya Chopra in a private and secret ceremony held in Italy.

22. On December 9, 2015, she gave birth to their daughter, Adira. The actress has never revealed her daughter’s face, valuing privacy and a normal upbringing for her child.

23. The actress later revealed that she was pregnant for the second time in 2020 but unfortunately lost the baby five months into the pregnancy.

24. In 1994, filmmaker Salim Khan approached Rani to play the lead heroine in his film Aa Gale Lag Jaa. However, her father disapproved of a full-time film career as she was just 16 years old at the time.

25. Rani has often been credited by the media for breaking the “fairness myth.” The actress has never endorsed a fairness cream.

26. She replaced Aishwarya Rai to play the lead opposite Shah Rukh Khan in Aziz Mirza’s romantic film Chalte Chalte.

27. According to rumours, Govinda met Rani Mukerji on the sets of Hadh Kar Di Aapne in 2000, and the two reportedly grew close, leading to speculation about an extra-marital affair.

28. The actress was also rumoured to be dating Abhishek Bachchan. They reportedly bonded while working together in films like Yuva and Bunty Aur Babli.

29. Although Rani did not feature in a Hollywood film, she was associated with international documentaries such as Gambling, Gods and LSD.

30. On the work front, she is currently gearing up for Mardaani 3 and is also set to reunite with Shah Rukh Khan for Sidharth Anand’s King.