Rahul Roy (राहुल रॉय) is an Indian actor and producer born on 9 February 1968 in New Delhi, the twin brother of actor Rohit Roy (born 25 minutes later). His father Deepak Roy was a fashion designer and his mother Indira Roy (née Mukherjee) a homemaker; the family has Bengali roots. He is older than Rohit by about 25 minutes. He attended the prestigious Lawrence School, Sanawar, Himachal Pradesh. Before entering films, he was a successful model, related to fashion personality Cory Walia. His life changed when director Mahesh Bhatt cast him as the lead in the musical romance Aashiqui (1990) opposite Anu Aggarwal. The film was a sensational blockbuster — the soundtrack sold 20 million cassettes and the film ran in cinemas for over six months — turning Rahul into an overnight heartthrob. He received extensive comparisons to Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, and Aamir Khan in the media. He was nominated for Filmfare Best Actor for Junoon (1992) and starred in Phir Teri Kahani Yaad Aayee (1993), Sapne Sajan Ke (1992), Junoon (1992), and many others. However, a series of commercial failures gradually reduced his star power through the late 1990s. In November 2006, he entered Bigg Boss Season 1 on Sony Entertainment Television — the first-ever season of the Indian franchise, hosted by Arshad Warsi, filmed at a Lonavala farmhouse. On 26 January 2007, he was declared the winner — the first person ever to win Bigg Boss in India — receiving a trophy and ₹1 crore prize money. He founded Rahul Roy Productions in 2011. He suffered a brain stroke in November 2020 while filming J.P. Dutta's film Paltan 2 in Kargil; Salman Khan reportedly helped with medical bills. He recovered and returned to acting in Agra (2023). He joined the BJP in New Delhi in 2017. He was married to model Rajlakshmi Khanvilkar from 2000; they divorced after 14 years.

Overnight superstardom as the romantic lead in Mahesh Bhatt's Aashiqui (1990) — a blockbuster that ran in theatres for over six months; Filmfare Award nomination for Best Actor for Junoon (1992); winning Bigg Boss Hindi Season 1 (2006–2007, hosted by Arshad Warsi on Sony TV) and taking home ₹1 crore — the first person ever to win the Indian Bigg Boss franchise.

Frequently Asked