Shweta Menon is an Indian actress, model, and television anchor born on 23 April 1974 in Chandigarh to Malayali parents T.V. Narayanankutty (a Flight Lieutenant in the Indian Air Force) and Sharada Menon (homemaker). Though born in Chandigarh and raised across several Indian cities due to her father's postings, she has deep roots in Valanchery, Malappuram, Kerala. She is the cousin of Malayalam actor Anoop Menon. She completed her schooling at Kendriya Vidyalaya No. 1, East Hill, Kozhikode. She made her acting debut in the Malayalam film Anaswaram (1991) opposite Mammootty before pivoting to modelling. In 1994, she competed in the prestigious Femina Miss India contest - finishing third runner-up behind Sushmita Sen and Aishwarya Rai - and won the Femina Miss India Asia Pacific title, representing India at Miss Asia Pacific International 1994 in Cebu, Philippines, where she reached the semi-finals. She became the first Gladrags female super model in 1994. These achievements launched a successful Bollywood modelling and acting career spanning over 30 films, including the iconic dance in the song 'Humko Tumse Pyaar Hai' from Ishq (1997, with Aamir Khan and Ajay Devgan), and roles in Bandhan (1998), Asoka (2001), and Maqbool (2003). She returned to Malayalam cinema in 2006 and went on to give the most acclaimed performances of her career: as Cheeru in Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathirakolapathakathinte Katha (2009, directed by Ranjith) - for which she won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actress and the Asianet Film Award for Best Supporting Actress - and in Salt N' Pepper (2011), for which she won a second Kerala State Film Award for Best Actress. She also starred in the acclaimed historical film Paradesi (2013, directed by Bala). She has also hosted multiple Malayalam television shows and judged several reality programmes. She has been a vocal member of AMMA's internal complaints committee on women's issues in the Malayalam film industry. In June 2018, she entered Bigg Boss Malayalam Season 1 as one of its most celebrated contestants and was eliminated in Week 5 (Day 34), finishing fourteenth. She was previously married to Bollywood model Bobby Bhonsle (divorced) and later married Sreevalsan Menon, a Thrissur native, on 18 June 2011. She has a daughter, Sabaina.

Winning the Femina Miss India Asia Pacific 1994 title and finishing as Miss Asia Pacific semi-finalist (Cebu, Philippines); being the first Gladrags female super model (1994); her Bollywood career spanning 30+ films including Ishq (1997, the Aamir Khan/Ajay Devgan song 'Humko Tumse Pyaar Hai'), Asoka (2001), and Maqbool (2003); winning two Kerala State Film Awards for Best Actress for Paleri Manikyam (2009) and Salt N' Pepper (2011); her acclaimed performance in Paradesi (2013); her activism through AMMA's internal complaints committee on women's safety; finishing fourteenth in Bigg Boss Malayalam Season 1 (2018).

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