Neena Gupta (born 4 June 1959) is an Indian actress and television director who works in Hindi films and television. She has received several awards including two National Film Awards, three Filmfare Awards and two Screen Awards. Known for her work in both art-house and commercial films, she won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for playing a young widow in Woh Chokri (1994). In 2018, she saw career resurgence for starring as a middle-aged pregnant woman in the comedy-drama Badhaai Ho, for which she won the Filmfare Award for Best Actress (Critics) and received a nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actress. Gupta's television appearances include a leading role in the drama series Saans (1999) and as the host of the Indian version of the television quiz show The Weakest Link, named Kamzor Kadii Kaun. In June 2021, publisher Penguin Random House India released her autobiography Sach Kahun Toh. Early life and education Neena Gupta was born on 4 June 1959 in Calcutta, India to R. N. Gupta, an LLB and an officer in the State Trading Corporation of India, and Shakuntala Devi, née Kinra, a former teacher with double masters degrees in Sanskrit and Political Science. She grew up in the Karol Bagh area of New Delhi, doing her elementary schooling at the Bal Bharti School and secondary schooling at Vidya Bhawan. She went on to do a BA from Janki Devi Mahavidyalaya , and MA in Sanskrit from Delhi University. She also earned an MPhil from the same University for her thesis on ‘Stage Techniques in Sanskrit Drama: Theory and Practice’. Midway through her PhD in Sanskrit, she gave up her research due to difference of opinion between her guide and her. She was active in the theatre scene while at University, forming a close friendship with fellow actor-director Satish Kaushik, who encouraged her to follow his lead and join the National School of Drama. Gupta enrolled at NSD in 1977, studying under the tutelage of such greats as Ebrahim Alkazi and B.V. Karanth and graduated top of her class in 1980. Her contemporaries at the institute include Alok Nath and Annu Kapoor. Career Film career Gupta has made appearances in several international films, such as Gandhi (1982), in which she played the niece of Mahatma Gandhi, and Merchant Ivory films, The Deceivers (1988), Mirza Ghalib (1989), In Custody (1993), and Cotton Mary (1999).