 Kajol was born in Mumbai to the Mukherjee @-@ Samarth film family of Bengali @-@ Marathi descent . Her mother , Tanuja , is an actress , while her father Shomu Mukherjee was a film director and producer . Shomu died in 2008 after suffering cardiac arrest . Kajol 's younger sister , Tanishaa Mukherjee is also an actress . Her maternal aunt was actress Nutan and her maternal grandmother , Shobhna Samarth , and great grandmother , Rattan Bai , were both involved in Hindi cinema . Her paternal uncles , Joy Mukherjee and Deb Mukherjee , are film producers , while her paternal grandfather , Sashadhar Mukherjee , was a filmmaker . Kajol 's cousins Rani Mukerji , Sharbani Mukherjee and Mohnish Behl are also Bollywood actors ; whereas another cousin of hers , Ayan Mukerji is a director . 
