Mallika Sherawat, a Jat, was born on 24th October 1981 in Rohtak, Haryana to Seth Chhaju Ram, a famous philanthropist, and Sherawat. She is 5'6" tall. Her real name is Reema Lamba. She is estranged by her family because of her entering films.

Her nickname is 'Bollywood's kissing queen'. She has a degree in philosophy from Delhi University. Before entering Bollywood, she was an air hostess and was married to a Jet Airways pilot, Karan Singh Gill but soon got divorced.

Her debut film in Bollywood was Jeena Sirf Mere Liye (2002) with Tusshar Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor was a flop as were also Kis Kis Ka Kissa and Bach ke Rehena Re Baba. Her film Khwahish (2003) was a hit. This is when she changed her name to Mallika Sherawat as there were quite a few in the industry with similar names. Her film, Anurag Basu's Murder (2004) opposite Emraan Hashmi was a huge hit and Mallika shot to fame with it, receiving the Zee cine Awards' Best Actress nomination.

The Myth is her film with Jackie Chan which made her more popular. Her Tamil film, Dasavatharam (2008) with Kamal Hassan was a blockbuster. She is listed as no.4 'Asia's sexiest women' by Eastern Eye, a UK magazine and no. 9 in the 'top Bollywood actresses'.

In 2009, she was made an honorary citizen of Los Angeles by the Los Angeles City Council. She was also given the Team Jersey City's Arts Honoree for 2009 because of her work in Arts field. Also, in 2009, she acted in the Hollywood film Hisss co-starring Irfan Khan.