Mahira Hafeez Khan (pronounced [maɦiːraː hafiːz kʰan]; born 21 December 1984) is a Pakistani film and television actress.
[1] After working as a video jockey for various television shows, Khan made her acting debut in 2011 with a supporting role in the blockbuster social drama Bol (2011).
Following a short hiatus, Khan took on roles in the 2022 androcentric action films, including the top-grossing Quaid-e-Azam Zindabad and The Legend of Maula Jatt, and produced the sports web-series Baarwan Khiladi (2022).
In addition to acting, Khan promotes social causes such as women's rights and refugee crisis, and is vocal about issues such as child abuse and rapes.
[4] After graduating from Foundation, she, at the age of seventeen, moved to California, United States, for higher education, where she attended the Santa Monica College.
"[6] Khan then enrolled herself at the University of Southern California for a Master's degree in English literature; during this period, she worked as a part-time cashier at Rite Aid.
"[7] However, after completing her first year, Khan decided to pursue her interest to become an actress, and quit her university education and returned to Pakistan.
[8] Her appearance in the show attracted the attention of filmmaker Shoaib Mansoor, who remembered her, and later offered her a role in his film Bol (2011), which she accepted.
Khan started her career as a VJ[9] in 2006, hosting the live show Most Wanted on MTV Pakistan, which was aired three days a week.
[13][16] In 2014, Khan starred in the Mohammed Ehteshamuddin directed drama serial Sadqay Tumhare[24][25] in which she played the role of Shano.
[51][52] Khan began her singing career in 2017,[53] when she starred as a rape victim in Shoaib Mansoor's social drama film Verna.
[54][55][56] The film received generally unfavourable reviews but her performance was praised and she earned a Lux Style Award for Best Actress in 2018.
[57][58][59] In 2018, she starred in Meenu Gaur-Farjad Nabi's romantic comedy 7 Din Mohabbat In which was a commercial failure[60][61] In 2019, she made a special appearance in Asim Raza's Parey Hut Love.
[63] In 2022, she starred opposite Fahad Mustafa in Nabeel Qureshi's action-comedy film Quaid-e-Azam Zindabad which opened to mixed reviews from critics.
[75] The song, a modern adaption of the prayer "Lab Pe Aati Hai Dua" by Allama Iqbal, was set in the pre-partitioned era, and featured her as a young women who explains how she would handle any injustice after marriage.
[80] That same year, she and her brother, founded the media production company, titled as Mashion, that empowers Pakistani women and creates awareness on mental health in the country.
[82] In September 2020, Khan joined the Commonwealth of Nations for the project titled, "No more", to raise awairness about the sexual and domestic violence against women.
[94][95][96] In December 2016, Khan became a victim of false news after anti-India comment emerged ahead of the release of her Bollywood film Raees.
[97] Khan has served as the ambassador for a number of brands and products, such as Lux, QMobile, Gai Power Wash, TUC, Huawei, Sunsilk, Veet, and L'Oréal.